SILVERSTONE, England, 12 July 2004 — Six-time world champion Michael Schumacher won the British Formula One Grand Prix, the 11th round of the 18-race world championship, for the third time here yesterday.
The German Ferrari driver came in for his 80th career victory and 10th in 11 races this season ahead of Finland’s Kimi Raikkonen in a McLaren while Schumacher’s teammate Rubens Barrichello was third.
British hope Jenson Button was fourth in his BAR Honda.
Schumacher sealed victory on the 37th lap when he repeated his earlier feat of coming out of the pitlane just ahead of Raikkonen, who was charging round the pitlane corner, to retain his lead. Raikkonen was given brief cause for optimism when the safety car came out three laps later after Jarno Trulli’s Renault span violently into a tire wall, losing one of his tires in the process which rolled on to the track, spelling pit stops for the Finn and Barrichello.
Trulli went to the medical center as a precaution.
The safety car slipped away with 15 laps remaining and Raikkonen made quick work of the two cars separating him from Schumacher though he raised a finger at Toyota’s Cristian Da Matta as he passed him believing he had held him up.
While they fought out the battle for first, Button was challenging Barrichello for third while Juan Pablo Montoya was close by in fifth.
The German had started from fourth on the grid but his strategy of carrying more fuel than his rivals paid off as on the 30th lap of the 60-lap race he led by 23sec from Raikkonen with Barrichello in third.
Raikkonen had held a seven-second lead over Button when Barrichello pitted in the ninth lap with Schumacher in third.
The Finn came in after 10 laps for his first pitstop allowing Schumacher to take the lead with Trulli in second, Takuma Sato in third and Raikkonen in fourth.
Schumacher, who had yet to pit, turned the pressure on with Raikkonen stuck behind Sato by recording the fastest lap of the race so far with 48 laps remaining and improved it a lap later.
Raikkonen at last managed to pass Sato down the finishing straight with 47 laps to go to move in to second as Trulli had come in to pit but had lost two seconds on Schumacher because of his battle with the Japanese driver.
Schumacher finally pitted for the first time with 45 laps to go holding a 23sec lead and emerged just ahead of Raikkonen.
