SHANGHAI, 27 September 2004 — Rubens Barrichello celebrated his second victory in a row yesterday, winning the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix as Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher languished in 12th after starting from the pit.
The Brazilian followed up his win in Italy two weeks ago by holding off a late charge by Jenson Button in a BAR-Honda, finishing marginally ahead of the Briton in front of 150,000 fans at the Shanghai International Circuit.
Kimi Raikkonen in a McLaren was a close third with barely 1.5 seconds separating the top three. Formula One fever has gripped China’s glitziest city and it was a suitably close and competitive race on what was an historic day, introducing the sport to a country with no tradition of motor racing.
While Barrichello took the honors all eyes were on Schumacher, who was forced to begin the race from the pit when Ferrari replaced his engine after the German ace spun in qualifying Saturday.
He came out of the blocks flying and clawed his way up to ninth. But his aggressive driving saw him lose control again, his car spinning on lap 13 as he went in search of a 13th win of the season.
Overcast skies and temperatures in the mid 20s provided perfect driving conditions and the world champion was posting fastest lap times. But even he was not able to make it to the points after starting from such a disadvantage.
Schumacher has now gone three races without a win since last tasting victory in Hungary although he secured his seventh world title after finishing second in the Belgian Grand Prix last month.
Yesterday’s result was his worst of the season, outside of Monaco where he failed to finish.
It was a frustrating day for the Schumacher clan. Brother Ralf was forced to retire when fourth after a collision with David Coulthard’s McLaren.
Ralf looked far from happy as he climbed from his Williams after steering it back to the pits and organizers said the incident would be investigated.
His retirement opened the door to Spain’s Fernando Alonso in a Renault who held on to finish fourth. Juan Pablo Montoya in a Williams was fifth and Takuma Sato in a BAR sixth.
Jacques Villeneuve, back after almost a year away since being dumped by BAR, managed a credible 11th in his Renault but had some hairy moments, careering onto the gravel on lap 44.
For Barrichello it was the perfect start, making a clean getaway to power into the first turn ahead of the pack after starting on pole. He never looked to be in danger, controlling the race and using the impressive pace of his F2004 machine to clock a second win of the season.
It was also a determined drive from Button, who is rapidly reinforcing his reputation after a series of podium finishes this season as he pushes BAR toward second in the constructors’ championships.
BAR are in a tussle with Renault for second place behind Ferrari. The British team extended their lead over the French outfit to nine points with two races to go.
Before the race a glittering opening ceremony — at 20 minutes the longest ever at a Grand Prix — was laid on for the spectators, with music, martial arts and dance performed by a 1,200-strong troupe.
Virtually everyone involved in Formula One has rated the event a huge success. Drivers, teams bosses and the powerbrokers of the sport, who awarded the city a contract to host races for seven years, believe it has the potential to become one of the showpiece events of the Formula One season.
