Date 15 August 2004 | Course length 4.381 km (2.722 mi) | |
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Official name XX Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj Location Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary Course Permanent racing facility Distance 70 laps, 306.663 km (190.552 mi) | ||
The 2004 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the XX Marlboro Magyar Nagydí) was a Formula One motor race held on 15 August 2004 at the Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth race of the 2004 Formula One season and the 20th Hungarian Grand Prix. The 70-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher after starting from pole position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second and Fernando Alonso came in third driving for Renault.
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The win was Michael Schumacher's twelfth of the season and his seventh consecutive victory. The result meant Schumacher increased his lead in the Drivers' Championship to thirty-eight points over team-mate Barrichello. Jenson Button remained in third but was mathematically eliminated from the championship. Ferrari's one-two finish meant they secured the Constructors' Championship as their nearest rival Renault was too many points behind to catch them with five races of the season remaining.
Background
Heading into the thirteenth race of the season, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 110 points, ahead of team-mate Rubens Barrichello on 74 points and Jenson Button on 65. Jarno Trulli was fourth with 46 points with his Renault teammate Fernando Alonso in fifth place on 39 points. Ferrari were leading the Constructors' Championship with 184 points; Renault (85 points) and BAR (76) contended for second place with Williams in fourth on 47 points and McLaren were a further ten points adrift in fifth place. Ferrari had dominated the championship; Michael Schumacher had won eleven races for the team, while Trulli had clinched the victory in the Monaco Grand Prix. Barrichello, Button, Alonso, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen had finished in second and third positions during the season.
There was one driver change heading into the race. Cristiano da Matta was dropped by Toyota and was replaced by the team's third driver Ricardo Zonta. da Matta was dropped because of his poor performance relative to teammate Olivier Panis, but remained at the team as a driver and would perform marketing work while Toyota test driver Ryan Briscoe assumed Zonta's former position.