Category Formula One Successor F2005 | Predecessor F2003-GA | |
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Constructor Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Designer(s) Ross Brawn (Technical Director)
Rory Byrne (Chief Designer) Chassis Moulded carbon fibre & Honeycomb composite structure | ||
The Ferrari F2004 was a highly successful Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn and Aldo Costa for the 2004 Formula One season. Heavily based on the previous season's F2003-GA, the F2004 continued the run of success the team had enjoyed since 1999, winning the team's 6th straight Constructors' Championship and 5th straight Drivers' Championship for Michael Schumacher, his 7th world drivers' title overall, in 2004. It is one of the most dominant cars in the history of Formula One. The car also brought a close to Ferrari's and Michael Schumacher's five-year domination of the sport, leaving the door open for Renault and Fernando Alonso.
Contents
Design
The car was based on the same design principles pioneered in the F2002, honed and modified even further. For instance the periscope exhausts were smaller and mounted closer to the car's centre line, the rear wing was enlarged and the rear suspension redesigned to be kinder to its tyres, a major problem in the F2003-GA. The engine was designed to last a full weekend in accordance with the FIA's technical regulations for the season. As a result, the gearbox also had to be redesigned to be more resilient.
Performance
The car was as successful as the equally dominant F2002, winning 15 out of 18 races, and scoring 12 pole positions including many lap records. Michael Schumacher won a single-season record of 13 races (Sebastian Vettel equaled this number in 2013) and gained a record breaking seventh World Championship, while Ferrari was a clear winner in the Constructors' Championship.
After the 2004 season the car was developed further as a testbed for 2005 and used in the first two races. Despite a podium finish in the 2005 Australian Grand Prix, the car was retired to make way for its successor, the F2005, at the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix.
In all, the car scored 272 championship points in its career, but its championship in 2004 also marked the end of Ferrari's Constructors' Championship winning streak, beginning with the 1999 Formula One season.
The F2004 was used as the basis for the 2008 "Powered by Ferrari" A1 Grand Prix car.
Legacy
The fastest laps at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Circuit de Monaco, Nürburgring GP-strecke, Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Hungaroring, Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Shanghai International Circuit all remain the current lap records, even though six out of these nine tracks are still used in F1 as of 2016.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)
* 10 points scored with the F2004M