San Marino GP - Race DayWelcome to coverage of the fifth round of the 2004 F1 season from the Imola Circuit in San Marino. Yesterday we saw Michael Schumacher send the tifosi crazy as he snatched pole position from under the nose of Rubens Barrichello and will be looking to take victory on home soil.
Here we are waiting for the off
Just seconds away...
And we're away here in Imola! Schumacher has a sluggish start
Whilst Heidfeld has a had a flying start and is challenging for the lead...
and he makes it stick! Sauber lead in San Marino
and Barrichello slides past Schumacher as well, not a good start for the German
Of course Heidfeld post the fastest lap time
And again on lap 2
Meanwhile McNish is having a look at Glock
But the young German fends him off
Schumacher is now starting to fight his way back
However Da Matta immediately beats his time
Montoya looks a lot weaker here compared to the earlier rounds and is currently scrapping with McNish for 5th
De la Rosa gets his braking all wrong
And he is the first driver off the road
He drops to 21st
Here is the battle between Verstappen and Villenueve for 9th as Webber goes wide just ahead
Whilst he teammate is now battling with Glock again
But he defends a little too hard and goes into the gravel
He rejoins just behind his team mate
Barrichello is starting to close the gap to Heidfeld
McNish sets the fastest lap of the race
Verstappen locks up heavily going into the chicane
But he somehow manages to hold off Villenueve
Montoya is off the road
and he rejoins directly in front of the battle for what is now 6th place
The top four are separated by just over a second and have pulled away from the rest of the field
But Barrichello cannot find a way past the Sauber
Meanwhile Villenueve confirms Toyotas pace
Time for the current standings
There are trains forming all over the track as we look at the six car battle for 14th
and Montoya is off again!
Looks as though he simply broke too late whilst defending against Villenueve
And unfortunately for the Colombian he has stalled his engine and is out of the race
Meanwhile McNish is the first driver to pit
As does Coulthard and Wirdheim
Glock is also now in the pitlane, Heidfeld could be coming in soon as well...
He comes out in 8th
And indeed two laps later the Sauber is in, Barrichello and Schumacher need to make the most of their next few laps now...
And the German is joined in the pits by Da Matta
The leading pair are in the pits next time around
and Schumacher gets the jump on Barrichello! He now leads...
Until Heidfeld screams past...
And Da Matta throws one up to inside of Schumacher...
... and he makes the move stick! Sauber and Toyota now occupying the top two spots.
With the first round of stops out the way here are the current standings
And now Glock is off the road
And does exactely what Montoya did, he becomes our second casualty
Sato is not having a good day as jumps over the chicane in a lowly 19th
However things are getting tasty at the front with the top six now separated by just 4 seconds
Villenueve is in the pits very early for his second stop, looks like he could be on for three pitstops.
And whats this Da Matta is now leading?
And Heidfeld is now in 3rd, looks like he has had an off somewhere...
Villenueve fresh tyres are helping him greatly as he throws down two consecutive fastest laps.
Trulli is having a fairly quiet race and currently is the leading Arrows driver in 18th
Whilst Da Matta is starting to pull a gap to Schumacher
Lotterer is running well in 9th as our leader pits
He's back out in 5th
McNish is having a look at Lotterer...
But they make contact!
McNish does manages to keep his car running but he chance of points are now gone
However his team mate still has a shot in 8th place with both of his pitstops out of the way
Schumacher is really pushing to try and jump Da Matta
Heidfeld pits from 4th
He's back out in 6th
Verstappen is now in...
... and he re-emerges in 5th and keeps Heidfeld behind
The two Toyotas are dicing with each other as Raikkonen comes in
And he is back out in 8th, could he be on to score his and Jordans first points in 2004?
Schumacher is currently dealing with backmarkers as Barrichello comes in
Both Toyotas comfortably clear him though
As does Verstappen, good work by the Dutchman
But now for the moment of truth, Schumacher is in the pits...
A fairly steady stop there...
... and Da Matta regains the lead, he's looking good for his and Toyotas debut win (2pics)
Verstappen now occupies the final podium spot with Barrichello in 4th, Heidfeld in 5th and Villenueve who has just pitted for a third time in 6th.
Raikkonen is all alone in 8th place
Whilst his team mate goes massively wide and drops to 20th
Trulli locks his brakes whilst in 16th nd his team mate Wilson takes full advantage
And Lotterer is off the road again, two basic errors have ruined what was a solid race from the German
Button is having an unspectacular race in 12th place
Now with the final stops completed here are the standings
And Lotterer is off again...
But disaster for Villenueve who had been catching Heidfeld very quickly
Thankfully he gets the car going again but drops to 7th
Meanwhile at the front Da Matta and Schumacher are separated by less than a second with still ten and a bit laps to go, can the Brazilian hold him off?
Webber meanwhile has driven a solid race and is residing in 6th after Villenueve's off
The gap is now just half a second, tense times down in the Toyota garage
However De la Rosa is running very well in 13th
Thats exactly what Da Matta doesn't need right now, traffic
But he manages to pull the gap to seven tenths
Frentzen is the latest man off the track but he holds 12th place
Just 4 to go now...
As Bjorn and Sato battle over 18th place
Whilst his team mate is running in 14th
The gap is very small now with two battle Arrows just ahead for Da Matta...
Nevertheless Schumacher is still not close enough to make a move
McNish is challenging the other Schumacher for 14th
And he makes it stick around the outside, good move there from the Scot
The traffic has been very helpful for Da Matta and he has a second advantage with just a few corners to go...
Here he comes, into the final chicane for the final time...
And Cristiano Da Matta has won the San Marino GP!!! That is his and Toyotas debut victory in Formula 1!
Schumacher has to settle for 2nd
As his team mate completes the podium
Heidfeld will be disappointed with 5th after leading for a large chunk of the race
Full results to follow
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