Michael Schumacher Wins With a 4-Stop Strategy - 2004 French GP

They must be pretty confident with the tyres, because they will send him into a final 28 lap stint or not, they can't have six seconds of fuel, he has to

stop

again for the fourth time, that would surprise me, it would be amazing if he did. He's on a hard exit, but if not, like you said, it's a long way to go. 28 laps, there's no way to do that with six seconds of fuel, I mean, six seconds of fuel is something like 45 kilos. that will only give you 18 19 turns, yeah, very strange, so what if there was a problem there?

And because it's too early for Michael Schumacher to make his third

stop

, but Alonso leads, then he certainly does. I look at Michael Schumacher 11 seconds behind you need about 18 or 19 in the pocket to be able to catch and rejoin Alonso then attack once again giving another lap to Felipe Massa 12th place in the salvo it has been a good fight between the two sabbas all afternoon masa started at the front facicella passed him in the pit stops now masa is back in front really our tremendous battle for honor in that team we don't see them very often on television at least fighting among themselves but I think I really do They are trying and Alonso feels that perhaps he could have guided him a little earlier.

Well, Alonso, it's very interesting. Martin, we saw it at the Spanish Grand Prix. Do you remember those people from their region of Spain in a northeast corner? called astorias northwest corner astorias they have that blue flag with the cross on the tarmac yesterday morning there were thousands of people with those flags obviously now they have their own little equivalent of shumi's wacky army and they're starting to travel now we've never seen that before in Formula One, Spanish fans traveled to grand prix abroad. It's certainly a trend Alonso will want to encourage, but he needs to stop shaking his fist.

The other pilot probably can't see it because he can't look over it. The team certainly doesn't care, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten in the way in the first place and Alonso would surely have lost a good half second on the break because he wouldn't have attacked Adelaide in the same way he normally would. do and that half a second they won the grand prize this afternoon for the way it's shaping up, so it just doesn't make sense, it's an understandable reaction, although hey, it's pretty funny, it's exactly half a second what it took him looking at the computer of timing that was. 11 seconds ahead of

michael

schumacher

and he has dropped a second from that point to the same point on the subsequent lap, so, as you say, shaking your fist is not worth it either on the roads or on the racetracks, back then are the top eight right now. disappointing performance for monteya the mclaren will see this and say well sixth and seventh but half a minute less than the race leaders but still good to see mclaren back in business both coulthard and raikkonen laugh faster than barrichello uh in front of them for the moment so eh, it's not over yet for them either coulthard just three seconds behind barrickello's ferrari currently in fifth place against the one we're on board with alonso traffic coming up the first fast corner at 165 miles per hour they take through the replay so you can see the contact patches bouncing around, in fact, that's one of their lowest flights this afternoon, isn't that particular one?

Alonso's lead is 10.3 seconds so we think everyone has to pit once more and then jordan is very well out of the way and louise has located zolt vanguard now yes no points this weekend joel What went wrong for you? Yeah I made a little mistake in turn three and that's why I couldn't finish the race and I stopped in the gravel, so far I was pretty good and I had put a lot of pressure on my teammate so it was a good race and good pace on my part. I'm a little upset about the ruling, but I hope next time it doesn't. this and finish the race again thanks except he didn't do that at Piccadilly Circus on Tuesday afternoon but bam gartner then came out of the race two retirements still just told you about the sato engine problem we saw much earlier on renault 18 runners. in alonso's pits the race leader fernando alonso enters for this third stop of the afternoon with 24 laps left ted's down there how much fuel are they putting in ted well this will give him away let's see if the stopwatch runs pat simmons renault's The head of engineering has been Doing your math now, that seems long, it's eight seconds, you don't have to stop again, you've got a really good chance, guys, you don't.

Michael Schumacher was 8.7 behind at the time he entered. So he will comfortably retake the lead and Schumacher will have about nine or ten seconds in his pocket, but he has to get enough of a lead to be able to get back into the pits and make his fourth stop of the afternoon, I think that's certainly not all. finished yet martin no it's not, I wonder if that was totally intentional, such a short period of 13 laps between stops gave him track position, he was putting up some impressive lap times, I wonder if that was totally intentional, yeah They didn't get it.

I had enough fuel at one of the stops, something like that, but Michael Schumacher for the ride of his life, so if he wants to win this afternoon, if we're right, he's got to get back in and if we're not right, No. I understand how they have enough fuel, absolutely true, he stopped on lap 42, but with six and a half seconds of fuel, look what Alonso can do, what the margin is at the moment and then as Alonso grows at the start. finish line eleven and a half seconds, yes, it will be a very short stop for Michael, as well as a short pit lane and a not particularly fast pit straight, so you know, the penalty for stopping here is not particularly high, it will be his fourth one in the afternoon and that is feasible, right?, but it will be very easy.

He'll need some gray labs, but Alonso has to absolutely maximize every braking zone, passing every back marker effortlessly if he wants to win the grand prix. He is 11 and a half seconds behind, let's not lose sight of the other battles on the track, he is actually third and is only a second ahead of Jensen Button. He will be sick of looking at the back of that Renault like he has done all weekend, though in the race. I must say button fourth ben barakallo fifth unable to do anything with the two cars in front of him, they all have a similar pace, which is not the pace of

schumacher

and alonso, who have been in a league of their own here this afternoon and uh coulthard sixth ryken and seventh reichen they were closing in pretty fast martin there on david coulthard but they don't seem to have calmed down now those two raikkonen have made their third stop of the afternoon coulthard hasn't made his yet we'll see how that works between the two mclaren drivers and then monteya eighth weber ninth going strong just outside the points for jaguar but very very consistent in his lap times martinez in the second of the williams is not in the points he is down in tenth place and uh I think he will be a little disappointed with that in his debut in

2004

with Williams.

Jordan easily clearing the way for Michael Schumacher on Adelaide Hairpin. Cool Card for his third stop. Let's see if that nozzle comes out right. In fact, there are no problems. Not at all, so David Coulthard should keep him ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, but Michael Schumacher did seven tenths of a second on Alonso last time, that kind of pace is about the margin you were talking about, James, yes, that's exactly right now, 12 .2 difference. and well, he needs about 18 or something, he still has to find another six seconds, but if Alonso can respond and just maintain that gap and maintain it for the next eight or nine laps, he might have a chance if he makes it.

He has the car in him or Michael Schumacher is going to prove too strong in the afternoon that we really expect and buckle up in this lap as well. They are currently third and fourth with only a second and a half difference. The buttons are going to I'll be sick of this spot on the rear wing of Yano True's Renault by the end of the afternoon, if they can do something about it at the pit stop, he'll actually pit and the button goes on, button into third, then because he has really entered the pits. getting to work pushing it to the end of the grand prix, which was his third stop on board, then with the now new third place, Jensen Button, chasing his seventh podium of the

2004

season, giving that Honda maximum bananas down the straight main almost 200 miles.

They hit them for an hour before braking for that Adelaide hairpin. Come on, you can see behind the bar that Reuben's Barrichello is closer than it has been in some time and the bar team, funnily enough, has returned to the garage. We were playing tactics with Renault, I don't know, Williams is coming out, but Barack, hello, he's now just a few tenths behind Jensen Button. You will see him in the background, there the button is also under pressure, so he is looking at both sides of the track. By the time he's hopefully trying to pass Jana True's Renault, we know he's got a very fast car under him, they're both lapping, let's see a minute, 16.3, good pace, well, the button He entered the pits a lap earlier than last time, but put in more fuel.

So this is a longer period for Jensen Button. Are you making it work? It was an incredible return. His fastest lap of the Grand Prix so far at the height in the 15th minute. Just what he needed. Martin and was trying hard at it. It wasn't the moment he went through the final chicane and went away, so uh, Jensen, knowing that this is a crucial moment, he actually made his stop, but uh, Barack, hello, threatening him, threatening him and, somehow, It has to make some stellar turns. Oh no, it's good and reduces reverse gear. The finish got away from him a little and it cost Montoya half a second in the pits for the third time as well.

He was in sixth place, but eh, button, then really on the jagged edge trying to squeeze out a little more tar. Honda is certainly doing well, we saw Coulthard coming off the lane just before rejoining ahead of Raikkonen but behind Mark Webber. However, the Jagger has only stopped twice this afternoon, so I don't know if he has to stop again. I imagine he'll do it with 20 laps left, so he'll leave Mark Webber out of the points unless he's following some kind of extraordinary

strategy

. Juan Montoya has made his third stop of the afternoon and as we write, we look at Jensen Button, where will he go?

They are in the Ferrari pit lane. if barrichello dives in here you can see the mechanics coming out now barry callow then we'll get them in it looks like the buttons and tires are already out of the blankets so a good stop there for ferrari at the right time you'd expect . on a three-stop afternoon, but I'm wondering why Button's tires are out of the blankets so early that he has another 70 seconds before pitting after passing the finish line. I wonder if they couldn't have been waiting for it. They're not quite ready for him now of course he's got about half a lap to go as he heads to uh just two thirds of the way through the lap to make a very important pit stop a button comes up and then two things to keep in mind . because when Weber makes his third stop of the afternoon, which leaves him again out of the points, two things to keep in mind: he was really fighting and he was fighting against Barrichello, if he has been too slow, Barrichello will overtake him if he has been fast enough.

He will actually pass Yano quite a bit at this stop, really this is for third place in the grand prix, the final podium position, he scored a 59, as you pointed out to James, in a 16-1, so his pace has been well, but it will. He chose this time, the team has been waiting for him for a while, but he will keep going, sure that he has to attack that speed line and Ted is there, this will be very, very close with Jano Trilli, the tires have been out . of the blankets as you say for years almost one turn the michelin tires are almost bald no problems connecting the fuel hose at least the stock is going well so far the limiter was right and it went well oh no late it goes decent Stop for Jensen, well, yes, but he lost about a second.

It is not like this? Surely where Barrichello really is on the race track. We can't see it from this camera angle. There he goes, really, so he didn't really make it through, but he can. He uses these new tires now, when they are most effective, there is a barracuda right behind him, all three of them side by side, Barrichello is going to do the pass button, can he do it? Attack safely and Rubens Barrichello takes that fourth position away from Button, but he's fighting on the outside, no he can't do it and look how close he came to glory and look where he finished, he could have been third, now he's fifth, yeah. that's stuttering, I don't know, I think you would have been next to Truly at Esther Hill corner, but look, he tries to hold on on the outside, but all you're going to do there is lose the right front wheel.

That's the car in front that will always take you off the track. Jensen Button and now,sadly, I can't even look directly at Yano's rear wing, so it's a very expensive moment for the Button 19 car under investigation. Giorgio Pantano, no, it is. no vega sorry yes it's giorgio swamp in the jordan under investigation not quite sure what it is very often that means speeding in a pit lane in formula one we'll find out soon well martin , that stuttering restart from the pit stop certainly cost, uh, Jensen Button, didn't he lose his momentum to a time penalty?

Yesfor speeding in the pit lane for planting now look at him although he comes to try to attack rubens baroquello the same place where barack got it hello there is a straight line speed advantage that both cars have over the renault from which we are looking back Now Aviano really and Button couldn't use that tire bite on the first lap to gain track position, but how much did that cost him? That slow exit from the pit stop was one second, wasn't it something like that? It certainly would have made a difference with Barrichello and uh, him and maybe he would have been really in the slipstream instead of being under pressure, so it cost him dearly.

Michael Schumacher got back on track while all that was happening with a 115-5. and then a 115.9, so he has a lead of 16.4 seconds. It looks close, but it looks good for Michael Schumacher. With 14 laps to go in Manukau, France, that's your race leader. Michael Schumacher, his task was to find about eight or nine seconds ahead of Alonso during this period. It seems that he has achieved it. The last laps have been kind to Michael Schumacher and quite unpleasant to Fernando Alonso. Ross Braun is on the right, Ferrari's technical director and chief strategist. He is the one who sent Michael Schumacher on the search and we believe that Stopping four times here this afternoon, it took half a race before Alonso relinquished the lead to Michael Schumacher.

Schumacher took him for a short fuel at one of his stops, but now he is ahead of Alonso and Trolley is in third place. Barrichello is in fourth. Button is in fifth place having missed the chance to take the final podium position. The third position on the podium away from Yano Chuli. Button was slow to get away from the third foot of him. A stuttering exit that he made from his box. He could have taken third place for real, but he couldn't. to do it barry kellow swallowed him on the backstretch with buttons overlapping so button dropped to fifth place with the two mclarens of coulthard and raikkonen right behind and ted has some news for us in the pits james there's some things. of key information that explains why Michael has made four stops.

Firstly, he is using a softer tire than Rubens Mariquello, the Bridgestone softer and he has also softened the rear suspension. I noticed on the grill that the torsion bar was sticking out. the rear of the body and the longer torsion bar, Martin, as you know, indicates a softer rear, which would have caused the tires to wear more and of course it is a very short pit lane with an entrance Short pit stop and, as I say, the Ferraris are leaving for Michael's fourth and final stop, it looks good, it's an urgent decision they've just made, isn't it?

They got out of their seats, so it's understandable because Michael Schumacher is already at the Imla chicane, so there are only two corners to go. in the pit lane and they have clearly decided with a lead of 21.7 seconds and he already has another half second lead on this lap over Alonso and that is why they have done it. James Traffic in front of them have decided that's why the mechanics. He ran away so quickly so Michael wouldn't waste time between the Williamses and the Jordans. Well, certainly Alonso lost time in traffic and that's what pretty much ended his challenge in 21 seconds, so any kind of mistake here will cost him the victory, but not Ferrari.

I don't make too many mistakes on pit stops. Michael doesn't make too many mistakes. The Ferrari team in general is more or less like a clockwork operation and Michael Schumacher should have about four or five seconds in his pocket. Alonso crosses the line from time to time. So he has the entire length of the straight and part of the first corner between him and Fernando Alonso who is one of the Jaguars and Alonso was behind him on the track Schumacher retains the lead Ross Braun's four-stop

strategy

seems to have done it I worked here This afternoon, Michael Schumacher's aggressive driving has done the rest and Ross will no doubt be peeling his mid-race banana fairly soon, a bit of brain food, but as far as he's concerned, his afternoon job is done. done, now it's just up to your driver to take the car home, well, it must be said that they have done very well, right?, their four stops were good, they took him out of Alonso's dirty year to allow him to achieve those excellent times back.

And obviously they always felt comfortable. We have seen it with our meeting with the team this weekend. The comfort level between Ross and Michael. The trust they will have together. Ross knows that if he challenges Michael to go and find 10 seconds, he will do it. It was an absolutely correct group and Shimaka would have been giving him information the whole time about what the tires were doing, but he obviously made the decision to make the four stops as a result of what they felt the tires were doing in relation to the Michelins. the car was being driven and Schumacher constantly radioed information to Braun, who also kept him informed.

It really is a dialogue throughout the grand prix and culminates in strategies like this. I think it first worked for They were together in Hungary in 1998, where I think it was the first time we really saw Michael, uh, bombing these laps and winning the Grand Prix, maybe yes, certainly, uh, well, never. Ferrari can be ruled out. They certainly seem to have achieved a victory. here today, team renault and alonso look quite comfortable in the lead during the first half of the three almost 32 laps that renault led by avoiding his pitch stop, but nevertheless, a very smart thought on the part of ferrari and in the lap 60 took the lead. to a quite appropriate number today because if he can continue in the final laps, this will be Michael Schumacher's Braun Free 60th victory in a Ferrari, more than triple that of the next man, Mickey Louder, I don't want to see any more. of it until it goes overboard because there are some great bits that are really halfway there