In 2003, Michael Schumacher narrowly won his 6th World Championship title after defeating McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen by 2 points. This was a crucial lesson for Ferrari learnt as their dominance in the sport was threatened.
Schumacher had won 4 consecutive titles for the Italian Team since 2000. And to extend their winning streak the team developed the ultimate beast; the F2004.
With the F2004, Ferrari would destroy their competition in the 2004 season by winning 15 of the 18 races and securing 12 pole positions. Schumacher and co. would secure their 5th straight title with ease.
However, when the car was first brought it was so good, that Ferrari themselves couldn’t believe it!
Michael Schumacher shocked everyone at Ferrari with F2004’s lap times
When the F2004 was developed, it was tested at Ferrari’s race track, the Pista di Fiorano near Maranello. Michael Schumacher broke the track’s lap record by setting a lap time right under 56 seconds.
Following the car’s performance in Fiorano, the engineers evaluated the car’s pace against Ferrari’s 2003 car at Imola. And within the first days of testing, Schumacher went 2 seconds faster than the previous year’s car.
Ferrari was expecting an improvement of half a second. The Engineers at Maranello were astonished and immediately conducted a 12-hour investigation on the car.
But they failed to find anything that resulted in the stupendous speed of the car. All the while, Schumacher insisted that it was just the pure pace of the car.
The team later tested the car at Mugello with Rubens Barrichello behind the wheel. And when the Brazillian attempted the Turn 8-9 ‘Arrabiata’ corner flat-out, Ferrari was convinced with the pace of the car.
Also Read: Former Ferrari Drivers Reveal Impact Michael Schumacher Had On His Life And F1 Career
F2004 wrote Michael Schumacher’s greatest chapter in F1 history
19 years later, Michael Schumacher still holds the fastest lap time at Fiorano’s circuit. Not just that, the F2004 still holds the fastest lap record at Magny-Cours, Monza and Shanghai.
The car would claim 15 race victories, with Michael winning 13 and Barrichello claiming 2. Michael’s 13 victories was a long-standing record for most wins by a driver in a season until Max Verstappen broke it in 2022.
The car designed by Rory Byrne achieved Ferrari’s 5th consecutive title with Schumacher. By the 13th round in Hungary, Ferrari concluded the Constructors trophy. And in the following race in Spa-Francorchamps, Schumacher would win his 7th World Championship.
