2004 Italian Grand Prix

The 2004 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 12, 2004 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza. Ferrari took a 1-2 in front of the delighted Tifosi, with Rubens Barrichello ahead of team mate Michael Schumacher. Both cars had to make their way through the field from the back, Barrichello having made an early pitstop after choosing the wrong tyres at the start and Schumacher having spun on the first lap.

The race was perhaps best known for speed records set during the race. In the first part of qualifying (which did not count towards grid positions), Juan Pablo Montoya lapped Monza in his Williams FW26 at an average speed of 262.242 km/h (162.9 mph), the fastest ever qualifying lap in the history of Formula One. The next day in the race, Montoya's teammate Antônio Pizzonia reached a top speed of 369.9 km/h (229.9 mph), the fastest speed ever recorded in Formula One at the time (it was to be exceeded by Montoya in 2005).

There was chaos in the Minardi pit garage as the car of Gianmaria Bruni caught fire after fuel escaped from the hose onto the hot bodywork during a routine pit-stop, fortunately it was put out without any serious injury. However, Bruni inhaled some of the extinguishant and was having trouble breathing and so the team decided to retire the car.

Qualifying

 * Nick Heidfeld was demoted to 20th place after receiving a ten-place penalty for an engine change in Friday practice.

Lap leaders

 * Lap Leaders: Rubens Barrichello 21 (1-4, 37-53), Fernando Alonso 6 (5-10), Jenson Button 24 (11-34) and Michael Schumacher 2 (35-36)

Standings after the race

 * Bold text indicates the World Champions.


 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Constructors' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.