SEPTEMBER 12, 2004

Race incidents from Monza

The Jordan team decided to start Nick Heidfeld from the pitlane after his problems in qualifying. With the damp conditions there was a question of tyre choice and a number of drivers decided to go on intermediate tyres. These included Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Felipe Massa and Gianmaria Bruni. At the end of the parade lap Coulthard decided it was a mistake and went into the pits.

* Lap 1: At the start Fernando Alonso as usual made the best start and followed Rubens Barrichello into the first corner. Juan Pablo Montoya was third with Kimi Raikkonen fourth while Michael Schumacher went across the inside of the chicane to avoid impact. At the second chicane Schumacher touched Button and spun. Antonio Pizzonia and Olivier Panis spun in avoidance. Panis retired on the spot but the other two rejoined. At the end of the lap Barrichello had a huge lead of 6.9secs with Alonso second with Montoya on his tail. They were followed by Kimi Raikkonen, who was under pressure from Jenson Button, who had overtaken Takuma Sato at the Ascari chicane. Sato was under pressure from Massa and then came Jarno Trulli and the Jaguar of Christian Klien. At the end of the lap Schumacher was 15th with Pizzonia 19th.

* Lap 2: Barrichello increased his lead to over 8secs while behind him the field jostled for position with Montoya third but Button passing Raikkonen to take fourth. Behind them Massa overtook Sato for sixth, Klien overtook Trulli for eighth while Webber passed Ricardo Zonta for 10th. The Toyota dropped behind Bruni as well while further back Schumacher overtook Giorgio Pantano to move up to 14th.

* Lap 3: The track began to dry and so the advantage of the runners on intermediate tyres began to reduce. Alonso set the fastest lap and reduced Barrichello's lead to 6.6secs. Further back Trulli passed Klien for eighth, while Zonta dropped behind Fisichella and Coulthard, who also overtook Schumacher. Pizzonia charged ahead of both Nick Heidfeld and Zsolt Baumgartner.

* Lap 4: The dry tyres were now fully competitive and Alonso closed the gap to Barrichello to just 2.8secs. Button overtook Montoya to take third while further back Sato overtook a fading Massa. Further back Schumacher overtook Zonta to move to 14th.

* Lap 5: Barrichello headed for the pits and so Alonso was in the lead with Button and Montoya behind him. Raikkonen was fourth with Sato fifth and Klien up to sixth after Massa also pitted. Bruni dropped back down the order, promoting Fisichella to 11th while Schumacher overtook Coulthard to move to 12th. Pizzonia made more progress and was 14th.

* Lap 6: Alonso was nearly six seconds ahead of Button. Barrichello was back in ninth.

* Lap 7: Alonso increased his lead while the order remained the same except that Webber overtook Trulli to take seventh. At the tail of the field Bruni finally pitted.

* Lap 8: Alonso continued to pull away but the order was stable except that at the second chicane Heidfeld and Massa collided. The Sauber lost its front wing and had to pit again.

* Lap 9: Button began to close the gap to Alonso, while at the same time trying to fight off Montoya. Back in the midfield Schumacher overtook Fisichella to move to 10th place.

* Lap 10: Alonso showed that he was running light and pitted, falling back to seventh place. Button led the race but with Montoya right with him. Further back Pizzonia passed Fisichella to grab 11th. Heidfeld also began to make up for lost time and overtook Baumgartner.

* Lap 11: Button set the fastest lap of the race and pulled away from Montoya slightly. Klien pitted and fell from fifth place to 15th. Schumacher overtook Barrichello to move up to ninth place. At the tail of the field Massa began his comeback by passing Bruni.

* Lap 12: Fifth-placed Webber pitted and dropped back to 13th place. Trulli also stopped and fell from eighth to 15th.

* Lap 13: Button continued to lead as Montoya, Raikkonen and Sato all pitted. Raikkonen retired. This put Alonso back into second place with Schumacher now third. Montoya rejoined in fourth ahead of Pizzonia and Barrichello. Further back Zonta also pitted and fell from 10th to 15th.

* Lap 14: Button stopped but was able to rejoin in the lead. Schumacher was up to second but had to pit while Alonso was third, Then came Montoya and the rest. Further back Pantano was 10th but stopped and fell back down the order to 15th.

* Lap 15: Schumacher stopped and dropped back from second to 10th.

* Lap 16: Pizzonia is the last of the major runners to pit and fell from fifth to 10th.

* Lap 19: The race had finally stabilized with Button two and half seconds ahead of Alonso who had Montoya right with him. Barrichello was fourth and still a danger while Fisichella finally came into the pits after a long first stint. The Sauber rejoined in 10th place.

* Lap 20: Schumacher continued to make progress moving ahead of Webber., who came under pressure from Pizzonia.

* Lap 22: Pizzonia passed Webber for eighth place

* Lap 23: Webber was obviously struggling and was overtaken by Fisichella.

* Lap 24: Heidfeld came in for his first stop and dropped from 13th to 16th.

* Lap 26: Coulthard had stayed out and was running in sixth place, having been filled up in the pitlane after his decision to change tyres. He pitted and dropped back to 10th.

* Lap 29: Barrichello came in for his second stop and fell behind Sato and Schumacher, who was still setting fastest laps. At the back Bruni pitted and there was a fire when the fuel hose leaked fuel under the car after it was disconnected. The fire was put out with great efficiency by the team and by marshals. The team however retired the car.

* Lap 31: Christian Klien had his second pit stop. He is later penalized for speeding. Further back Massa passed Pantano was 14th.

* Lap 32: Webber pitted again, dropping from ninth to 12th. At the tail of the field Baumgartner pitted.

* Lap 33: As Button stayed ahead Alonso, Montoya and Sato all pitted, promoting Schumacher to second place again with Barrichello third and Pizzonia fourth. Also pitting were Zonta, Massa and Pantano.

* Lap 34: Button pitted and so Schumacher took the lead with Barrichello second. In the midfield Trulli stopped and fell from 10th to 11th. At the back of the field Pantano went off and retired.

* Lap 35: Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race while Pizzonia headed for the pits and dropped from fifth place to ninth.

* Lap 36: Schumacher went into the pits and Barrichello took the lead with Button second, 12 seconds behind. Alonso was third and Schumacher fourth. Sato was fifth ahead of Fisichella and Montoya. Klien came into the pits for a drive-through penalty.

* Lap 37: Fisichella pitted again and dropped from sixth to ninth.

* Lap 39: Barrichello was ahead and going quickly to build up an advantage before his final stop. Button was unable to match the pace and was under attack from Alonso. At the back Massa overtook Klien for 13th.

* Lap 41: Alonso spun off at the second chicane. This promoted Schumacher to third place with Sato fourth. Further back Pizzonia went off while trying to pass Coulthard but rejoined without losing a place.

* Lap 42: Barrichello stopped but the stop was fast enough to let him get out ahead of Schumacher, who overtook Button on the same lap. Suddenly there was a Ferrari 1-2 again.

* Lap 43: Trulli had an off at the first chicane but stayed in 10th place.

* Lap 52: Coulthard and Pizzonia had been fighting for sixth place for several laps when the two cars collided at the first chicane. Both men continued without damage in sixth and seventh places.

* Lap 53: On the last lap Montoya hit trouble and slowed dramatically and only scraped across the line in fourth place ahead off Coulthard and Pizzonia. Ferrari had scored another dominant 1-2 with BAR grabbing second in the Constructors' Championship with third and fourth places. Williams added points with fifth and seventh while Sauber picked up a point after a strong race from Fisichella.