Brazilian Grand Prix 2004 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Juan Pablo Montoya delivered a surprise victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix, controlling the season finale from Rubens Barrichello's pole position to give Williams their sole win of a disappointing campaign. The Colombian drove brilliantly at Interlagos, managing the challenging circuit expertly as Kimi Räikkönen finished second for McLaren and hometown hero Barrichello completed the podium for Ferrari in third. Michael Schumacher could only finish seventh after a difficult race, though the world champion's season-long dominance meant the result mattered little to Ferrari's record-breaking campaign.

Montoya's victory represented Williams-BMW's sole highlight in a year that had seen them fall dramatically from championship contenders to also-rans. The Colombian seized the lead at the start and controlled the race throughout, his superior pace and tire management proving decisive on a circuit where overtaking opportunities were limited. Räikkönen delivered McLaren's best result in months with second place, while Barrichello's podium finish in front of his home crowd provided a bittersweet conclusion to his Ferrari career - the Brazilian announcing his departure to Honda for 2005 after six years supporting Schumacher.

The Brazilian Grand Prix concluded a season that had witnessed Ferrari rewrite Formula 1's record books with unprecedented dominance. Schumacher's thirteen victories, seventh world championship, and flawless campaign established him definitively as the sport's greatest driver. Ferrari's fifteen wins from eighteen races represented superiority unmatched in the modern era, their 2004 performance forcing regulation changes designed specifically to prevent similar dominance. As the grid departed Interlagos, everyone knew 2005 would bring new rules, new tires, and hopefully renewed competition after a year of Ferrari's overwhelming supremacy.