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2004 was a very interesting race. From 20 cars that started, only eight finished the race.
In the following is a short history of the race. All photos were taken from my seat in section J.
(Times are local Indianapolis)
12:02:13 Lap 1: The cars approach turn one.
12:02:16 Lap 1: Klien runs into da Matta. That takes out Klien, Massa, Pantano, and Bruni.
12:02:24 Lap 1: While the leader (Barichello) is approaching turn five, we see three of the four
retired cars on the track.
12:03:37 Safety car is out and the wrecks are being removed.
12:15:45 Lap 9: Alonso blows his right rear tire at top speed and slides along the wall.
12:17:55 Alonso's Renault is being removed.
Lap 10: Ralf Schumacher crashes into wall after turn 13.
12:31:16 He is driven to the hospital.
(An official team statement on June 21 reads: "Ralf is well but has a bruised back
and strained back muscles. He will not be taking part in scheduled testing in Jerez.")
Lap 18: Da Matta retires
Lap 27: Button retires (gearbox)
Lap 44: Quick Nick retires with engine woes in turn six.
Lap 57: Montaya gets the black flag. Apparently he did not follow procedures at the start. (Why so late?)
13:28:28 Lap 59: Webber's engine catches fire on the front straight and he drives to the safety
post beyond turn one. (Looked like he used his after burner)
13:28:32 Lap 59: Fire extinguishers in action
13:28:35 Lap 59: Trulli takes a spin in turn one.
13:28:42 Lap 59: Fire on Webber's car is out.
Lap 64: Fisichella retires. That means only eight cars running. And, if Baumgartner finishes
the race, Minardi gets one point. Wow!
13:42:45 Schumi and Barichello on their victory lap.
Official results:
1. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
2. Rubens Barichello (Ferrari)
3. Takuma Sato (BAR Honda)
4. Jarno Trulli (Renault)
5. Olivier Panis (Panasonic Toyota)
6. Kimi Raikkönen (McLaren Mercedes)
7. David Coulthard (McLaren Mercedes)
8. Zsolt Baumgartner (Minardi)
Removing the wrecks after the race.
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