Report
Rubens Barichello started from pole from team-mate Michael Schumacher after setting a time of 1:10:223.
As the formation lap started, Juan Pablo Montoya's BMW Williams failed to start. Running to the pit lane, he was able to start in a spare car. Montoya ran most of the race and was on track for a points finish but was eventually black flagged for changing his car too late.
There was a pile-up at the start of the race in turn 1, which caused Christian Klien, Felipe Massa, Giorgio Pantano, and Gianmaria Bruni to retire from the race. The safety car was deployed and pulled in on lap six.
On lap seven Fernando Alonso, in a Michelin-tyred Renault, crashed out from third place at the end of the main straight after his right rear tyre deflated.
On lap nine, the left rear tyre on Ralf Schumacher's Michelin-tyred Williams failed, pitching his car backward into the concrete wall at speeds of up to 180 mph (290 km/h). Schumacher remained in his car on the track for nearly two minutes before the medical car arrived, and was determined to have suffered a fractured spine. Michael Schumacher admitted after the race that he considered retiring from the race to see to his brother. The safety car was again deployed to clear up the wreckage left by the Williams car and so that the medical teams could get to Ralf. The lead Ferrari of Michael Schumacher pitted and rejoined in the lead.
The two Ferrari drivers led the entire race. Michael Schumacher finished first, Barrichello placed second and Takuma Sato collected the only podium finish of his career when he placed third. He became only the second Japanese rider to achieve a podium finish and the last until Kamui Kobayashi finished third at the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix. The race also saw the first ever point scored by a Hungarian driver in Formula One, with Zsolt Baumgartner finishing eighth.
Read more about this topic: 2004 United States Grand Prix
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