The 2004 season featured ten teams. Four of these teams – Ferrari, Renault, Jaguar, and Toyota – were subsidiaries of major car companies. BAR was a division of British American Tobacco, while Williams and McLaren had engine supply agreements with BMW and Mercedes-Benz respectively. Honda produced engines for BAR. Jordan, Sauber and Minardi were privately owned teams with limited sponsorship. Sauber received Ferrari engines badged under the Petronas name and received sponsorship from the Malaysian oil and gas company.
Several driver line-up changes occurred prior to the season. At BAR, Takuma Sato was permanently given the second race seat alongside Jenson Button, replacing Jacques Villeneuve. Minardi started 2004 with an all-new driver line-up, initially signing Nicolas Kiesa and Jos Verstappen, who were later replaced by Gianmaria Bruni and Zsolt Baumgartner respectively. Verstappen left Minardi as a result of sponsorship problems and an unwillingness to compete with other backmarkers. Sauber also had a completely new line-up, with Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld joining the team. Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Sauber mutually parted ways at the end of 2003, and Heidfeld secured a seat at Jordan after successful test drives.
Michael Schumacher dominated the opening rounds, winning in Australia and Sepang. He continued his success at the Bahrain International Circuit, securing another 1–2 finish for Ferrari with teammate Rubens Barrichello. Jenson Button scored his and BAR’s maiden pole position at the San Marino Grand Prix, but Schumacher overtook him to win the race. Schumacher also won the Spanish Grand Prix despite Montoya’s early lead.
Jarno Trulli scored his first career victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, leading from pole position. Schumacher’s five-win streak ended after a collision with Juan Pablo Montoya under the safety car, which was necessitated by an accident involving Fernando Alonso. At the European Grand Prix, Schumacher won again, leading Barrichello and Button. The Canadian Grand Prix saw Ralf Schumacher on pole, but Michael Schumacher ultimately won. The Williams team, along with Toyota, were later disqualified for brake duct irregularities.
Schumacher won the United States Grand Prix, while Kimi Räikkönen won the Belgian Grand Prix, securing McLaren’s first win of the year and the championship for Schumacher, as his lead was insurmountable. Barrichello won the Italian Grand Prix, leading a Ferrari 1–2. The Chinese Grand Prix was also won by Barrichello, with Schumacher starting from the pit lane. Juan Pablo Montoya won the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the season.
The United States Grand Prix saw a high rate of attrition, with several collisions and retirements. Ralf Schumacher suffered a concussion and fractured vertebrae in a crash, keeping him out of six races. Jarno Trulli’s relationship with Renault deteriorated after his Monaco victory, leading to his departure after the Italian Grand Prix and eventual replacement by Jacques Villeneuve. Timo Glock replaced Giorgio Pantano at Jordan for financial reasons at the Canadian Grand Prix, and again for the remainder of the season after the Italian Grand Prix.
Ford announced during the season that they would not be entering the F1 championship in 2005 via their Jaguar team, and their Cosworth motor and engineering divisions were being sold. The Jaguar team was eventually bought by Red Bull and continued to compete under the Red Bull Racing name in 2005.
From 2004 onward, teams not finishing in the top four of the previous year’s Constructors’ Championship were allowed to run a third car in Friday practice for testing. Sauber chose not to run its third driver in these sessions because of the added expense. Qualifying was divided into two sessions, with drivers completing one fast lap in each. The warm-up on Sunday was abolished. Fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control were banned, but traction control remained permitted. Each engine was required to last the entire race weekend, with a ten-place grid penalty for replacements. The pit lane speed limit was increased to 100 km/h.
The 2004 Formula One calendar featured two new events: the Bahrain Grand Prix and the Chinese Grand Prix, held at newly built circuits. The season featured eight Grands Prix held in the Americas, Asia, and Oceania. The Brazilian Grand Prix moved to become the season finale, while the United States Grand Prix moved to a back-to-back race with the Canadian Grand Prix. The Austrian Grand Prix was not held, as the A1-Ring was demolished.
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