Bridgestone Potenzas carry Schumacher to seventh crown!
Michael Schumacher sealed his seventh FIA Formula One World Championship title on Sunday afternoon at the Belgian Grand Prix after finishing second to Kimi Raikkonen in what will no doubt be remembered as the most eventful and thrilling race of the year.
It is Schumacher’s fifth consecutive drivers’ championship taken on Bridgestone tyres. On a day which saw no fewer than three safety car periods and numerous overtaking manoeuvres, it was the Bridgestone runners who fared best.
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro’s Rubens Barrichello took a well earned third place on the podium after battling hard from the back of the pack after an early unscheduled stop for a change of rear wing. Sauber Petronas’ Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella drove superbly under pressure to take the chequered flag in fourth and fifth places respectively, giving Bridgestone four of the top five places in the 2004 Belgian Grand Prix and Sauber its best points scoring race of the season.
Jordan Ford’s Nick Heidfeld crossed the line in eleventh but teammate Giorgio Pantano and Minardi Cosworth’s Zsolt Baumgartner and Gianmaria Bruni were all unfortunate to fall victim to on track incidents.
“We would like to extend our congratulations to both Michael Schumacher on winning his fifth consecutive Drivers’ Championship and to the Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro team on its sixth consecutive Constructors’ Championship title,” said Shigeo Watanabe – Chairman & C.E.O – Bridgestone Corporation. “It is a great pleasure and honour for Bridgestone to have contributed to these magnificent achievements as a tyre partner. We will continue to make every possible effort to develop excellent and competitive tyres.”
“On behalf of everyone at Bridgestone Motorsport I would like to congratulate Michael on his seventh Drivers’ title – his fifth in a row on Bridgestone tyres,” praised Hiroshi Yasukawa – Director – Bridgestone Motorsport.“It also comes just two weeks after Ferrari sealed the Constructors’ title in Hungary. These successes are testament to the excellent working relationship between Ferrari and Bridgestone and to the efforts of all the people working behind the scenes. I would also like to congratulate Sauber on its excellent result today. It was not an easy race and we are proud of their achievement this afternoon.”
“I’m delighted that Michael Schumacher has taken his seventh drivers’ championship title and very pleased that Bridgestone has now supplied the World Drivers’ and Constructors’ Champions for the past seven years,” added Hisao Suganuma – Technical Manager – Bridgestone Motorsport. “We didn’t win here at Spa today and of course we will be looking at the data afterwards to find out why but to be honest, we are very pleased with the way the weekend has gone. and the results achieved today by the Bridgestone teams. I am especially pleased for the Sauber team which has worked hard to finish in the points today. It was an incident filled race and I am satisfied that none of our runners suffered with tyre related problems today and from that point of view, we are proud of the tyres we brought here this weekend.”
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