After a close finish for the 2003 season, Formula One car racing fans might have expected a closely fought 2004 season. But in the first race, which took place on March 7 in Australia, the red Ferrari cars set the tone for the rest of the year. Michael Schumacher took pole position, set the fastest lap and won the race, with teammate Rubens Barrichello as runner-up.

This was the start of a season totally dominated by Ferrari,
a technical partner to SKF. The team won 15 of the 18 races, with Schumacher on top of the podium 13 times. In Hungary, in the 13th race of the season, Ferrari secured its sixth consecutive Constructors title with a one-two finish.

And at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium two weeks later, Schumacher grabbed his seventh driver’s title in Ferrari’s 700th Grand Prix, finishing second in the race. Prior to this, he had set another record with seven consecutive Grand Prix victories.

Spa-Francorchamps was also where Schumacher made his Formula One debut in 1991, and those who witnessed his first race could have seen the figure seven as an omen; the future seven-time champion then drove a 7-Up liveried Jordan.

Michael Schumacher is arguably the greatest driver the Formula One sport has seen, with a record of 83 career victories and a record 1,186 points – 32 wins and 387.5 points more than Alain Prost, who is second best in both cases.

As the 2005 season is starting, with the first race in Australia on March 6, few Formula One pundits expect any cracks in Ferrari’s red armour. And with a contract at Ferrari secure until 2006 and a firm insistence that retirement is not in the cards, there is no question that Schumacher will continue to add to his record collection.

Yet to be beaten is Ayrton Senna’s record of 65 career pole positions. But Schumacher is now only three away from bettering that record – and, in the process, becoming the greatest driver of our time.