USA F1 Grand Prix: 2004 Trivia Quiz

Answer: 2000

Formula One returned to Indianapolis in 2000 after the track was further developed to make it suitable for Grand Prix racing, as well as for the Indycar and Nascar races traditionally held there. Michael Schumacher won the Indianapolis Grand Prix in 2000, 2003 and 2004. Mika Hakkinen won in 2001, and Rubens Barrichello won in 2002.

Other U.S. Grand Prix races have been held at various locations, including through the streets of Phoenix, Arizona and in the car-park of Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas.

Answer: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

The Gilles Villeneuve Circuit was the venue of the 2004 Canadian Grand Prix. The other two choices are just made up names. Indianapolis Motor Speedway was first used for motor racing in 1911, and has been considerably developed and improved since then.

The Indycar oval track can seat 350,000, but accomodates slightly less than this for Formula One races which require a circuit with more sharp twists and bends.

Answer: The original track was made from millions of bricks.

Originally built as a test site for the automobile industry, the track consisted of over three million bricks laid on a bed of sand. These were covered by a modern surface in 1961, and only a small, nostalgic yard of bricks was left exposed at the start/finish line. Just before the start of the 2000 U.S. Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher, who had pole position, insisted that the start line be moved back eight yards to prevent the risk of the exposed bricks causing wheel spin to his car.

Answer: Rubens Barrichello

Barrichello made a good start to keep the lead, but following a multiple collision and deployment of the safety car, his team mate Michael Schumacher overtook him in lap five. Formula One rules do not allow overtaking after withdrawal of the safety car before the competing cars have crossed the start/finish line. Michael nosed ahead of Rubens immediately after this line, but had he done so any earlier he would have been penalised.

Answer: Ferrari, BAR, Williams

The starting grid positions in order were: 1. Ferrari/Rubens Barrichello. 2. Ferrari/Michael Schumacher. 3. BAR/Takuma Sato. 4. BAR/Jenson Button. 5. Williams/Juan Pablo Montoya. 6. Williams/Ralf Schumacher. All six drivers were separated by less than one second in their qualifying times.

Answer: third from ninth

Alonso made a dramatic move down the outside, finally moving into third place in front of Sato. Unfortunately for Alonso his Renault suffered a rear tyre failure in lap eight while approaching turn one at about 200 mph, causing him to crash into the concrete wall of the track. Fortunately though, he emerged unhurt.

Answer: Jaguar Panasonic Racing

The full names of competing Formula one teams are rarely mentioned, and the 2004 Jaguar team were called simply 'Jaguar Racing'. Panasonic were sponsors of the 2004 Toyota team, which was correctly called 'Panasonic Toyota Racing'. Tobacco company sponsorship of Formula One teams has come under severe criticism from various organisations, including the European Union and the World Health Organisation.

Answer: True

By 2004 Indianapolis held the record for the longest straight section of any Grand Prix track in Formula One history. Drivers on this section were able to race 'flat out', achieving speeds of nearly 200 mph (320 kph).

Answer: Ferrari, Renault, and BAR.

On completion of the U.S. Grand Prix, Ferrari had 142 constructor points, Renault had 66 points, and BAR had 58 points. The other teams holding constructor points were Williams - 36, McLaren - 17, Sauber - 15, Toyota - 8, Jordan - 5, Jaguar - 3, Minardi - 1.

Answer: In spite of several spectacular crashes, no driver was seriously injured.

Unfortunately Ralf Schumacher was quite badly injured when his car spun out of control after hitting debris from an earlier crash. Ralf, looking dazed and semi-concious, was left sitting in his car right in the centre of the track. The ambulance car was immediately deployed, but had to make a full circuit of the track in order to reach him.

He was taken to hospital, where it was found that he'd fractured two vertebrae.

Answer: True

Baumgartner gained one world championship point, driving for Minardi. Only eight drivers actually finished the 2004 U.S. Grand Prix, the other twelve having crashed or retired, or in Juan Pablo Montoya's case being disqualified. On completion of the race, Baumgartner was three laps behind the race leaders.

This was plucky little Minardi's first point since Adelaide in 2002, and their first in forty-one Grand Prix races.

Answer: The incident which led to his disqualification occurred before the race had commenced.

Montoya was disqualified for changing cars just before the start of the formation lap. Rule 85 states "any driver wishing to change cars must have left the starting grid before the 15-second signal which precedes the start". Montoya's car failed to start, and he attempted to get off the grid and into the spare car, but was two seconds late. For some reason, the race stewards delayed his disqualification until lap 58, when he was black flagged by the marshalls and had to retire.

The disqualification was Montoya's second in a week, as he had been disqualified at the Canadian Grand Prix for a technical rule infringement involving the car's braking system.

Answer: Rubens Barrichello

In spite of not making the winner's place on the podiums, Rubens Barrichello had scored points in all nine races achieving no less than seven podium places. These included six runner-up places and one third. He was runner-up in Australia, Bahrain, Spain, Europe (Nurburgring), Canada, and U.S.A.

He came third in Monaco, fourth in Malaysia, and sixth in San Marino. Michael Schumacher had won all of the 2004 Grand Prix races to date, except for the Monaco Grand Prix where he'd been involved in a collision and forced to retire.

Answer: True

In fact he only needed to finish in fifth place or better to beat the previous record of sixteen world championship points, held by Satoru Nakajima whose last race was at Adelaide in 1991.

Answer: True

This was another 'one - two' finish for the Ferrari team, with Michael Shumacher again taking the winner's place on the podium, and Rubens Barrichello taking the runner-up place. The drivers' and constructors' world championship points positions after the U.S. Grand Prix were:- Michael Schumacher - 80 points; Rubens Barrichello - 62 points; Ferrari - 142 points.