Race details Date 21 November 2004 Official name 51st Macau Grand Prix Location Guia Circuit, Macau Course Temporary street circuit Distance Qualifying Race10 laps, Main Race11 laps, Weather Qualifying Race: Sunny and dryMain Race: Sunny and dry Qualifying Race Pole Driver Robert Kubica Manor Motorsport Time 2:12.155 Fastest Lap Driver Lewis Hamilton Manor Motorsport Time 2:12.801 (on lap 9 of 10) Podium First Lewis Hamilton Manor Motorsport Second Nico Rosberg Team Rosberg Third Alexandre Prémat ASM Formule 3 Main Race Pole Driver Lewis Hamilton Manor Motorsport Fastest Lap Driver Robert Kubica Manor Motorsport Time 2:13.215 (on lap 9 of 11) Podium First Alexandre Prémat ASM Formule 3 Second Robert Kubica Manor Motorsport Third Lucas di Grassi Hitech Racing The 2004 Macau Grand Prix (formally the 51st Macau Grand Prix) was a Formula Three race (F3) held on the streets of Macau on 21 November 2004. Unlike other races, such as the Masters of Formula 3, the 2004 Macau Grand Prix was not part of any F3 championship, but was open to entries from any F3 championship. The Macau Grand Prix featured two races for the first time in its history: a ten-lap qualifying race that determined the starting grid for the fifteen-lap main race. The Macau Grand Prix was held for the 51st time in 2004, and the 22nd for F3 cars.
ASM Formula 3's Alexandre Prémat won the Grand Prix after finishing third in the previous day's qualification race, which was won by Manor Motorsport's Lewis Hamilton. Prémat took the race lead when Nico Rosberg and Hamilton went too fast into a corner and slid into a tyre barrier at Lisboa corner and held it for the rest of the race to win after it ended early for a four-car pile up at Police Bend that made the circuit impassable on the 13th lap. Robert Kubica finished second while third was Hitech Racing's Lucas di Grassi.
Background and entry list The Macau Grand Prix is a Formula Three (F3) race considered to be a stepping stone to higher motor racing categories such as Formula One and has been termed the territory's most prestigious international sporting event. The Macau Grand Prix was held for the 51st time in 2004, and the 22nd time under F3 rules. It was held on the 22 turn Guia Circuit on 21 November 2004 with three preceding days of practice and qualifying.
Drivers had to race in a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-regulated championship meeting during 2004, either in the Formula 3 Euro Series or one of the domestic championships, with the highest-placed drivers receiving priority in being invited to the race. Each of the three major F3 series had a champion on the 32-car grid. Formula 3 Euro Series champion Jamie Green was joined in Macau by the British champion Nelson Piquet Jr., Japanese series victor Ronnie Quintarelli, Italian champion Matteo Cressoni and Asian series winner Christian Jones. Ho-Pin Tung was the sole driver representing the German series in Macau. Five competitors who did not compete in any F3 championship during the year received invitations to the Grand Prix from race organisers. They were Formula BMW Asia series winner Marchy Lee, and Macau natives Jo Merszei, Michael Ho, Lei Kit Meng and Rodolfo Ávila.
After holding the race over two legs since its inception in 1983, the Macau Grand Prix Committee changed the format in 2004 to a ten-lap qualification race on Saturday afternoon, which determined the starting order for the Grand Prix itself the following day. Furthermore, any driver who retired from the qualification race could start at the back of the grid for the main event and still possibly win. In previous years, any driver who did not complete every lap of the first leg could not win overall. Macau Grand Prix Committee co-coordinator João Manuel Costa Antunes said the changes were made to simplify the Grand Prix for racing fans, increase tension over the weekend, and provide a greater incentive for drivers to push hard without fear of losing their chance of victory.
Practice and qualifying There were two 30-minute practice sessions prior to Sunday's race: one on Thursday morning and one on Friday morning. In the first practice session, ThreeBond Racing's Fábio Carbone lapped fastest at 2 minutes, 15.216 seconds, six-tenths of a second faster than Richard Antinucci in second. Lewis Hamilton (participating as a free agent after his contract with McLaren had expired), Robert Kubica, Nico Rosberg, Kazuki Nakajima, Quintarelli, Danny Watts, Alexandre Prémat and Naoki Yokomizo were third to tenth. Hamilton's front wheel nut loosened, preventing him from checking his mirrors due to poor visibility. He entered the pit lane to have the problem fixed. After swerving to avoid hitting Álvaro Parente, Kubica grazed a barrier at Lisboa corner. Kubica then understeered into the Melco hairpin wall after running wide on cement laid to clear oil left from a support series.
Qualifying was divided into two 45-minute sessions; the first was held on Thursday afternoon, and the second on Friday afternoon. Each driver's fastest time from either session counted toward their final starting place in the qualification race. The start of the first qualifying session was delayed by 15 minutes due to multiple accidents during practice for the GT Tires Asian Formula Renault Challenge and CTM Touring Car Cup races. When it did begin in warm and sunny weather, Hamilton never relinquished his early lead as he improved his lap time to 2 minutes, 12.344 seconds. He narrowly avoided crashing into a wall after going wide onto some dust. Green was consistently fast, with his fastest lap coming on his final attempt. He was second, but more than a second behind Hamilton. Carbone, the 2003 pole sitter, was third, with Antinucci moving up to fourth in the final minutes. Watts was second early on but dropped to fifth by the end after saving a set of tyres for Friday. Rosberg finished sixth, ahead of Franck Perera and Nakajima. Both Quintarelli and Parente were in the top five early on but finished ninth and tenth. Adam Carroll was the fastest driver who did not set a top ten lap, followed by his British compatriot James Rossiter. Prémat, Nokomizo, Loïc Duval, Piquet, Rob Austin, Katsuyuki Hiranaka, Tung, Kubica, Ho, Cressoni, Daisuke Ikeda, Lee, Jones, Lucas di Grassi, Marko Asmer, Éric Salignon, Lei, Avila, Merszei and Giedo van der Garde completed the provisional starting order. Van Der Garde crashed on his out-lap at San Francisco Bend corner, removing two wheels. The first red flag came a third of the way through as Salignon crashed at Maternity Bend turn and needed extricating. After a short interval, Kubica, Lee, di Grassi, Ikeda and Asmer stopped at the Melco hairpin and track marshals moved their cars. A second red flag came with ten minutes left as Parente heavily damaged his car against the Teddy Yip Bend corner wall.
Kubica was consistently fast in the second half-hour practice session, lapping fastest at 2 minutes, 12.303 seconds. Hamilton made some changes to his car but was 0.646 seconds slower in second. Carbone, Antinucci, Prémat, Green, Perera, Rosberg, Rossiter and Quintarelli completed the top ten ahead of second qualifying. Although the session did not require a stoppage, three minor incidents occurred: Jones lost control of his vehicle at Moorish Hill corner, and Van der Garde and Carroll were caught off guard at the same turn, but all three did not sustain significant damage to their car. Nakajima collided with a wall just before the Melco hairpin.
The second qualifying session was delayed when a car appeared to be stuck at the Melco hairpin, forcing everyone else to scramble for space on the narrow section of track. Lei crashed into a wall at Faraway turn 12 minutes in and was about to recover when Avila hit him. This triggered the session's first red flag since the circuit became impassable. As drivers began lapping faster, Salignon triggered the second red flags as he crashed into the Maternity Bend corner wall trying to avoid Kubica. The final red flag flew as Nakajima ran wide at the R-Bend turn, spun into a wall, ricocheted into the track's centre, and littered debris. Hamilton did not improve because of the session interruptions and him causing a multi-car accident at the Melco hairpin. With a lap of 2 minutes, 12.155 seconds, his teammate Kubica became the first Polish driver to claim pole position in Macau in the final five minutes. Hamilton joined Kubica on the grid's front row and Anuticci gained one place at the session's end to start from third. Rosberg claimed fourth and Piquet moved eleven places from the first qualifying session to take fifth. Although Green and Carbone lapped faster, they fell to sixth and seventh. Prémat and di Grassi moved to eighth and tenth and separated Nakajima in ninth. Behind them the rest of the field composed of Watts, Duval, Perera, Parente, Quintarelli, Yokomizo, Rossiter, Carroll, Salignon, Hiranaka, Austin, Ikeda, Cressoni, Asmer, Lee, Van der Garde, Tung, Jones, Ho, Avila, Lei and Merszei.
Qualifying classification Each of the driver's fastest lap times from the two qualifying sessions are denoted in bold. +Final qualifying classification Driver Team 1 22 Robert KubicaManor Motorsport 2:17.217 202:12.155 1 1 2 21 Lewis HamiltonManor Motorsport2:12.344 1 2:12.415 2 +0.189 2 3 23 Richard AntinucciTOM'S 2:13.791 42:12.512 3 +0.357 3 4 6 Nico RosbergTeam Rosberg 2:14.331 62:12.725 4 +0.570 4 5 7 Nelson Piquet Jr.Piquet Sports 2:15.297 162:12.834 5 +0.679 5 6 8 Jamie GreenASM Formule 3 2:13.372 22:13.051 6 +0.896 6 7 30 Fábio Carbone ThreeBond Racing 2:13.786 32:13.093 7 +0.938 7 8 9 Alexandre PrématASM Formule 3 2:14.776 132:13.132 8 +0.977 8 9 24 Kazuki NakajimaTOM'S 2:14.345 82:13.160 9 +1.005 9 10 26 Lucas di GrassiHitech Racing 2:19.286 262:13.817 10 +1.662 10 11 25 Danny WattsHitech Racing2:14.161 5 2:14.285 11 +2.006 11 12 2 Loïc DuvalSignature Team 2:15.263 152:14.283 12 +2.128 12 13 14 Franck PereraPrema Powerteam2:14.336 7 2:14.900 13 +2.181 13 14 18 Álvaro ParenteCarlin Motorsport 2:14.435 102:14.350 14 +2.195 14 15 4 Ronnie Quintarelli Inging2:14.400 9 2:15.377 15 +2.245 15 16 5 Naoki Yokomizo Inging 2:14.849 142:14.435 16 +2.280 16 17 3 James RossiterSignature Team 2:14.655 122:14.543 17 +2.388 17 18 11 Adam CarrollMenu F3 Motorsport2:14.597 11 2:14.835 18 +2.442 18 19 10 Éric SalignonASM Formule 3 2:20.727 282:14.597 19 +2.442 19 20 15 Katsuyuki HiranakaPrema Powerteam 2:16.623 182:15.010 20 +2.855 20 21 12 Rob AustinMenu F3 Motorsport 2:16.088 172:15.167 21 +3.012 21 22 32 Daisuke IkedaSwiss Racing Team 2:18.588 232:15.230 22 +3.075 22 23 16 Matteo CressoniOmbra Racing 2:17.875 222:15.291 23 +3.136 23 24 19 Marko AsmerCarlin Motorsport 2:19.600 272:15.824 24 +3.669 24 25 33 Marchy LeePromatecme 2:18.979 242:16.225 25 +4.070 25 26 1 Giedo van der GardeSignature Team No time 322:16.712 26 +4.557 26 27 27 Ho-Pin TungHitech Racing 2:16.993 192:16.744 27 +4.589 27 28 28 Christian Jones TME Racing 2:19.280 252:16.871 28 +4.716 28 29 29 Michael Ho TME Racing2:17.814 21 2:19.482 29 +5.659 29 30 20 Rodolfo ÁvilaCarlin Motorsport 2:22.576 302:20.074 30 +7.919 30 31 17 Lei Kit MengOmbra Racing2:21.298 29 2:22.636 31 +9.143 31 32 31 Jo MerszeiSwiss Racing Team 2:24.250 312:23.963 32 +11.808 32
Warm-up one A ten-minute warm-up session was held on the morning of the qualifying race. Hamilton maintained his strong form to pace the session with a time of 2 minutes, 12.904 seconds, more than two seconds faster than anyone else in the session's early stages. His closest challenger was Carbone in second place. Kubica, Rosberg, Duval, Watts, Di Grassi, Antinucci, Piquet and Nakajima followed in the top ten.
Qualifying race