5 most iconic Formula One cars of all time

#4 Ferrari F2004

Michael Schumacher continued Ferrari’s period of dominance in the F2004

Like many of its predecessors, the Ferrari F2004 was driven by Formula One icon Michael Schumacher. It had some of the biggest names in the sport attached to its design and concept, among them Ross Brawn.

Michael Schumacher had by then already won 4 championships on the trot from 1999, and during that time the Ferrari F2002 had been one of the sport’s most successful cars with 15 wins of 19 races. The German had also been behind the wheel in that car.

Brawn, Rory Byrne and Aldo Costa based the F2004 on the best parts of the F2002, and worked on tweaks that improved the changes made to its successor, the F2003-GA. The 2003 car had, again, been similar to its predecessor, but saw significant tyre wear, an issue the team wanted to resolve on priority.

The F2004 was just as successful as its ‘parent’ car, the F2002, and won 15 of 2004’s 18 races. 12 of those were won by Michael Schumacher, with teammate Rubens Barichello, who spent much of that season on the podium, pitching in with two wins of his own.

Brawn, Byrne and Costa tweaked the engine for longevity, while the suspension also saw changes to reduce tyre wear, a significant problem with the previous car.

It would see Ferrari and Michael Schumacher win their fifth constructors’ championship in a row – the seventh and final for Schumacher; no driver has since come close.