Michael Schumacher started the 60-lap British Grand Prix from fourth position on the grid and as ever, used race strategy to perfection to move the German from his start position to lead the race following the first round of pits stops.

Starting the race with more fuel than his nearest rivals, Schumacher – on a two stop strategy - simply waited until he had some clear track, put his foot down, put together a string of fastest lap and emerged in the lead. Once out front, Kimi Raikkonen pushed Schumacher hard, but could not stop the Ferrari star taking his 80th Grand Prix victory.

"I am amazed how the race went," beamed Schumacher. "That the strategy would pay off so early was not the plan but the car was going so well that I could close the gap so quickly on Kimi and then I was able to control it. It is unbelievable what has happened this year but it pays back all the hard work done in the factory. We have never held off as in a way we took it a little bit too easy last season and because everyone felt the pain from last term, everyone has kept pushing. The hunger is still there."

Raikkonen finished 2.1s behind Schumacher, but was fortunate to finish the race so close while Rubens Barrichello finished in third position in the second Ferrari.

"The traffic cost me valuable time but that is racing and I am pleased to get my first podium since last year's Japanese Grand Prix," said the Finn. "It is a good result after the really difficult start to the season."

Jarno Trulli suffered a massive accident two third of the way though the race, his Renault seemingly suffering a suspension failure exiting the ultra-fast Bridge right-hander. Trulli's Renault struck the tyre wall, bounced back onto the circuit and slithered at high speed towards the gravel trap at the next turn. The tyres dug in and flipped the Renault over twice before Trulli jumped from the destroyed car. The safety car was immediately on track, this allowing those the likes of Button and Barrichello to make a ‘free' final pitstop and remain in touch with Schumacher.

At the restart, Schumacher put his race win beyond doubt as he crossed the line clear of Raikkonen's McLaren Mercedes and team-mate Rubens Barrichello.

"It was a good race but a tough one and I lost it really after the first pit stop," said the Brazilian, who maintained his record of being the only driver to score in all the races this season.

Jenson Button qualified in third position and battled hard with Rubens Barrichello in the early laps of the race. However, following his second stop, the English driver was unable to keep pace with the front runners and will be disappointed not to have finished his home event with the podium the team had hoped for. Team-mate Takuma Sato finished the British Grand Prix, but it was a very low-key race from Sato as he finished out of the points in 11th.

Juan Pablo Montoya did a good job in his BMW Williams to finish in fifth position after what had been a troubled weekend, In contrast, team-mate Marc Gene put in a poor performance, actually setting his fastest laps of the race with just two laps to go. It was a case of too little too late and Gene was classified in 12th position.

Giancarlo Fisichella started at the back of the field as a result of his decision not to qualify yesterday. Using a two stop strategy to perfection, the Sauber driver pushed hard all race long and finished in a well-deserved fifth position, less than a second behind Juan Pablo Montoya. Team-mate Felipe Massa withstood immense pressure from Fernando Alonso to finish in ninth position.

David Coulthard finished in seventh position, seemingly unable to match the pace of his team-mate Raikkonen at Silverstone in both qualification and race pace. It was a disappointing run from the Scot, at a time when he is looking for a race seat for 2005.

The final points went to Mark Webber who drove a solid race in his Jaguar to finish just four seconds behind the McLaren of Coulthard. In contrast, Christian Klien was never a factor in the race and he finished a lap down in 14th place.

Fernando Alonso started in 16th place following his demotion from sixth place. With a fresh Renault installed, Alonso never really made great progress and it was a surprise to see the Renault driver the first to stop for fuel. Given the team knew he would lose ten places on the grid, it is strange that they did not add more fuel to Alonso's Renault and try to run a stop-stop strategy as demonstrated do well by Fisichella. As it was Alonso chased Massa across the line to finish in tenth position. This combined with team-mate Trulli's accident made it a bad British Grand Prix for the Renault team.

With Sato 11th ahead of Gene, Cristiano da Matta finished in 13th place in his Toyota, while team-mate Olivier Panis was an early retirement after his fire extinguisher went off in the cockpit. Another race to forget for Toyota, as they look forward to their updated chassis at Hockenheim in two weeks time.

Christian Klien disappointed in 14th position in the second Jaguar while Nick Heidfeld brought his Jordan Ford home ahead of Gianmaria Bruni, who survived a pitlane scare when he tried to leave the Minardi pit before refuelling had been completed.

With ten wins from 11 races under his belt, Michael Schumacher and the F1 circus packs up and heads to the test tracks across Europe before reconvening at Hockenheim in two weeks time.

Two stops, three stops or four stops, Schumacher is the man to beat still in 2004.