The 2004 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 May 2004 at the Nürburgring. The race was noticeable due to the race strategy employed by Ferrari. Michael Schumacher extended his gap over his rivals to close to 18 seconds in the first 7 laps, when the top-runners seemed to bunch up behind Kimi Räikkönen. After his pitstop, Schumacher exited in 6th place, moved back up when others made their pitstops and cruised to a dominant victory in front of his teammate Rubens Barrichello, who survived an ambitious overtaking attempt by Takuma Sato. This ended the Japanese driver's chances of a podium spot.