2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
2006 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||
---|---|---|---|
Race 18 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship | |||
Race details | |||
Date | 22 October 2006 | ||
Official name | Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006 | ||
Location | |||
Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
Course length | 4.309 km (2.677 miles) | ||
Distance | 71 laps, 305.909 km (190.083 miles) | ||
Weather | Temperatures reaching up to 23 °C (73 °F)[1] | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Ferrari | ||
Time | 1:10.680 | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |
Time | 1:12.162 on lap 70 | ||
Podium | |||
First | Ferrari | ||
Second | Renault | ||
Third | Honda | ||
Lap leaders |
The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006)
The 71-lap race was won by local driver Felipe Massa, driving a Ferrari, with Alonso taking second in his Renault and Jenson Button third in a Honda. Massa was the first Brazilian driver to win his home Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Michael Schumacher, in what was expected to be his last race, finished fourth, having started tenth and suffered a puncture which dropped him to 19th.
Schumacher retired from Formula One after this race, with seven Drivers' Championships to his name, although he would return in 2010 with Mercedes. His seat at Ferrari was taken by Kimi Räikkönen, whilst Alonso moved to McLaren to partner rookie Lewis Hamilton.
Report
Pre-race
Following Michael Schumacher's engine failure and Fernando Alonso's victory in the previous race in Japan, Alonso was now 10 points ahead of Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship, and would therefore clinch the championship unless Schumacher won the race and Alonso failed to score a point.
In the Constructors' Championship,
Räikkönen set the fastest time during the first practice session with 1:13.764.
Before the race began, Michael Schumacher was given a lifetime achievement award by footballer Pelé.
Race
Start
At the start
Safety car and restart
As the safety car picked up the field at the end of lap 2, Massa led Räikkönen, Trulli and Alonso with Fisichella and Michael Schumacher moving up to 5th and 6th respectively. Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Kubica and Button completed the top ten, Button having taken advantage of the two Williams retiring and having passed Heidfeld and Pedro de la Rosa.
The restart took place on lap six and saw Button move past Kubica on the inside as the two crossed the line only 0.038secs apart. Michael Schumacher was also soon to attack Fisichella's
The two Ferraris proceeded to post the quickest lap times with Massa comfortably increasing his gap to Räikkönen in second, while the
The race now settled into a steady pattern with the Ferraris still quickest and Alonso closing to within two seconds of Räikkönen's
Michael Schumacher had moved up to 13th courtesy of pitstops by the
Barrichello was first into the pits when the second and last round of regular pitstops began on lap 46. His stop lasted 8.3 seconds. Schumacher followed on lap 47 having driven 36 laps since his first unscheduled stop. He rejoined in 8th just between Barrichello and the one-stopping de la Rosa. Fisichella did his stop (7.2s) on lap 49. Button was into the pits (7.3s) on the following lap while Schumacher effortlessly passed Barrichello on the inside on the main straight. Räikkönen was next man to pit, rejoining in fourth - only just behind Button, who was busy lapping Yamamoto and the Spykers. Leader Massa made his stop on lap 52 and rejoined still in front of second placed Alonso, who also kept his position after he came in two laps later (6.8s).
Schumacher was now beginning to look threatening to the second Renault of Fisichella and this was significant for the Constructors' Championship—if the Ferraris could finish 1st and 2nd and the Renaults only 3rd and 6th, the two teams would finish equal on points but with Ferrari in front on race victories. With 15 laps to go, Schumacher was under half a second behind Fisichella as they came across the line with Räikkönen only a few seconds further in front. The Renault seemed able to match the Ferrari's impressive straight-line speed and Schumacher was unable to overtake as easily as he had done with other cars. A thrilling battle ensued as Fisichella defended valiantly, but on lap 62 he braked too late into Turn 1 and his Renault took to the grass, allowing Schumacher to gain in position. Fisichella was only just able to rejoin in front of Barrichello.
Schumacher then closed on 4th placed Räikkönen who had been dropping back slightly from Button and Alonso. On lap 64, Nick Heidfeld's race was over as his BMW's rear suspension failed at the end of the main straight. Waved yellow flags in Turn 1 prevented Schumacher from overtaking Räikkönen on the usual overtaking spot, but Räikkönen made a slight mistake in the hairpin turn 10 and Schumacher pulled even with the Finn in the inferior McLaren. Schumacher was on the outside for the next turn, however, and had to back off, losing some ground in the process.
With four laps to go, Schumacher was ready to attack again, but Räikkönen defended brilliantly against superior machinery by taking the inside line for the first turn. The following lap, Schumacher was even closer, drafting behind the McLaren on the main straight. Räikkönen tried to fend off the charging Ferrari and again took to the inside, but this time Schumacher was so much quicker he managed to pull alongside, finding just enough space between the McLaren and the pit wall. The two cars went through turn one side by side, but Räikkönen finally had to give way into turn 2 as Schumacher forced him onto the dirty line of the circuit.
Finish and post-race
Schumacher continued to chase down Alonso and Button, setting a new fastest lap (1:12.1) on the penultimate lap, but he was unable to catch them in time and Alonso made himself and Renault champions by finishing second behind the elated Felipe Massa, who became the first Brazilian winner in São Paulo since the late Ayrton Senna in 1993. Giancarlo Fisichella finished sixth to help Renault clinch their second Constructors' Championship.
After finishing the race, winner Felipe Massa stopped just after the "S do Senna" to receive a
At the end-of-season FIA Gala in December 2006 the promoters of the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix received the Race Promoters' Trophy for their work in publicising the event.[7]
It was also the last race for a V10-engined car to date as Scuderia Toro Rosso eventually switched to Ferrari 056 2.4-litre V8 engines from 2007 season.
Friday drivers
The bottom six teams in the
Constructor | Nat | Driver |
---|---|---|
Williams-Cosworth | Alexander Wurz | |
Honda | Anthony Davidson | |
Red Bull-Ferrari | Michael Ammermüller | |
BMW Sauber | Sebastian Vettel | |
Toyota
|
Ernesto Viso | |
Toro Rosso-Cosworth | Neel Jani | |
Super Aguri-Honda | Franck Montagny |
Classification
Qualifying
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Grid |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:10.643 | 1:10.775 | 1:10.680 | 1 |
2 | 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:12.035 | 1:11.386 | 1:11.299 | 2 |
3 | 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota
|
1:11.885 | 1:11.343 | 1:11.328 | 3 |
4 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:11.791 | 1:11.148 | 1:11.567 | 4 |
5 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 1:12.017 | 1:11.578 | 1:11.619 | 5 |
6 | 2 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 1:12.042 | 1:11.461 | 1:11.629 | 6 |
7 | 7 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota
|
1:11.713 | 1:11.550 | 1:11.695 | 7 |
8 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:12.307 | 1:11.648 | 1:11.882 | 8 |
9 | 17 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 1:12.040 | 1:11.589 | 1:12.131 | 9 |
10 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:11.565 | 1:10.313 | No time | 10 |
11 | 9 | Mark Webber | Williams-Cosworth | 1:11.973 | 1:11.650 | 11 | |
12 | 4 | Pedro de la Rosa | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:11.825 | 1:11.658 | 12 | |
13 | 10 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1:11.974 | 1:11.679 | 13 | |
14 | 12 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:12.085 | 1:11.742 | 14 | |
15 | 15 | Robert Doornbos | Red Bull-Ferrari | 1:12.530 | 1:12.591 | 22 | |
16 | 20 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 1:12.855 | 1:12.861 | 15 | |
17 | 21 | Scott Speed | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 1:12.856 | 16 | ||
18 | 19 | Christijan Albers | Toyota
|
1:13.138 | 17 | ||
19 | 14 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Ferrari | 1:13.249 | 18 | ||
20 | 22 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri-Honda | 1:13.269 | 19 | ||
21 | 23 | Sakon Yamamoto | Super Aguri-Honda | 1:13.357 | 20 | ||
22 | 18 | Tiago Monteiro | Toyota
|
No time | 21 | ||
Source:[8] |
Race
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 71 | 1:31:53.751 | 1 | 10 |
2 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 71 | + 18.658 | 4 | 8 |
3 | 12 | Jenson Button | Honda | 71 | + 19.394 | 14 | 6 |
4 | 5 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 71 | + 24.094 | 10 | 5 |
5 | 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | + 28.503 | 2 | 4 |
6 | 2 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 71 | + 30.287 | 6 | 3 |
7 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 71 | + 40.294 | 5 | 2 |
8 | 4 | Pedro de la Rosa | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | + 52.068 | 12 | 1 |
9 | 17 | Robert Kubica | BMW Sauber | 71 | + 1:07.642 | 9 | |
10 | 22 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri-Honda | 70 | + 1 Lap | 19 | |
11 | 21 | Scott Speed | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 70 | + 1 Lap | 16 | |
12 | 15 | Robert Doornbos | Red Bull-Ferrari | 70 | + 1 Lap | 22 | |
13 | 20 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 70 | + 1 Lap | 15 | |
14 | 19 | Christijan Albers | Toyota
|
70 | + 1 Lap | 17 | |
15 | 18 | Tiago Monteiro | Toyota
|
69 | + 2 Laps | 21 | |
16 | 23 | Sakon Yamamoto | Super Aguri-Honda | 69 | + 2 Laps | 20 | |
17 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 63 | Accident | 8 | |
Ret | 14 | David Coulthard | Red Bull-Ferrari | 14 | Gearbox | 18 | |
Ret | 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota
|
10 | Suspension | 3 | |
Ret | 7 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota
|
9 | Suspension | 7 | |
Ret | 9 | Mark Webber | Williams-Cosworth | 1 | Collision damage | 11 | |
Ret | 10 | Nico Rosberg | Williams-Cosworth | 0 | Accident | 13 | |
Source:[9] |
Final championship standings
|
|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
- Bold text and an asterisk indicates the 2006 World Champions.
References
- ^ "Weather info for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix". Weather Underground. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006 - Race". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ Spurgeon, Brad (15 March 2007). "Season opens with the focus on younger faces". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.
- ^ Collings, Tim (20 October 2006). "Raikkonen quickest in practice 1 - Brazil". Autosport. Retrieved 27 May 2007.
- ^ "2006 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). FIA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 October 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "Just for the record". GrandPrix.com. 23 October 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
- ^ "F1 in the news". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 16 December 2006.
- ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
- ^ a b "Brazil 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
External links
- Detailed Brazilian Grand Prix results (archived)