2006 Bahrain Grand Prix

2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
2006 Bahrain Grand Prix
Race 1 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship
	The Bahrain Circuit in Sakhir
Race details
Date	12 March 2006
Official name	2006 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix
Location	Bahrain International Circuit ; Sakhir, Bahrain
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.412 km (3.363 miles)
Distance	57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 miles)
Weather	Fine, Dry and Hot; Air Temp 23 °C (73 °F); Track Temp 40 °C (104 °F) dropping to 34 °C (93 °F)
Attendance	77,000 (Weekend)
Pole position
Driver	Michael Schumacher ;
Time	1:31.431
Fastest lap
Driver	Nico Rosberg
Time	1:32.408 on lap 42
Podium
First	Fernando Alonso ;
Second	Michael Schumacher ;
Third	Kimi Räikkönen ;
	Lap leaders ;

Last updated October 14, 2024

The 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially the 2006 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix)^[3] was a Formula One motor race held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain on 12 March 2006. The 57-lap race was the opening round of the 2006 Formula One season and the third running of the Bahrain Grand Prix. It was won by the 2005 World Champions, Fernando Alonso and the Renault team. Ferrari driver and polesitter Michael Schumacher began his final season in Formula One (before his return with Mercedes in 2010) with second position. Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium after he finished in third place with the McLaren team, despite starting in last position.

The race was the first Grand Prix for future world champion Nico Rosberg, son of World Champion Keke Rosberg, who raced with the Williams team. He set the fastest lap of the race and, at the age of 20 years and 258 days, broke the record for the youngest driver to do so, which he held until Max Verstappen scored his first fastest lap, at age 19, at the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix. It was also the debut race for the BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Midland F1 and Super Aguri teams, and drivers Scott Speed and Yuji Ide.

Report

Background

This was the first race for the Midland, BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Honda F1 and Super Aguri teams, although only Super Aguri was a completely new team, the others all representing buyouts or rebrandings of existing teams. Along with Rosberg, Scott Speed and Yuji Ide were also making their Grand Prix débuts.

It also saw the début of the 2.4 litre (146.4 cu in) naturally-aspirated V8 engines which were used by all teams except Toro Rosso, who were still using the 3.0 litre (183 cu in) V10 engines that were used from 1995 to 2005, as the team's chassis, the STR1, was reused from the Red Bull RB1 from the 2005 season. This race notably marked the first time teams had fielded V8-powered cars, since the 1997 European Grand Prix.

Friday drivers

The bottom six teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Constructor	Nat	Driver
Williams-Cosworth		Alexander Wurz
Honda		Anthony Davidson
Red Bull-Ferrari		Robert Doornbos
BMW Sauber		Robert Kubica
MF1-Toyota		Markus Winkelhock
Toro Rosso-Cosworth		Neel Jani

Qualifying

The race was the first run under the new 2006 qualifying rules, in which the one-hour session is split into three 'knock out' parts. The first part eliminated Kimi Räikkönen (rear wishbone failure) and Ralf Schumacher, who was caught out by the red flag after Räikkönen's accident and failed to set a competitive time, as well as the MF1's and the two Super Aguris. The second part saw fewer surprises, with the expected runners lining up for the final top 10 part. The result was that the Ferraris swept the front row.

Race

At the start of the race, Fernando Alonso moved up to second in the first lap, only for Michael Schumacher to begin to pull away. Alonso was involved in a near collision with Schumacher's teammate Felipe Massa, who spun at the first corner. Massa was never a threat after this point, not helped by a delay in his pit stop to change tyres the same lap. Alonso's teammate Giancarlo Fisichella also played little part in the race due to an engine mapping problem which restricted power. He retired on the 21st lap due to hydraulic failure. A live team radio broadcast in which the team informed him that he would have to cope with the engine as well as he could led to Fisichella swearing in response;^[4] this incident resulted in future team radio broadcasts being time-delayed. To the surprise of few, Kimi Räikkönen quickly moved his way up the field, only being delayed by Jacques Villeneuve and Fisichella for a short period of time, before passing both men.

Further down the field, Nick Heidfeld and Nico Rosberg, who was making his Grand Prix début, touched at the first corner. Both men were significantly delayed, but recovered. Heidfeld's day continued to get worse, as an incident with David Coulthard was investigated after the race.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished 5th in his McLaren, having never been a threat throughout the race. It was a good day for Williams on a whole, as Mark Webber finished in 6th, while Rosberg was the surprise of the race though, ending up a very respectable 7th, passing Christian Klien after catching him in the last few laps of the race, putting Klien down to a still impressive 8th. Rosberg set the fastest lap of the race, becoming the youngest driver ever to achieve this in a Grand Prix, breaking a record held by Alonso.

Michael Schumacher started on pole for Ferrari and finished the race in second position. Marlboro-Ferrari.jpg — Michael Schumacher started on pole for Ferrari and finished the race in second position.

Honda suffered mixed fortunes throughout the race. Early on fans were treated to a fight between Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, as Button slipped down the order due to a slow getaway. Button eventually fought his way back up, twice passing Juan Pablo Montoya at the end of the straight but losing out again in pitstops. He eventually finished 4th, 0.6 seconds behind Räikkönen in 3rd. Räikkönen fought hard throughout the race, stopping only once on his way to the last podium spot. He rose 19 places in the race which is more than any driver since Fabrizio Barbazza started 25th and finished sixth in the 1993 San Marino Grand Prix.^[5]

At the second set of pit stops, Alonso was able to take advantage of staying out longer than Schumacher by coming out of the pit lane side by side with Schumacher. As they came into the first corner both cars were neck and neck, but Alonso was able to pull out in front of the former world champion. Despite coming under heavy pressure from Schumacher towards the end, the reigning champion started off the season with a well earned victory.

After a tussle with David Coulthard, Nick Heidfeld was reprimanded by stewards post-race for positioning his car in a way that forced Coulthard off the race circuit. Coulthard suffered engine failure on cool-down lap and received a 10-place grid penalty for 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2	Q3	Grid
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:33.310	1:32.025	1:31.431	1
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:33.579	1:32.014	1:31.478	2
3	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:32.603	1:32.025	1:31.549	3
4	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:32.433	1:31.215	1:31.702	4
5	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	1:33.233	1:31.487	1:32.164	5
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:33.922	1:32.322	1:32.579	6
7	9	Mark Webber	Williams-Cosworth	1:33.454	1:32.309	1:33.006	7
8	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull-Ferrari	1:34.308	1:32.106	1:33.112	8
9	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:32.934	1:31.831	1:33.496	9
10	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:33.374	1:31.958	1:33.926	10
11	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	1:33.882	1:32.456		11
12	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Cosworth	1:32.945	1:32.620		12
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Ferrari	1:33.678	1:32.850		13
14	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:33.987	1:33.066		14
15	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Cosworth	1:34.439	1:33.416		15
16	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso-Cosworth	1:33.995	1:34.606		16
17	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:34.702			17
18	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota	1:35.724			18
19	18	Tiago Monteiro	MF1-Toyota	1:35.900			19
20	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	1:37.411			20
21	23	Yuji Ide	Super Aguri-Honda	1:40.270			21
22	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	No time¹			22
Source:^[6]^[7]

Notes

^1 — Kimi Räikkönen suffered a right rear suspension failure during his first timed lap. The suspension failure, which was due to a manufacturing fault, red flagged the session and ended Räikkönen's qualifying session.^[8]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	57	1:29:46.205	4	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	57	+1.246	1	8
3	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+19.360	22	6
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	57	+19.992	3	5
5	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren-Mercedes	57	+37.048	5	4
6	9	Mark Webber	Williams-Cosworth	57	+41.932	7	3
7	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Cosworth	57	+1:03.043	12	2
8	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull-Ferrari	57	+1:06.771	8	1
9	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	+1:09.907	2
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Ferrari	57	+1:15.541	13
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Cosworth	57	+1:25.997	15
12	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	+1 Lap	10
13	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso-Cosworth	56	+1 Lap	16
14	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	56	+1 Lap	17
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	56	+1 Lap	6
16	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	56	+1 Lap	14
17	18	Tiago Monteiro	MF1-Toyota	55	+2 Laps	PL²
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri-Honda	53	+4 Laps	20
Ret	23	Yuji Ide	Super Aguri-Honda	35	Engine	21
Ret	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	29	Engine	11
Ret	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	21	Hydraulics	9
Ret	19	Christijan Albers	MF1-Toyota	0	Driveshaft	18
Source:^[9]

Notes

^2 — Tiago Monteiro suffered transmission failure on the way to the grid, so swapped to the T-car and started from the pitlane.^[10]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos.	Driver	Points
1	Fernando Alonso	10
2	Michael Schumacher	8
3	Kimi Räikkönen	6
4	Jenson Button	5
5	Juan Pablo Montoya	4
Source:^[9]^[11]

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos.	Constructor	Points
1	Renault	10
2	McLaren-Mercedes	10
3	Ferrari	8
4	Honda	5
5	Williams-Cosworth	5
Source:^[9]^[11]

Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Related Research Articles

The 2005 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 May 2005 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany. The 59-lap race was the seventh round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, the 49th running of the European Grand Prix, and the 15th European Grand Prix as a standalone event. It was the second of a series of six races held within eight weeks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 Malaysian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia on 19 March 2006. The 56-lap race was the second round of the 2006 Formula One season and the eighth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix as a World Championship race.

The 2006 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne on 2 April 2006. It was the third race of the 2006 Formula One season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2006 San Marino Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 2006 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy on 23 April 2006. The 62-lap race was the fourth round of the 2006 Formula One season, and the 26th running of the San Marino Grand Prix. It was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, who had started from pole position. It was both his and Ferrari's first win of the season. Championship leader Fernando Alonso finished second for the Renault team, whilst Juan Pablo Montoya completed the podium with third position for McLaren.

The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 May 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. The 78-lap race was the seventh round of the 2006 Formula One season. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of those races. His main championship rival, Michael Schumacher was looking to win the race as it would equal Ayrton Senna's record at Monaco for most wins (six).

The 2006 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on 2 July 2006. It was the tenth race of the 2006 Formula One season and the 40th United States Grand Prix. The 73-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher after starting from pole position. Teammate Felipe Massa finished second with Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella third.

The 2006 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 1 October 2006 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai. The race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari, and would turn out to be the 91st and last victory of his Formula One career. It was also his last podium finish until the 2012 European Grand Prix, during his comeback to the sport, and the last win for a German driver until Sebastian Vettel won the 2008 Italian Grand Prix.

The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 October 2006 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the eighteenth and final race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race determined the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships for the season, with Fernando Alonso and Renault winning their respective championships. The race itself attracted 154 million viewers.

The 2007 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2007 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 58 lap race was won by Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team after starting from pole position. Fernando Alonso finished second in a McLaren car, with teammate and future 7-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton third on his Grand Prix debut.

The 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race was the third race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 15 April at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Malaysian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, held on 8 April 2007 at the Sepang International Circuit and the second race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Reigning world champion Fernando Alonso won the race from second on the grid, with McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton finishing second. This marked McLaren's first one-two finish since the 2005 Brazilian Grand Prix. Previous race winner Kimi Räikkönen finished third. Räikkönen's Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa started the race from pole position, but was passed by both McLarens in the first two corners of the first lap, eventually finishing in fifth place behind BMW's Nick Heidfeld.

The 2007 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race, the fourth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, won by Felipe Massa. It was held on 13 May 2007 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain.

The 2007 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship, returning to the Formula One calendar after a year's absence. It was held on 16 September at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium.

The 2007 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 9 September 2007 at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy. It was the thirteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship.

The 2007 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, in the United States on 17 June 2007. The 73-lap race was the seventh race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship and was won by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton. His teammate, Fernando Alonso, finished the race in second position whilst Ferrari driver, Felipe Massa, completed the podium by finishing third. This was the debut race of the future four time world champion Sebastian Vettel with BMW Sauber F1 Team.

The 2007 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 1 July 2007 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France. It was the eighth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 70-lap race starting from third position. Felipe Massa, who started the race from pole position, finished second in the latter Ferrari, with Lewis Hamilton third in a McLaren car.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Hungarian Grand Prix</span> Motor car race

The 2007 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship and was held on 5 August 2007 at the Hungaroring racing track in Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was also memorable for an incident in the Saturday qualifying session, between McLaren teammates Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso.

The 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was the sixteenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was held on 7 October 2007 at Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai, China. The race was won by Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen with Fernando Alonso finishing second and Felipe Massa finishing third. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton suffered the first race retirement of his Formula One career after going off at a wet pit entrance on worn tyres left him stuck in the gravel. Räikkönen's win marked the 200th Grand Prix victory for Scuderia Ferrari.

The 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2008 at the Bahrain International Circuit, in Sakhir, Bahrain. It was the third race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Felipe Massa for the Ferrari team won the 57-lap race. Kimi Räikkönen was second in the other Ferrari, and BMW Sauber driver Robert Kubica was third.

The 2008 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 April 2008 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. It was the fourth race of the 2008 Formula One World Championship. Kimi Räikkönen for the Ferrari team won the 66-lap race starting from pole position. Felipe Massa finished second in the other Ferrari, and Lewis Hamilton was third in a McLaren.

References

1 2 "2006 Bahrain GP". Chicane F1. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
↑ "Trends in Bahrain". 22 April 2013.
↑ "Bahrain". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
↑ "Fisichella apologises for Bahrain outburst" . www.autosport.com. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
↑ "F1 2006 review: stats". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2007.
↑ Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 82. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
↑ "2006 FORMULA 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying Results". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 11 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
↑ "All Ferrari front row in Bahrain". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 11 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
1 2 3 Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 87. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
↑ "Bahrain GP: MF1 race notes". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. 13 March 2006.
1 2 "Bahrain 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 8 March 2019.

External links

Detailed Bahrain Grand Prix results (archived)

Previous race: 2005 Chinese Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 2006 season	Next race: 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix
Previous race: 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain Grand Prix	Next race: 2007 Bahrain Grand Prix

26°01′57″N50°30′38″E / 26.03250°N 50.51056°E / 26.03250; 50.51056

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[weather-1] 1 2 "2006 Bahrain GP". Chicane F1. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.

[2] "Trends in Bahrain". 22 April 2013.

[3] "Bahrain". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2021.

[4] "Fisichella apologises for Bahrain outburst" . www.autosport.com. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2021.

[f1f2006stats-5] "F1 2006 review: stats". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2006. Retrieved 12 August 2007.

[6] Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 82. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.

[7] "2006 FORMULA 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix - Qualifying Results". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 11 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.

[8] "All Ferrari front row in Bahrain". Formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 11 March 2006. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.

[f1yearbook-9] 1 2 3 Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 87. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.

[10] "Bahrain GP: MF1 race notes". Motorsport.com. Motorsport.com. 13 March 2006.

[champ-11] 1 2 "Bahrain 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 8 March 2019.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

v t e « previous Formula One Grands Prix (2000–2009) next »
2000	AUS BRA SMR GBR ESP EUR MON CAN FRA AUT GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN MAL
2001	AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN
2002	AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR GBR FRA GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN
2003	AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR FRA GBR GER HUN ITA USA JPN
2004	AUS MAL BHR SMR ESP MON EUR CAN USA FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA CHN JPN BRA
2005	AUS MAL BHR SMR ESP MON EUR CAN USA FRA GBR GER HUN TUR ITA BEL BRA JPN CHN
2006	BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA
2007	AUS MAL BHR ESP MON CAN USA FRA GBR EUR HUN TUR ITA BEL JPN CHN BRA
2008	AUS MAL BHR ESP TUR MON CAN FRA GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN CHN BRA
2009	AUS MAL CHN BHR ESP MON TUR GBR GER HUN EUR BEL ITA SIN JPN BRA ABU

2006 Bahrain Grand Prix

Contents

Report

Background

Friday drivers

Qualifying

Race

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Championship standings after the race

Related Research Articles

References

External links