2006 Japanese Grand Prix

Last updated
2006 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 17 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship
Suzuka circuit map--2005.svg
The Suzuka circuit
Race details
Date8 October 2006
Official name 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 307.573 km (191.117 miles)
Weather Fine
Attendance 361,000 [1]
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:29.599
Fastest lap
Driver Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso Renault
Time 1:32.676 on lap 14
Podium
First Renault
Second Ferrari
Third Renault
Lap leaders
  • 2006 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) [2] was a Formula One race held on 8 October 2006 at the Suzuka Circuit, in Suzuka, Japan. It was the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, and marked the 32nd running of the Japanese Grand Prix. It was won by Fernando Alonso, his last win for the Renault team before he moved to McLaren the following season.

Contents

It was the 20th Grand Prix to be held at Suzuka. It was the first Formula One race to be filmed and broadcast in high-definition television. However the Fuji Television broadcast was only available in Japan. [3]

Report

Practice and qualifying

Friday drivers

The bottom 6 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.

TeamNatDriver
Williams-Cosworth Flag of Austria.svg Alexander Wurz
Honda Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Anthony Davidson
Red Bull-Ferrari Flag of Germany.svg Michael Ammermüller
BMW Sauber Flag of Germany.svg Sebastian Vettel
Spyker MF1-Toyota Flag of Germany.svg Adrian Sutil
Toro Rosso-Cosworth Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Neel Jani
Super Aguri-Honda Flag of France.svg Franck Montagny

Race

Felipe Massa started the race from pole, but Michael Schumacher passed him on lap 3 to take the lead. Meanwhile, Alonso was struggling to get past the Toyotas of Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. By lap 10 Alonso was 5.4 seconds off the leader. On lap 15 Alonso managed to pass Massa in the pitstops and chased Schumacher. He succeeded in closing the gap from 5.4 seconds on lap 10 to 4.2 seconds by lap 27 only for it to open up to 5.9 seconds by lap 34 after the two drivers encountered backmarkers. The race was crucial in the fight for the World Championship, as whoever finished ahead of the two would take the championship lead into the final race. On lap 37, after the two rivals had made their final pitstops, Schumacher's engine failed, his first engine failure since the 2000 French Grand Prix, giving the lead to Alonso, who went on to win the race. As a result, he needed only one point from the final race to secure the title.

As of 2023, Alonso's win remains the last victory for a car running on Michelin tyres, as the manufacturer pulled out of Formula One at the end of the season. Third place finisher Giancarlo Fisichella dedicated to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who had died on 5 October 2006 after a heart attack. [4]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos.No.DriverConstructorQ1Q2Q3Grid
16 Flag of Brazil.svg Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:30.1121:29.8301:29.5991
25 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:31.2791:28.9541:29.7112
37 Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:30.5951:30.2991:29.9893
48 Flag of Italy.svg Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:30.4201:30.2041:30.0394
51 Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso Renault 1:30.9761:30.3571:30.3715
62 Flag of Italy.svg Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:31.6961:30.3061:30.5996
712 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jenson Button Honda 1:30.8471:30.2681:30.9927
811 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:31.9721:30.5981:31.4788
916 Flag of Germany.svg Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:31.8111:30.4701:31.5139
1010 Flag of Germany.svg Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:30.5851:30.3211:31.85610
113 Flag of Finland.svg Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.0801:30.82711
1217 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:31.2041:31.09412
134 Flag of Spain.svg Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.5811:31.25413
149 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:31.6471:31.27614
1520 Flag of Italy.svg Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:31.7411:31.94315
1619 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Christijan Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota 1:32.2211:33.75016
1714 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari 1:32.25217
1815 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari 1:32.40218
1921 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:32.86719
2022 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:33.66620
2118 Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota 1:33.70921
2223 Flag of Japan.svg Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda No time22
Source: [5]

Race

Michael Schumacher's Ferrari is returned to the pits after an engine failure cost him the race lead, and handed Fernando Alonso a ten-point advantage in the Drivers' Championship with one race remaining. Schumacher car Suzuka 2006.jpg
Michael Schumacher's Ferrari is returned to the pits after an engine failure cost him the race lead, and handed Fernando Alonso a ten-point advantage in the Drivers' Championship with one race remaining.
Pos.No.DriverConstructorLapTime/RetiredGridPoints
11 Flag of Spain.svg Fernando Alonso Renault 531:23:53.413510
26 Flag of Brazil.svg Felipe Massa Ferrari 53+16.15118
32 Flag of Italy.svg Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 53+23.95366
412 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jenson Button Honda 53+34.10175
53 Flag of Finland.svg Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 53+43.596114
68 Flag of Italy.svg Jarno Trulli Toyota 53+46.71743
77 Flag of Germany.svg Ralf Schumacher Toyota 53+48.86932
816 Flag of Germany.svg Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 53+1:16.09591
917 Flag of Poland.svg Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 53+1:16.93212
1010 Flag of Germany.svg Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 52+1 lap10
114 Flag of Spain.svg Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 52+1 lap13
1211 Flag of Brazil.svg Rubens Barrichello Honda 52+1 lap8
1315 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Robert Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari 52+1 lap18
1420 Flag of Italy.svg Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth 52+1 lap15
1522 Flag of Japan.svg Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 52+1 lap20
1618 Flag of Portugal.svg Tiago Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota 51+2 laps21
1723 Flag of Japan.svg Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda 50+3 laps22
1821 Flag of the United States.svg Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth 48Power steering19
Ret9 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 39Accident14
Ret5 Flag of Germany.svg Michael Schumacher Ferrari 36Engine2
Ret14 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari 35Gearbox17
Ret19 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Christijan Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota 20Driveshaft16
Source: [6]

Championship standings after the race

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References

  1. "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. "Japan". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. ZAKZAK Archived 2007-05-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
  4. "Fisi dedicates third to dead pal". ITV Sport. Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 200. ISBN   978-2-84707-110-8.
  6. Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 205. ISBN   978-2-84707-110-8.
  7. 1 2 "Japan 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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