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The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, officially the XXXV Grande Prêmio do Brasil, was race the eighteenth and final round of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on 22 October 2006.[1] The race would see Felipe Massa claim a memorable victory on home soil, as Fernando Alonso finished second to secure his second Drivers' Championship.[1]

Ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix the title picture was fairly clear, with Alonso only needing to score a single point to claim the crown. In contrast, main rival Michael Schumacher, who was set to start his last Grand Prix, would have to win the race outright, and see Alonso fail to score at all, to claim a record eighth World Championship.

However, both title contenders would lose out in qualifying, with Alonso claiming fourth while Schumacher was a seemingly disastrous tenth, having failed to set a time in Q3.[1] At the head of the field, meanwhile, it was home hero Massa who secured pole position, with Kimi Räikkönen completing the front row.[1]

The start of the race itself would see Massa ease into an early lead from Räikkönen, while Alonso fended off a challenge from Rubens Barrichello to hold fourth behind Jarno Trulli.[1] Schumacher, meanwhile, would make some early progress with a double move on the two BMW Saubers as well as Barrichello, although the race was quickly brought under control by the Safety Car.[1]

The cause was a clash between the two Williams-Cosworths, with Nico Rosberg punting Mark Webber out of the race at turn four, before suffering a heavy accident of his own at the end of the lap.[1] Both would emerge from their ruined Williams unhurt, with the safety car staying out until the end of lap five.[1]

Massa aced the restart to claim a small lead, as teammate Schumacher found Giancarlo Fisichella in a very defensive mood in their fight for fifth.[1] Indeed, their duel would be ferocious in the laps after the start, and would ultimately resulted in Schumacher making an aggressive lunge around the outside of turn one, squeezing Fisichella onto the kerb.[1]

The kerb naturally pushed Fisichella's car back into the path of the #5 Ferrari, with the Italian racer's front wing slicing into the side of Schumacher's left rear tyre.[1] The Bridgestone tyre steadily deflated over the rest of the lap, forcing Schumacher into the pits and almost costing him a full lap after making his stop.[1]

In danger of lapping his title pretending teammate Massa was instructed not to overtake his teammate, although they would exchange a barrage of fastest laps.[1] Behind, Räikkönen was in a lonely second ahead of Alonso, Trulli's race having been curtailed by a mechanical failure, with the order settling down ahead of the first round of stops.[1]

Those stops saw quick work from Renault get Alonso out ahead of Räikkönen, although the Spaniard was still a long way off the back of Massa.[1] Jenson Button would also get into the lead group, splitting Alonso from Räikkönen, while Schumacher would rocket up to thirteenth amid the stops, before picking his way into the top ten with a series of moves on rejoining drivers.[1]

The second round of stops allowed Schumacher to make more progress, putting him well into the top eight and within striking distance of fifth placed Fisichella.[1] The #5 Ferrari duly drafted onto the back of the #2 Renault, sparking another ferocious fight between the Italian and German racers.[1]

Ultimately it would take a mistake from Fisichella on lap 62 to let the Ferrari through, with Schumacher quickly charging clear to hunt down Räikkönen.[1] That would again lead to an intense duel between the veteran German and the Finn, who had signed to replace him at the Scuderia in 2007, and would end with a decisive lunge by Schumacher into the first corner.[1]

However, time would run out for Schumacher to make further progress, with teammate Massa sweeping across the line to claim an emotional win on home soil, the first for a Brazilian driver since Ayrton Senna won in 1993.[1] Alonso cruised through to claim second and his second straight World Championship title, while Button was little more than a footnote in third.[1] Schumacher was fourth ahead of Räikkönen, sixth place for Fisichella ensured Renault won the Constructors Championship, while Barrichella and Pedro de la Rosa secured the final points of the season.[1]

The race was also significant as the final race for Michael Schumacher as a Ferrari driver, and his last until the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. It was also Räikkönen's final race for McLaren.

Background[]

Victory for Fernando Alonso, combined with Michael Schumacher's engine failure had resulted in the Spaniard holding a commanding lead in the Drivers' Championship ahead of the season finale. Indeed, the Spaniard would claim the title if he scored just a single point in Brazil, or if Schumacher failed to win. In contrast, Schumacher would have to win the race and see Alonso fail to score, and then would only take the title by virtue of having one more race win than the Spaniard.

In the Constructors Championship it was Renault who held the advantage heading into the season finale, having left Japan on 195 points. That meant that they were nine clear of Ferrari in second, and hence only had to pick-up ten points in Brazil to successfully defend their title. Elsewhere, McLaren-Mercedes were confirmed in third ahead of Honda, with the fight to complete the top five between BMW Sauber and Toyota the only other area of interest.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R26 Renault RS26 2.4 V8 M
2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R26 Renault RS26 2.4 V8 M
3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-21 Mercedes FO 108S 2.4 V8 M
4 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-21 Mercedes FO 108S 2.4 V8 M
5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari 248 F1 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 B
6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari 248 F1 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 B
7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF106B Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF106B Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams F1 Team Williams FW28A Cosworth CA2006 2.4 V8 B
10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams F1 Team Williams FW28A Cosworth CA2006 2.4 V8 B
11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA106 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 M
12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA106 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 M
14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB2 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 M
15 Netherlands Robert Doornbos United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB2 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 M
16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 V8 M
17 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 V8 M
18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Spyker MF1 Racing Midland M16 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Spyker MF1 Racing Midland M16 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR1 Cosworth TJ2006 3.0 V10 M
21 United States Scott Speed Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR1 Cosworth TJ2006 3.0 V10 M
22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA06 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 B
23 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA06 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 B
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
35 Austria Alexander Wurz United Kingdom Williams F1 Team Williams FW28 Cosworth CA2006 2.4 V8 B
36 United Kingdom Anthony Davidson Japan Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda RA106 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 M
37 Germany Michael Ammermüller United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB2 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 M
38 Germany Sebastian Vettel Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 V8 M
39 Venezuela Ernesto Viso Russia Spyker MF1 Racing Midland M16 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
40 Switzerland Neel Jani Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR1 Cosworth TJ2006 3.0 V10 M
41 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA06 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 B
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 1 1:10.643 2 1:10.775 1 1:10.680 1
2 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 10 1:12.035 5 1:11.386 2 1:11.299 2
3 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 6 1:11.885 4 1:11.343 3 1:11.328 3
4 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 4 1:11.791 3 1:11.148 4 1:11.567 4
5 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 9 1:12.017 8 1:11.578 5 1:11.619 5
6 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 12 1:12.042 6 1:11.461 6 1:11.629 6
7 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 3 1:11.713 7 1:11.550 7 1:11.695 7
8 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 14 1:12.307 10 1:11.648 8 1:11.882 8
9 17 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 11 1:12.040 9 1:11.589 9 1:12.131 9
10 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 2 1:11.565 1 1:10.313 NC 10
11 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 7 1:11.973 11 1:11.650 11
12 4 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 5 1:11.825 12 1:11.658 12
13 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 8 1:11.974 13 1:11.679 13
14 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 13 1:12.085 14 1:11.742 14
15* 15 Netherlands Robert Doornbos United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 15 1:12.530 15 1:12.591 22
16 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 16 1:12.855 16 1:12.861 15
17 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 17 1:12.856 16
18 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 18 1:13.138 17
19 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 19 1:13.249 18
20 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 20 1:13.269 19
21 23 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 21 1:13.357 20
22 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota NC 21
Source:[3]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates the fastest driver's time in each session.
  • * Doornbos awarded a ten place grid penalty for changing his engine.[3]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Felipe Massa
Kimi Räikkönen ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Jarno Trulli
Fernando Alonso ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Rubens Barrichello
Giancarlo Fisichella ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Ralf Schumacher
Nick Heidfeld ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Robert Kubica
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Mark Webber
Pedro de la Rosa ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Nico Rosberg
Jenson Button ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Vitantonio Liuzzi
Scott Speed ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Christijan Albers
David Coulthard ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Takuma Sato
Sakon Yamamoto ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Tiago Monteiro
Robert Doornbos ______________

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 71 1:31:53.751 1 10
2 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 71 +18.658s 4 8
3 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 71 +19.394s 14 6
4 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 71 +24.094s 10 5
5 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 71 +28.503s 2 4
6 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 71 +30.287s 6 3
7 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 71 +40.294s 5 2
8 4 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 71 +52.068s 12 1
9 17 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber 71 +1:07.642 9
10 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 70 +1 Lap 19
11 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 70 +1 Lap 16
12 15 Netherlands Robert Doornbos United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 22
13 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 70 +1 Lap 15
14 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 70 +1 Lap 17
15 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 69 +2 Laps 21
16 23 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 69 +2 Laps 20
17* 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 63 Accident 8
Ret 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 14 Gearbox 18
Ret 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 10 Suspension 3
Ret 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 9 Suspension 7
Ret 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 1 Damage 11
Ret 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 0 Accident 13
Source:[4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Heidfeld was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[4]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

With that the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship came to its conclusion, with Fernando Alonso declared as World Champion with 134 points and seven victories. Michael Schumacher ended the first phase of his F1 career with second place in the Championship on 121 points, having also claimed seven wins, while Felipe Massa ended his maiden Ferrari campaign in third with 80 points. Giancarlo Fisichella and Kimi Räikkönen would complete the top five, with nineteen drivers having scored.

In the Constructors Championship it was Renault whom ended the season as Champions, scoring eight wins and 206 points across the eighteen round season. Ferrari hence had to settle for second with 201 points, despite claiming one more win than the French manufacturer, while McLaren-Mercedes ended the season in a lonely third having failed to top the podium all season. Honda were next, and were the only other team to have claimed a race victory, with nine of teams having scored in 2006.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 134
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 121
3 Brazil Felipe Massa 80
4 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 72
5 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 65
6 United Kingdom Jenson Button 56
7 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 30
8 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 26
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld 23
10 Germany Ralf Schumacher 20 {X}}
11 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 19
12 Italy Jarno Trulli 15 {X}}
13 United Kingdom David Coulthard 14
14 Australia Mark Webber 7
15 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 7
16 Poland Robert Kubica 6
17 Germany Nico Rosberg 4
18 Austria Christian Klien 2
19 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 France Renault 206
2 Italy Ferrari 201
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 110
4 Japan Honda 86
5 Germany BMW Sauber 36
6 Japan Toyota 35
7 United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 16
8 United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 11
9 Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 'Brazil 2006: Massa's glory as Alonso takes title.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 22/10/2006), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/57286/1/brazil-2006-massas-glory-as-alonso-takes-title, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
  2. 'Brazil 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'FORMULA 1™ Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/807/brazil/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
  4. 4.0 4.1 'Brazil 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 '18. Brazil 2006', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
V T E Promotional Trophy
Races 197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019
V T E Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix
Circuits Interlagos (1972–1977, 1979–1980, 1990–2019), Jacarepaguá (1978, 1981–1989)
Interlagos1990
Races (Brazilian GP) 197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Non-Championship Race 1972
V T E 2006 Formula One Season
Teams Renault • McLaren • Ferrari • Toyota • Williams • Honda • Red Bull • BMW Sauber • Midland • Toro Rosso • Super Aguri
Engines BMW • Cosworth • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Renault • Toyota
Drivers Alonso • 2 Fisichella • 3 Räikkönen • 4 Montoya • 4 De la Rosa • 5 M. Schumacher • 6 Massa • 7 R. Schumacher • 8 Trulli • 9 Webber • 10 Rosberg • 11 Barrichello • 12 Button • 14 Coulthard • 15 Klien • 15 Doornbos • 16 Heidfeld • 17 Villeneuve • 17 Kubica • 18 Monteiro • 19 Albers • 20 Liuzzi • 21 Speed • 22 Sato • 23 Ide • 23 Montagny • 23 Yamamoto
Other Drivers Badoer • Davidson • Hamilton • Kovalainen • Piquet • Sutil • Vettel • Wurz
Cars Renault R26 • Ferrari 248 F1 • McLaren MP4-21 • Honda RA106 • BMW Sauber F1.06 • Toyota TF106 • Red Bull RB2 • Williams FW28 • Toro Rosso STR1 • Midland M16 • Super Aguri SA05 • Super Aguri SA06
Tyres Bridgestone • Michelin
Races Bahrain • Malaysia • Australia • San Marino • Europe • Spain • Monaco • Britain • Canada • United States • France • Germany • Hungary • Turkey • Italy • China • Japan • Brazil
See also 2005 Formula One Season • 2007 Formula One Season • Category
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