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The 2006 British Grand Prix, otherwise advertised as the 2006 Formula 1 Foster's British Grand Prix, was the eighth round of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on 11 June 2006.[1] The race would see Fernando Alonso narrowly miss-out on a maiden Grand Chelem, having claimed pole position, fastest lap and victory, and led all bar one lap.[1]

It would prove to be Alonso's weekend right from the start, with the Spaniard becoming the first driver to top all three qualifying sessions on Saturday.[1] He duly claimed pole by 0.630s, with title rivals Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher lining up in second and third respectively.[1]

The start of the race would give Alonso's challengers hope, however, for the #1 Renault was surprisingly sluggish off the line.[1] Yet, neither Räikkönen nor Schumacher could force a move into Copse, meaning Alonso was able to retain his spot at the head of the field.[1] Behind, Juan Pablo Montoya received a whack from Jacques Villeneuve as the only incident of note in the first corner.[1]

However, a few moments later and a more costly accident would thin the field, caused by Scott Speed misjudging his speed through Becketts.[1] The American rookie smacked into the back of Ralf Schumacher's Toyota with enough force to send the German racer sliding off the circuit, only for Schumacher to rejoin and collect an innocent Mark Webber.[1]

The Safety Car was required to clean up the mess, with Schumacher and Webber out, while Speed pitted for repairs but was forced to retire.[1] At the start of the race the race would resume, with Alonso slowing dramatically towards the end of the SC period before catapulting away from Räikkönen to build an early lead.[1]

With Alonso breaking away attention briefly focused on Jenson Button, who was battling his way up the field at an impressive rate having crashed out in qualifying.[1] Indeed, a series of moves in the early laps carried the Brit from nineteenth to the back of eleventh placed David Coulthard, only for his Honda engine to coat his rear-tyres in oil and set fire to the car as he spun into the gravel at Brooklands.[1]

With that the race settled into a stalemate, with Alonso continuing to eek out a lead, while Räikkönen had Schumacher glued to his tail through to the first round of stops.[1] Schumacher was a surprise first stopper from the lead group, followed by Räikkönen a lap later, while Alonso ran on until lap 22 and managed to rejoin without losing the lead.[1]

The second stint of the race provided little action of note, with the gaps at the head of the field only growing as the summer heat kept any weather intervention at bay.[1] As such, it was only when the second round of stops began on lap 41 that the picture of the race changed, with Schumacher triggering the pit-phase.[1]

Indeed, Schumacher was the main winner of the second stop, emerging in clear air to deliver one flying lap, and hence jump Räikkönen out of the pits.[1] Alonso, meanwhile, would stop on lap 44 to hand the lead to teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, before the Italian stopped on lap 45 and rejoined in fourth behind Räikkönen.[1]

Fisichella was the main focus of attention in the closing stages, slowly drawing in Räikkönen for the final podium spot.[1] A similar battle would develop over the final point, Nico Rosberg drawing in Villeneuve, although both battles would end in disappointment, as track conditions, the Silverstone circuit and the current generation of cars made overtaking near impossible.[1]

Untroubled by all of this, however, was Alonso, who cruised through the final laps to claim his maiden Hattrick, fourteen seconds clear of Schumacher in second.[1] Räikkönen held Fisichella at bay to complete the podium, while Felipe Massa, Montoya, Nick Heidfeld and Villeneuve completed the scorers.[1]

Background[]

A fourth victory of the campaign in Monte Carlo had ensured that Fernando Alonso extended his Championship lead once again, leaving the Principality on 64 points. Michael Schumacher had remained his biggest threat, but now faced a 21 point gap between himself and the defending Champion. Behind, Giancarlo Fisichella had moved ahead of Kimi Räikkönen, Juan Pablo Montoya was back in the top five, and David Coulthard had risen to eleventh with his podium finish.

In the Constructors Championship Renault had once again enhanced their advantage, having moved 28 points clear in Monaco courtesy of Alonso's win. Ferrari were still their closest challengers after the opening seven rounds, and held a thirteen point advantage over McLaren-Mercedes in third. Honda and BMW Sauber then completed the top five, while Red Bull-Ferrari had moved level with Toyota after their first trip to the podium.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2006 British 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 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 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 FW28 Cosworth CA2006 2.4 V8 B
10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams F1 Team Williams FW28 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 Austria Christian Klien 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 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 V8 M
18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia MF1 Racing Midland M16 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 B
19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia 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 SA05 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 B
23 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA05 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 Netherlands Robert Doornbos United Kingdom Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB2 Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 M
38 Poland Robert Kubica Germany BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 V8 M
39 Switzerland Giorgio Mondini Russia 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 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri F1 Super Aguri SA05 Honda RA806E 2.4 V8 B
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 1 1:21.018 1 1:20.271 1 1:20.253 1
2 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 4 1:21.648 2 1:20.497 2 1:20.397 2
3 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 6 1:22.096 5 1:20.659 3 1:20.574 3
4 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 3 1:21.647 8 1:20.846 4 1:20.764 4
5 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 8 1:22.411 3 1:20.594 5 1:20.919 5
6 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 15 1:22.965 9 1:20.929 6 1:20.943 6
7 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 14 1:22.886 10 1:21.043 7 1:21.073 7
8 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 7 1:22.169 7 1:20.816 8 1:21.107 8
9 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 5 1:21.670 4 1:20.629 9 1:21.329 9
10 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 2 1:21.637 6 1:20.672 10 1:21.599 10
11 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 9 1:22.424 11 1:21.442 11
12 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 16 1:23.083 12 1:21.567 12
13 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 11 1:22.685 13 1:21.699 13
14 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 12 1:22.773 14 1:21.990 14
15 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 10 1:22.541 15 1:22.076 15
16 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 13 1:22.860 16 1:22.207 16
17 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 17 1:23.129 17
18 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 18 1:23.210 18
19 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 19 1:23.247 19
20* 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 20 1:26.158 21
21 23 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri-Honda 21 1:26.316 20
22 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota NC 22
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.
  • * Sato was awarded a ten place grid penalty for changing his engine.[3]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Fernando Alonso 2
______________ Kimi Räikkönen
Row 2 3 ______________
Michael Schumacher 4
______________ Felipe Massa
Row 3 5 ______________
Giancarlo Fisichella 6
______________ Rubens Barrichello
Row 4 7 ______________
Ralf Schumacher 8
______________ Juan Pablo Montoya
Row 5 9 ______________
Nick Heidfeld 10
______________ Jacques Villeneuve
Row 6 11 ______________
David Coulthard 12
______________ Nico Rosberg
Row 7 13 ______________
Vitantonio Liuzzi 14
______________ Christian Klien
Row 8 15 ______________
Scott Speed 16
______________ Tiago Monteiro
Row 9 17 ______________
Mark Webber 18
______________ Christijan Albers
Row 10 19 ______________
Jenson Button 20
______________ Franck Montagny
Row 11 21 ______________
Takuma Sato 22
______________ Jarno Trulli

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 60 1:25:51.927 1 10
2 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 60 +13.951s 3 8
3 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 60 +18.672s 2 6
4 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 60 +19.976s 5 5
5 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 60 +31.559s 4 4
6 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 60 +1:04.769 8 3
7 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 60 +1:14.594 9 2
8 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 60 +1:18.299 10 1
9 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 60 +1:19.008 12
10 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 59 +1 Lap 6
11 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 59 +1 Lap 22
12 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 11
13 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 59 +1 Lap 13
14 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 59 +1 Lap 14
15 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 59 +1 Lap 18
16 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 58 +2 Laps 16
17 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri 57 +3 Laps 21
18 23 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri 57 +3 Laps 20
Ret 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 8 Oil leak 19
Ret 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 Damage 15
Ret 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 0 Collision 7
Ret 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 0 Collision 17
Source:[4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

  • 200th Grand Prix appearance for Renault as a constructor.[5]
  • 500th entry for a car using #21 as its race number.[6]
  • Thirteenth career victory for Fernando Alonso.[5]
    • Alonso also secured his maiden Hattrick.
  • 31st win for Renault as a constructor.[5]
    • This was also Renault's 80th podium visit as a constructor.[5]
    • 111th win for Renault as an engine supplier.[5]
  • Alonso recorded the 25th fastest lap for a Renault chassis.[5]
  • This race also featured the first ever pit stop to have involved a woman, during a Midland pit stop for Tiago Monteiro, ITV-F1's then pit-lane reporter Louise Goodman was the left rear tyre changer.

Standings[]

A fifth win of the 2006 campaign had left Fernando Alonso in complete command of the Championship leaving Silverstone, the Spaniard having scored 74 points. Michael Schumacher was still his closest challenger, but having conceded two more points in Britain the German ace had slipped 23 points behind the Spaniard. Kimi Räikkönen, meanwhile, had moved back ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella to secure third, while Juan Pablo Montoya rounded out the top five.

In the Constructors Championship Renault remained the happiest team in the field, having smashed through the 100 point barrier as a result of the British Grand Prix. That also meant the French manufacturer held a 31 point lead over second placed Ferrari, while McLaren-Mercedes were 47 behind. Honda and BMW Sauber completed the top five, which had similar gaps throughout, with Williams-Cosworth, Toyota and Red Bull-Ferrari the only other scorers.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 74
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 51
3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 33 ▲1
4 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 32 ▼1
5 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 26
6 Brazil Felipe Massa 24
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button 16
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 13
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld 10 ▲1
10 Germany Ralf Schumacher 8 ▼1
11 United Kingdom David Coulthard 7
12 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 7 ▲1
13 Australia Mark Webber 6 ▼1
14 Germany Nico Rosberg 4
15 Austria Christian Klien 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 France Renault 106
2 Italy Ferrari 75
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 59
4 Japan Honda 29
5 Germany BMW Sauber 17
6 United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 10
7 Japan Toyota 8
8 United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 8

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 'Britain 2006: Alonso earns his stripes.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 11/06/2006), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/55957/1/britain-2006-alonso-earns-his-stripes, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  2. 'Britain 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 '2006 FORMULA 1™ Foster's British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/797/great-britain/qualifying.html, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  4. 'Britain 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 '8. Britain 2006', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  6. '2006 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190409190014/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2006&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 05/02/2020) - Original
V T E United Kingdom British Grand Prix
Circuits Brooklands (1926 - 1927), Silverstone (1948 - Present), Aintree (1955 - 1962), Brands Hatch (1963 - 1986)
SilverstoneArena2010
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1926192719481949
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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