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The 2006 German Grand Prix, formally known as the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2006, was the twelfth round of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on 30 July 2006 at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher secure his third straight victory to close the gap to Championship leader Fernando Alonso.[1]

There had been some controversy prior to the race weekend, with the damper suspension system on the Renaults deemed legal by the scrutineers and stewards, despite an official ban on the design by the FIA.[1] The FIA, who had appointed the stewards, appealed against the decision, prompting Renault to withdraw the design at the end of Friday's running to avoid a ban.[1]

The impact of that change in design seemed to tell in qualifying, for Giancarlo Fisichella and Alonso could only muster fifth and seventh on the grid respectively.[1] That hence allowed Kimi Räikkönen to storm to pole position ahead of Michael Schumacher, while Felipe Massa and Jenson Button secured the second row.[1]

The start of the race would see Räikkönen ace his start, giving McLaren-Mercedes hope of a first win of the season.[1] Schumacher and Massa duly gave chase in the two scarlet Ferraris, while behind the two Renaults surged ahead of the two Hondas of Button and Rubens Barrichello.[1]

Lap one would prove more eventful beyond the start, however, for Button would dive back past Alonso at the hairpin, before Ralf Schumacher smacked David Coulthard in the middle of the pack.[1] The impact launched the Scot's Red Bull-Ferrari, and hence distracted the two BMW Saubers and resulted in them hitting each other, while Nico Rosberg would have an accident of his own entering the stadium section a few moments later.[1]

The early stages saw Räikkönen and the two Ferraris escape up the road, leaving Fisichella to unsuccessfully defend fourth from a resurgent Button.[1] However, after just ten laps the entire perception of the race would change, as Räikkönen swept into the pits for his first stop.[1]

Indeed, Räikkönen's victory bid ended there, for not only had he made an early stop, a sticking wheel nut would mean his stop lasted over fifteen seconds.[1] That dumped the Finn back to eighth, and as the only member of the lead group to be on a three-stop strategy.[1]

The rest of the field began making their stops a few laps later, with Button the first of the Honda/Renault quartet to stop, while Massa pitted before Schumacher.[1] The two Ferraris duly rejoined in first and second, Schumacher remaining ahead, while Mark Webber suddenly found himself in the middle of the fight for the podium with Räikkönen, Button and Fisichella.[1]

Through to the second round of stops and Webber was still in the hunt, and had enhanced his hopes by overtaking Fisichella.[1] Unfortunately for the Australian racer his challenge was ended by water leak in the closing stages, leaving Button to fend off Räikkönen for the final spot on the podium.[1] Fisichella, meanwhile, would slip out of the fight, and be passed by teammate Alonso during their final stops.[1]

Out front, meanwhile, Schumacher and Massa ran nose-to-tail and unopposed at the head of the field, and duly crossed the line to claim a dominant one-two for Ferrari.[1] Räikkönen would join them on the podium after an excellent dive past Button at the Mercedes grandstand in the closing stages, while Alonso secured fifth ahead of Fisichella.[1] Jarno Trulli and Christian Klien completed the scorers, with ten drivers having retired.[1]

Significantly the race proved to be the last for 1997 Champion Jacques Villeneuve, who quit BMW Sauber after the race having not been given a contract for 2007.[2] Elsewhere, Midland-Toyota saw both their cars disqualified for using illegally flexing rear wings.[1]

Timetable and weather[]

Day Timetable Session Weather Air Track Humidity
Local Time GMT
28 July 11:00–12:00 12:00–13:00 Practice 1 Sunny 27 °C 34–36 °C 56–62 %
14:00–15:00 15:00–16:00 Practice 2 Sunny 25–27 °C 31–41 °C 59–71 %
29 July 11:00–12:00 12:00–13:00 Practice 3 Sunny 26–27 °C 37–42 °C 58–64 %
14:00–15:00 15:00–16:00 Qualifying Sunny 29–31 °C 47–49 °C 39–49 %
30 July 14:00–16:00 15:00–17:00 Grand Prix Sunny 33 °C 48–50 °C 34 %
Source:[3][4]

Background[]

Victory for Michael Schumacher meant that the German veteran had managed to close the gap to Championship leader Fernando Alonso, leaving France with a seventeen point deficit. Alonso's second place finish had reduced the damage, however, and meant that the Spaniard could afford to finish second to Schumacher through the remaining seven races and still claim the crown. Behind, Giancarlo Fisichella and Kimi Räikkönen were in a fight with Felipe Massa to secure third, while Pedro de la Rosa had become the season's eighteenth different scorer.

In the Constructors Championship Renault had left their home race still at the head of the hunt, but had seen their advantage somewhat reduced. Indeed, Ferrari's double podium ensured the Scuderia closed to within 21 points of the French manufacturer, and hence were a significant threat for the crown. McLaren-Mercedes, meanwhile, were set to claim third having dropped 50 points behind Ferrari, with Honda and Toyota completing the top five.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2006 German 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 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 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 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 Germany Markus Winkelhock 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
Source:[5]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 3 1:15.214 4 1:14.410 1 1:14.070 1
2 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 2 1:14.904 1 1:13.778 2 1:14.205 2
3 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 1 1:14.412 2 1:14.094 3 1:14.569 3
4 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 12 1:15.869 3 1:14.378 4 1:14.862 4
5 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 13 1:15.916 5 1:14.540 5 1:14.894 5
6 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 8 1:15.757 6 1:14.652 6 1:14.934 6
7 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 5 1:15.518 8 1:14.746 7 1:15.282 7
8 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 9 1:15.789 7 1:14.743 8 1:15.923 8
9 4 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 6 1:15.655 10 1:15.021 9 1:15.936 9
10 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 11 1:15.836 9 1:14.826 10 1:16.326 10
11 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 7 1:15.719 11 1:15.094 11
12 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 10 1:15.816 12 1:15.141 12
13* 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 4 1:15.430 13 1:15.150 20
14 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 16 1:16.281 14 1:15.329 13
15 16 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 14 1:16.183 15 1:15.380 14
16 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 15 1:16.234 16 1:15.397 15
17 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 17 1:16.399 16
18* 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 18 1:17.093 21
19 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 19 1:17.185 18
20 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 20 1:17.836 18
21 23 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 21 1:20.444 PL
22 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth NC 19
Source:[6]
  • 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.
  • * Trulli and Albers were awarded ten place grid penalties for changing their engines.[6]
  • Yamamoto would start the race from the pitlane after changing his chassis.[6]

Grid[]

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

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 67 1:27:51.693 2 10
2 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 67 +0.720s 3 8
3 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 67 +13.206s 1 6
4 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 67 +18.898s 4 5
5 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 67 +23.707s 7 4
6 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 67 +24.814s 5 3
7 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 67 +26.544s 20 2
8 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 67 +48.131s 12 1
9 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 67 +1:00.351 8
10 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 66 +1 Lap 16
11 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 66 +1 Lap 10
12 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 66 +1 Lap 19
DSQ* 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 66 Disqualified 21
DSQ* 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 65 Disqualified 18
Ret 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 59 Water leak 11
Ret 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 38 Gearbox 17
Ret 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 30 Accident 13
Ret 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 18 Engine 6
Ret 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 9 Brakes 15
Ret 4 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 2 Fuel pump 9
Ret 23 Japan Sakon Yamamoto Japan Super Aguri-Honda 1 Driveshaft PL
Ret 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 0 Accident 14
Source:[7]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory for Michael Schumacher, combined with a lowly fifth place finish for Fernando Alonso, had drastically changed the Championship picture with six rounds to go. Indeed, the German veteran had cut the gap to just eleven points between himself and the Spaniard out-front, and had momentum behind him. Alonso did, however, still have enough of a margin that he would lead the Championship heading into the summer-break after the Hungarian Grand Prix, but needed a drastic reversal in form.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had moved to within striking distance of Renault for the first time all season, leaving Germany just ten behind the leaders. Indeed, two one-twos in three races had done the damage for the Scuderia, and had moved them 62 points clear of third placed McLaren-Mercedes. The rest of the season would therefore likely be a duel between Renault and Ferrari for the crown, while McLaren were set to consolidate third, 40 clear of Honda in fourth.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 100
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 89
3 Brazil Felipe Massa 50 ▲2
4 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 49 ▼1
5 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 49 ▼1
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 26
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button 21
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 16
9 Germany Ralf Schumacher 13
10 Germany Nick Heidfeld 13
11 United Kingdom David Coulthard 10
12 Italy Jarno Trulli 10
13 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 7
14 Australia Mark Webber 6
15 Germany Nico Rosberg 4
16 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 2
17 Austria Christian Klien 2 ▲1
18 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 1 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 France Renault 149
2 Italy Ferrari 139
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 77
4 Japan Honda 37
5 Japan Toyota 23
6 Germany BMW Sauber 20
7 United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 12
8 United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 10
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 'Germany 2006: Schumacher shrinks points gap.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 30/07/2006), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/56511/1/germany-2006-schumacher-shrinks-points-gap, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  2. 'Villeneuve parts company with BMW', bbc.co.uk/sport, (British Broadcasting Company, 07/08/2006), http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/5243540.stm, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20061020085235/http://www.formula1.com/race/timetable/762.html, (Accessed 11/11/2021)
  4. https://www.motorsport-total.com/formel-1/ergebnisse/2006/grosser-preis-von-deutschland/rennen, (Accessed 11/11/2021)
  5. 'Germany 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/allemagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 'FORMULA 1™ Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2006 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/801/germany/qualifying.html, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  7. 'Germany 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/allemagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 '12. Germany 2006', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/allemagne.aspx, (Accessed 06/02/2020)
  9. 9.0 9.1 [Archived] '2006 German GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410191518/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2006&gp=German%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 06/02/2020) - Original
V T E Germany German Grand Prix
Circuits Nürburgring (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960–1969, 1971–1976, 1985, 2008–2013*), AVUS (1926, 1959), Hockenheimring (1970, 1977–1984, 1986–2006, 2008–2014*, 2016, 2018–2019)
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European Championship Races 19321933–193419351936193719381939
Non-Championship Races 1926 • 192719281929193019311932–19331934
* Nürburgring and Hockenheimring alternated between each other during these years.
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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