Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The 2006 United States Grand Prix, advertised as the XXXV Vodafone United States Grand Prix, was the tenth round of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indiana, USA, on 2 July 2006.[1] The race, which was the first US Grand Prix to be held after the controversial events of the 2005 race, would be dominated by Ferrari duo Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa.[1]

Unlike the race twelve months before there were no tyre issues for the Michelin shod section of the field, with no failures during practice. This was largely attributed to the fact that the French manufacturer had brought harder tyres, as well as the decision to allow tyre changes during the Grand Prix itself.

Those changes to the Michelin tyre may have proved vital in qualifying, for Michael Schumacher led teammate Felipe Massa to a front-row lock-out for the Bridgestone shod Ferraris.[1] Giancarlo Fisichella was best of the rest ahead of Rubens Barrichello, while Championship leader Fernando Alonso would start from fifth.[1]

Unfortunately memories of the disasterous 2005 would re-emerge at the start of the race, for two accidents would drastically thin the field.[1] Indeed, after Massa had out-dragged Schumacher to claim the lead at the head of the pack, a badly misjudged lunge from Christian Klien triggered a colossal accident.[1]

The Austrian racer had decided to try the dusty inside line into turn one to dive past the two Midland-Toyotas, only to get caught out on the dust and slam into Mark Webber, before collecting Christijan Albers and being rammed by an unsighted Franck Montagny.[1] That sent several cars scattering across the circuit and the grass at turn two, where Juan Pablo Montoya smashed into the back of teammate Kimi Räikkönen, prior to sliding into Jenson Button's Honda which was sent into the side of Nick Heidfeld.[1]

Heidfeld's exit was the most spectacular of all, for the BMW Sauber was sent into a triple barrel roll before crashing back down in the grass right-side-up.[1] The Safety Car was instantly called to clear up the mess, as Montoya, Räikkönen, Klien, Montagny, Heidfeld, Webber and Scott Speed walked back to the pits.[1]

The restart came a few laps later, just in time to see Takuma Sato take Monteiro out of the equation, followed by an engine failure for Jacques Villeneuve.[1] That incident, combined with collision damage curtailing the race of Button, meant that half the field were out with 50 laps still to run.[1]

Ignorant of all of this, however, were the two Ferraris, which eased away from the two Renaults at the restart to secure a dominant lead.[1] Alonso briefly led the chase but lacked the pace to challenge, and would be ultimately instructed to allow teammate Fisichella through before the first stops.[1] Indeed, so poor was the Spaniard's pace that he also slipped behind Barrichello and the two Toyotas.[1]

With Massa leading Schumacher the question was whether the German's protege would be allowed to win, and given Ferrari's reputation that seemed to be an unlikely conclusion.[1] Somewhat unsurprisingly the move would come during the first round of stops, with Schumacher stopping first on lap 29, before delivering an excellent out-lap to jump his teammate when the Brazilian stopped a lap alter.[1]

That proved to be that for the race, barring a late retirement for Ralf Schumacher that brought the field down to just nine finishers.[1] There would also be a late fight between David Coulthard, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg, although that battle saw little physical battling.[1]

Michael Schumacher hence claimed a dominant victory ahead of teammate Massa, the first Ferrari one-two since the 2005 US GP.[1] Fisichella completed the podium ahead of Trulli and Alonso, with the rest of the points going to Barrichello, Coulthard and Liuzzi.[1]

The race would prove to be the last Grand Prix start for Montoya, as the Colombian racer quit McLaren-Mercedes to prepare for NASCAR in 2007.

Background[]

At the halfway point in the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship it was clear that Fernando Alonso was the overwhelming favourite to retain his title, having dropped just six points across the opening nine rounds. He left Canada with a huge 25 point lead over Michael Schumacher in second, and a 45 point advantage over Kimi Räikkönen in third. The half-term top five was then completed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa, with sixteen drivers having scored.

In the Constructors Championship it was Renault who had command at the halfway mark, leaving Canada with 121 points and seven wins to their credit. Ferrari were their closest challengers and the only other team to have claimed a race win, but faced a 34 point gap between themselves and the French squad. McLaren-Mercedes were likewise a distant third, well clear of fourth placed Honda, with BMW Sauber rounding out the mid-season top five.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2006 United States 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 United States Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos. Time
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 2 1:11.588 1 1:10.636 1 1:10.832 1
2 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 1 1:11.088 2 1:11.146 2 1:11.435 2
3 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 8 1:12.287 3 1:11.200 3 1:11.920 3
4 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 6 1:12.156 4 1:11.263 4 1:12.109 4
5 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 9 1:12.416 9 1:11.877 5 1:12.449 5
6 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 5 1:12.114 7 1:11.724 6 1:12.479 6
7 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 7 1:12.238 8 1:11.865 7 1:12.523 7
8 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 3 1:11.879 5 1:11.673 8 1:12.795 8
9 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 14 1:12.777 10 1:12.135 9 1:13.174 9
10 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 4 1:11.891 6 1:11.718 10 1:15.280 10
11 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 10 1:12.477 11 1:12.150 11
12 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 15 1:12.935 12 1:12.292 12
13 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 16 1:13.167 13 1:12.792 13
14 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 12 1:12.711 14 1:12.854 14
15 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 11 1:12.627 15 1:12.864 15
16 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 13 1:12.773 16 1:12.925 16
17 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 17 1:13.180 17
18 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 18 1:13.496 18
19* 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 19 1:13.506 21
20 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 20 1:13.787 PL
21 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 21 1:14.041 20
22 23 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri-Honda 22 1:16.036 19
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.
  • * Rosberg was retroactively excluded from the results of qualifying for ignoring an instruction from the officials.[3]
  • Trulli was to start the race from the pitlane after changing his suspension outside of Parc Fermé conditions.[3]
  • Liuzzi was awarded a ten place grid penalty for changing his engine.[3]

Grid[]

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

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 73 1:34:35.199 1 10
2 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 73 +7.984s 2 8
3 2 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella France Renault 73 +16.595s 3 6
4 8 Italy Jarno Trulli Japan Toyota 73 +23.604s PL 5
5 1 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 73 +28.410s 5 4
6 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Japan Honda 73 +36.513s 4 3
7 14 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 72 +1 Lap 17 2
8 20 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 72 +1 Lap 20 1
9 10 Germany Nico Rosberg United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 72 +1 Lap 21
Ret 7 Germany Ralf Schumacher Japan Toyota 62 Wheel bearing 8
Ret 19 Netherlands Christijan Albers Russia Midland-Toyota 37 Transmission 14
Ret 17 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany BMW Sauber 23 Engine 6
Ret 18 Portugal Tiago Monteiro Russia Midland-Toyota 9 Collision damage 15
Ret 22 Japan Takuma Sato Japan Super Aguri-Honda 6 Collision 18
Ret 12 United Kingdom Jenson Button Japan Honda 3 Collision damage 7
Ret 3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 0 Collision 9
Ret 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Germany BMW Sauber 0 Collision 10
Ret 4 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 0 Collision 11
Ret 9 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 0 Collision 12
Ret 21 United States Scott Speed Italy Toro Rosso-Cosworth 0 Collision 13
Ret 15 Austria Christian Klien United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 0 Collision 16
Ret 23 France Franck Montagny Japan Super Aguri-Honda 0 Collision 19
Source:[4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

For the first time in 2006 Fernando Alonso had failed to finish in the top two in the Championship, and hence had seen his title lead reduced. However, the Spaniard had still scored points, and so the damage done to his lead by race winner Michael Schumacher had been minimal, the German ace only closing the gap to nineteen points. Behind, Giancarlo Fisichella had moved ahead of Kimi Räikkönen after the Finn's retirement, while Felipe Massa had gained ground on both in fifth.

In the Constructors Championship the US Grand Prix had been a hugely beneficial day for Ferrari, who closed the gap to the leaders and broke through the 100 point barrier. However, the Scuderia would remain 26 points behind Renault at the end of the weekend, and had therefore only really enhanced their grip on second. Indeed, a double non-score for McLaren-Mercedes had left them in a now distant third, while Toro Rosso-Cosworth were on the board for the first time in ninth.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Spain Fernando Alonso 88
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 69
3 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 43 ▲1
4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 39 ▼1
5 Brazil Felipe Massa 36
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 26
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button 16
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 16
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld 12
10 United Kingdom David Coulthard 10
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher 8
12 Italy Jarno Trulli 8 ▲3
13 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 7 ▼1
14 Australia Mark Webber 6 ▼1
15 Germany Nico Rosberg 4 ▼1
16 Italy Vitantonio Liuzzi 1 ▲2
17 Austria Christian Klien 1 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 France Renault 131
2 Italy Ferrari 105
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 65
4 Japan Honda 32
5 Germany BMW Sauber 19
6 Japan Toyota 16
7 United Kingdom Red Bull-Ferrari 11 ▲1
8 United Kingdom Williams-Cosworth 10 ▼1
8 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 'United States GP, 2006', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr760.html, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  2. 'USA 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/etats-unis.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 '2006 FORMULA 1™ United States Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/799/united-states/qualifying.html, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  4. 'USA 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/etats-unis/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 '10. USA 2006', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/etats-unis.aspx, (Accessed 05/02/2020)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 [Archived] '2006 United States GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410084242/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2006&gp=United%20States%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 05/02/2020) - Original
V T E United States United States Grand Prix
Circuits Sebring (1959), Riverside (1960), Watkins Glen (1961–1980), Phoenix (1989–1991), Indianapolis (2000–2007), Austin (2012–present)
CircuitoftheAmericas2012
Formula One Races 19591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981–19881989199019911992–1999200020012002200320042005200620072008–2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-F1 races 1908190919101911191219131914191519161917–1957 • 1958
See also Miami Grand PrixLas Vegas Grand PrixUnited States Grand Prix WestIndianapolis 500Detroit Grand PrixCaesars Palace Grand PrixDallas Grand PrixQuestor Grand Prix
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
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
Advertisement