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2006 Formula One season

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2006 FIA Formula One World Championship season
2005 2007
Index: Races by country | Races by season

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The 2006 Formula One season is the 57th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It began on March 12, 2006 and it will end on October 22 after 18 races.

The calendar initially was the same as that of 2005, with the Belgian Grand Prix scheduled on September 17. However, on February 8, the FIA announced that the Belgian National Sporting Authority (RACB) would withdraw Spa-Francorchamps from the 2006 season due to lack of time to complete improvements to the track. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, offered his city's track as a possible replacement for the Belgian Grand Prix, but the FIA said the Belgian race would not be replaced. The race continues to receive strong support from drivers and FIA President Max Mosley, but its return to the calendar in 2007 is in doubt.

2006 is also the last season with two tyre manufacturers. The two current tyre manufacturers are Bridgestone and Michelin. On December 9, 2005, the FIA announced that in 2008 there will be only one tyre supplier. Five days later, Michelin announced it will quit Formula One at the end of the 2006 season as it does not want to be in Formula One as the sole tyre supplier.

Before the start of the season, the Italian team Minardi left the championship after twenty years in Formula One, having over that time helped launch the careers of Italians Alessandro Nannini, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Jarno Trulli; current World Champion Fernando Alonso; and Indycar winners Christian Fittipaldi and Alex Zanardi. On February 9, 2006, former F1 driver Gerhard Berger acquired half ownership of Scuderia Toro Rosso. On November 22 and November 23, 2005, the British female racer Katherine Legge participated at the final testing session of the Minardi team, at the Autodromo Vallelunga, and in the process became the first woman to test a Formula One car since Giovanna Amati in 1992. She crashed two laps into her first run on track, but on the following day she completed 27 laps with a best lap time of 1'21.176. Legge is not entered in a Formula One team in 2006; after testing in A1 Grand Prix cars, she signed for American Champ Car team PKV Racing to race in the 2006 season.

Yuji Ide drives his Super Aguri SA05 in Australian Grand Prix. Ide's F1 career was short: after four races, a collision with Christijan Albers led to loss of his FIA Super Licence.
Enlarge
Yuji Ide drives his Super Aguri SA05 in Australian Grand Prix. Ide's F1 career was short: after four races, a collision with Christijan Albers led to loss of his FIA Super Licence.

2006 saw Japanese squad Super Aguri F1, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, entered at last moment. They had notified the FIA on November 1, 2005 (ahead of the governing body's November 15 deadline) of their intention to enter, but the FIA's press release of [the entry list for 2006] stated they had not approved Aguri's entry. However, the team successfully convinced the existing ten teams to unanimously agree to their entry and paid the $48 million bond, and the team was confirmed by the FIA on January 26, 2006. [link]

Fernando Alonso drives his Renault F1 car on a testing session held in February 2006 at Circuit de Valencia, possible future venue for a second Grand Prix in Spain
Enlarge
Fernando Alonso drives his Renault F1 car on a testing session held in February 2006 at Circuit de Valencia, possible future venue for a second Grand Prix in Spain

Another important story throughout the early part of the season surrounded the ownership of the F1 series. On November 25, 2005, Bernie Ecclestone confirmed that the majority share in Formula One had been sold to CVC Capital Partners. Ecclestone will remain as CEO of the F1 company. On March 21, 2006 – with the F1 season already started – the European Commission approved CVC's takeover of the majority of SLEC Holdings, parent company of the Formula One Group and approved the transaction, subject to CVC relinquishing control of Dorna, which controls the rights to MotoGP. CVC announced the completion of the transaction on March 28, 2006. Two days later, CVC acquired the 14% of the Formula One Group held by Lehman Brothers, giving CVC's Alpha Prema full control of the group.

Another Ecclestone victory involved the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association proposal for an alternative World Championship. On March 27, the five car manufacturers involved lodged applications for the 2008 season, reducing the likelihood of a breakaway series. On May 14, GPMA members confirmed they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding, a move toward signing a new Concorde Agreement. Five days later, Bernie Ecclestone and CVC Capital Partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Grand Prix Manufacturers’ Association which should see the five "rebels" continue racing in Formula One at least until the 2012 season.

Contents

Season review

The early part of season confirmed Renault and Fernando Alonso at the top. The Spanish World Champion clinched six Grand Prix (including four consecutive) in Bahrain, Australia, Spain, Monaco, Britain, and Canada. Teammate Giancarlo Fisichella won his third career race in Malaysia.

Ferrari with Michael Schumacher, after a disastrous 2005 season, won two consecutive races at Imola and the Nürburgring. During the final lap of his qualifying session for the Monaco Grand Prix, Schumacher came to a stop at the La Rascasse hairpin, resulting in yellow flags, meaning that other drivers could not go at maximum speed. After the session there were immediate complaints from the other teams claiming that this was a deliberate move by Schumacher to ensure he started in pole position - Alonso was on pace to beat Schumacher's highest time. Although Schumacher insisted he had simply made an error, a stewards' inquiry stated, "We are left with no alternative but to conclude that the driver deliberately stopped his car on the circuit." The penalty was that Schumacher's qualifying times were all deleted, demoting him to 22nd position on the grid. He opted to start from the pitlane, and finished 5th. In the British Grand Prix, Alonso became the first Spanish driver and the youngest driver (25 years, 10 months, 13 days) to get the Hat Trick, and for only one lap not clinched Grand Chelem. Schumacher then won the 2006 United States Grand Prix for the fifth time and his fourth victory at the circuit in a row, and the 2006 French Grand Prix for the eight time in his career.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers are competing for the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Team Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Drivers No Third driver Test driver(s)
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault [R26] RS26 2.4 V8 M 1 Fernando Alonso n/a Heikki Kovalainen
2 Giancarlo Fisichella
Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren [MP4-21] FO 108S 2.4 V8 M 3 Kimi Räikkönen n/a Pedro de la Rosa
Gary Paffett
4 Juan Pablo Montoya10
Pedro de la Rosa10
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari [248 F1] 056 2.4 V8 B 5 Michael Schumacher n/a Luca Badoer
Marc Gené
6 Felipe Massa
Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota [TF106]
TF106B 6 		RVX-06 2.4 V8 B 7 Ralf Schumacher n/a Ricardo Zonta
Olivier Panis
8 Jarno Trulli
WilliamsF1 Team Williams [FW28] CA2006 2.4 V8 4 Series B 9 Mark Webber 35 Alexander Wurz Narain Karthikeyan
10 Nico Rosberg
Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda [RA106] RA806E 2.4 V8 M 11 Rubens Barrichello 36 Anthony Davidson3 James Rossiter2
Adam Carroll
Danilo Dirani
Alan van der Merwe
12 Jenson Button
Red Bull Racing Red Bull [RB2] 056 2.4 V8 M 14 David Coulthard 37 Robert Doornbos none
15 Christian Klien
BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber [F1.06] P86 2.4 V8 M 16 Nick Heidfeld 38 Robert Kubica none
17 Jacques Villeneuve
Midland F1 Racing Midland F1 [M16] RVX-06 2.4 V8 B 18 Tiago Monteiro 39 Markus Winkelhock
Giorgio Mondini
Adrian Sutil
 Roman Rusinov
Fabrizio del Monte
19 Christijan Albers
Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso [STR01] TJ2005 3.0 V10 M 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi 40 Neel Jani none
21 Scott Speed
Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri [SA05]
SA06 5 		RA806E 2.4 V8 B 22 Takuma Sato 41 Franck Montagny1
James Rossiter2 
Sakon Yamamoto9
Yuji Ide4
23 Yuji Ide4
Franck Montagny4

Team changes

This year, three prominent names in the sport have disappeared, with Minardi, Sauber and Jordan withdrawing, and one team entered at last moment, the Super Aguri.

The Sauber name will remain, although only as a sentiment, as BMW now have total ownership of the team, with Nick Heidfeld and Jacques Villeneuve at first and second guide, with Robert Kubica, the first Polish driver entered in a F1 team, as third driver. After the Monaco Grand Prix, and boring results at first part of the season, Jacques Villeneuve again considered retiring from F1 racing. [link]

Jordan became MF1 Racing, as Midland start afresh with Portuguese Tiago Monteiro from the old team, and Dutch Christijan Albers from defunct Minardi. Midland F1 have announced that they will be swapping the Friday test driver roles throughout the season. Giorgio Mondini is planned to be the Friday driver for nine races, while Markus Winkelhock will be the Friday driver for the bulk of the remaining races. MF1's new junior driver, Adrian Sutil, could also possibly show up in the Friday test role. Russian Roman Rusinov will remain strictly as a test driver, while Nicky Pastorelli's testing role with the team is still uncertain because of problems with one of his backers. This was put to rest with an announcement that he would run the remainder of the season in Champ Car for Paul Gentilozzi. A similar situation in the team occurred with Italian Fabrizio del Monte, who stated he had secured the third driver role for the San Marino Grand Prix. This fell through and there are currently no plans for him to be anywhere in the team's carousel of test drivers.

Williams introduced numerous changes for 2006, particularly changing to Cosworth V8 engines after they and BMW split. Red Bull Racing have Ferrari engines, replacing the Cosworth power which gained them seventh in the standings in 2005. Williams and Toyota changed type suppliers to Bridgestone tyres, after Michelin decided to supply fewer teams in the championship.

Driver changes

Renault and McLaren retain their 2005 race drivers for this season, Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault), and Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren). Renault's test driver Franck Montagny has been replaced by Heikki Kovalainen, despite Montagny testing for the team during November and December; Montagny moved to Super Aguri. McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa remains and is joined by Gary Paffett who was signed late in 2005. Alexander Wurz moves from McLaren to Williams to become official test and reserve driver.

At Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello has been replaced by fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa. Massa tested with the team in 2003, and after outperforming team-mate Jacques Villeneuve at Sauber for the first part of last season, was given a one-year race contract with Ferrari.

At Williams, Australian Mark Webber has been retained, and joined by the German rookie Nico Rosberg (replacing Nick Heidfeld, who joined BMW Sauber) after winning the inaugural 2005 GP2 Championship, the Formula One feeder. Rosberg is the son of Finn Keke Rosberg, who won the championship for Williams in 1982. Also, after the appointment of Alexander Wurz to replace Antonio Pizzonia as test and reserve driver, India's Narain Karthikeyan has been signed as the 4th driver of the team.

Toyota had no driver changes, Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli having been retained, while Olivier Panis and Ricardo Zonta are the team's test drivers.

Honda, formerly BAR, replaced Takuma Sato with Rubens Barrichello. The Brazilian displays the lead number (11) at Honda after it was 'gifted' to him by Jenson Button who had the right to do so. Honda confirmed that the two drivers have equal status.

Results and standings

In the 2006 Formula One calendar the Australian Grand Prix was put back to a few weeks to avoid a clash with the 2006 Commonwealth Games. For the first time, Bahrain hosted the first Grand Prix, Brazil hosted the last, Japanese and Chinese swapped roles.

Grands Prix

Round Name Circuit Date Winning driver Winning team Report
1 Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit March 12 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
2 Malaysian Grand Prix Sepang International Circuit March 19 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault Report
3 Australian Grand Prix Albert Park April 2 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
4 San Marino Grand Prix Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari April 23 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
5 European Grand Prix Nürburgring May 7 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
6 Spanish Grand Prix 7 Circuit de Catalunya May 14 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
7 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco May 28 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
8 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit June 11 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
9 Canadian Grand Prix Gilles Villeneuve Circuit June 25 Fernando Alonso Renault Report
10 United States Grand Prix Indianapolis Motor Speedway July 2 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
11 French Grand Prix Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours July 16 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Report
12 German Grand Prix Hockenheimring July 30 Report
13 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring August 6 Report
14 Turkish Grand Prix Istanbul Park August 27 Report
15 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale Monza September 10 Report
16 Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit October 1 Report
17 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka Circuit 8 October 8 Report
18 Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace October 22 Report

Drivers

Pos Driver BHR MYS AUS SMR EUR ESP MCO GBR CAN USA FRA DEU HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts

1 Alonso 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 2

 96

2 M. Schumacher 2 6 Ret 1 1 2 5 2 2 1 1

 79

3 Fisichella Ret 1 5 8 6 3 6 4 4 3 6

 46

4 Räikkönen 3 Ret 2 5 4 5 Ret 3 3 Ret 5

 43

5 Massa 9 5 Ret 4 3 4 9 5 5 2 3

 42

6 Montoya 5 4 Ret 3 Ret Ret 2 6 Ret Ret

 26

7 Button 4 3 10 7 Ret 6 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret

 16

8 Barrichello 15 10 7 10 5 7 4 10 Ret 6 Ret

 16

9 R. Schumacher 14 8 3 9 Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 4

 13

10 Heidfeld 12 Ret 4 13 10 8 7 7 7 Ret 8

 13

11 Coulthard 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 14 3 12 8 7 9

 10

12 Trulli 16 9 Ret Ret 9 10 17 11 6 4 Ret

 8

13 Villeneuve Ret 7 6 12 8 12 14 8 Ret Ret 11

 7

14 Webber 6 Ret Ret 6 Ret 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret

 6

15 Rosberg 7 Ret Ret 11 7 11 Ret 9 Ret 9 14

 4

16 de la Rosa 7

 2

17 Liuzzi 11 11 Ret 14 Ret 15 10 13 13 8 13

 1

18 Klien 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 11 Ret 12

 1

19 Speed 13 Ret 9 15 11 Ret 13 Ret 10 Ret 10

 0

20 Albers Ret 12 11 Ret 13 Ret 12 15 Ret Ret 15

 0

21 Monteiro 17 13 Ret 16 12 16 15 16 14 Ret Ret

0

22 Sato 18 14 12 Ret Ret 17 Ret 17 15 Ret Ret

 0

23 Ide Ret Ret 13 Ret

0

24 Montagny Ret Ret 16 18 Ret Ret 16

 0

— Yamamoto

0

Pos Driver BHR MYS AUS SMR EUR ESP MCO GBR CAN USA FRA DEU HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Finished, in points
Blue Finished, no points
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
blank Did not participate /
excluded (Ex)

Pos Driver Team(s) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps Points

1 Fernando Alonso Renault 11 6 10 5 3 96

2 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 11 4 8 4 4 79

3 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 11 1 3 1 0 46

4 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren Mercedes 11 0 4 0 2 43

5 Felipe Massa Ferrari 11 0 3 0 1 42

6 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren Mercedes 10 0 2 0 0 26

7 Jenson Button Honda 11 0 1 1 0 16

8 Rubens Barrichello Honda 11 0 0 0 0 16

9 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 11 0 1 0 0 13

10 Nick Heidfeld Sauber BMW 11 0 0 0 0 13

11 David Coulthard RBR Ferrari 11 0 1 0 0 10

12 Jarno Trulli Toyota 11 0 0 0 0 8

13 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber BMW 11 0 0 0 0 7

14 Mark Webber Williams Cosworth 11 0 0 0 0 6

15 Nico Rosberg Williams Cosworth 11 0 0 0 1 4

16 Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes 1 0 0 0 0 2

17 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR Cosworth 11 0 0 0 0 1

18 Christian Klien RBR Ferrari 11 0 0 0 0 1

19 Scott Speed STR Cosworth 11 0 0 0 0 0

20 Christijan Albers MF1 Toyota 11 0 0 0 0 0

21 Tiago Monteiro MF1 Toyota 11 0 0 0 0 0

22 Takuma Sato Aguri Honda 11 0 0 0 0 0

23 Yuji Ide Aguri Honda 4 0 0 0 0 0

24 Franck Montagny Aguri Honda 7 0 0 0 0 0

— Sakon Yamamoto Aguri Honda 0 0 0 0 0 0

Constructors

|valign="top"|
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver 2nd place
Bronze 3rd place
Green Finished, in points
Blue Finished, no points
Purple Did not finish (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
blank Did not participate /
excluded (Ex)
|}

Rule changes

Engine

Significant changes to the Formula One regulations were introduced for 2006. In an attempt to curb the increasing engine power levels of recent years, the maximum engine displacement was reduced from 3.0 to 2.4 litres and the number of cylinders from 10 to 8. At similar engine speeds, the change was expected to cut peak power by around 200 bhp, which would equate to around three to five seconds on lap times at most circuits. (Scuderia Toro Rosso continued to use 3.0 litre 10-cylinder engines with a rev limiter, to avoid the costs of re-engineering their cars in a short period). Initial testing indicated the new engines were six seconds slower than their V10 counterparts, but early in the season it became obvious that despite the decrease in power, lap speeds were not far from 2005 figures.

Some engine suppliers indicated early that their smaller V8s can rev higher than the 19,000rpms normal for 2005-spec V10s. Northampton-based engine builder Cosworth has an enviable record of success with V8 engines. It claimed to have made further history by becoming the first manufacturer to have broken the 20,000rpm limit on track in December 2005.

Cost reduction

In the long run, the FIA intends to introduce greater restrictions on testing and the introduction of standardized electronics, tyres and brakes to reduce costs and entice more new private teams into the sport. Proposed new rules for the year 2008 led to 22 teams applying to race that season, but since currently only 12 teams can race at one time, 10 of those applicants were turned down.

Tyres

Tyre changes returned to Formula One in 2006. Each driver is limited to 14 sets of tyres per race weekend. This consists of seven sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of wet-weather tyres and three sets of extreme-weather tyres. The thinking behind this is that the reduced engine size will offset any performance gain.[link]

Qualifying

A new qualifying system consisting of three sessions of varying length proved an instant hit with fans. A 15-minute session is held first, in which the six slowest cars from that session are eliminated and thus set in grid positions 17–22. After a five minute break, another 15-minute session is held with the remaining cars, and again the six slowest cars are eliminated and set in positions 11–16. These 12 eliminated drivers are placed in parc ferme, but may modify fuel loads as they see fit.

During a further five minute break, the remaining 10 cars declare their fuel loads to the FIA. A final 20 minute session then decides the top 10 grid positions. Teams are allowed to run their fuel load low by making as many laps as possible, and thus improve their times as the weight falls. This is an improvement for TV audiences because teams need to run as many laps as possible to lower their fuel loads. Following this session, the top 10 cars are placed in parc ferme and required to refill their fuel load to the level of that at the beginning of the final 20 minutes. Starting with the 2006 French Grand Prix, qualifying for final session was cut short to just 15 minutes, making all of the sessions the same length, and the ability for drivers to complete a flying lap after the chequered flag drop now applies in first two seesions as well. [link].

A loophole was detected by the FIA, in that teams could declare a large fuel load but on the out lap "leak", or use a large quantity of fuel to lighten a car and permit a faster lap. The FIA decided to only count laps that are within 110% of the driver's fastest time, and allow teams to top up with the amount of fuel used for those laps.

Practice

Only one free practice session is held on Saturdays, for one hour, and it ends no less than two hours before qualifying begins, usually between 11.00 and 12.00, replacing the old system of two 45-minute sessions. Friday remains unchanged, with two one-hour sessions, starting three hours apart.

Rumours and speculation

Teams

Drivers

Races

Notes

  1. Franck Montagny became Super Aguri's reserve driver for the first two races of the season, but because of the team having only two chassis, he was unable to partake in the Friday practice sessions as a third driver. With the availability of a third chassis for the European Grand Prix, Montagny was to return as Aguri's third driver.
  2. James Rossiter, test driver for Honda, replaced Montagny as reserve driver for the Australian Grand Prix, but again was unable to take part in the Friday practice sessions [link].
  3. After San Marino Grand Prix and before European Grand Prix, Honda F1 Test Driver Anthony Davidson could be called up to join Super Aguri F1 during the 2006 season when a new chassis has been developed.
  4. Franck Montagny replaced Yuji Ide starting with the 2006 European Grand Prix, while Ide was moved to team's test driver.
  5. Super Aguri have set the 2006 German Grand Prix as the date to introduce the SA06 chassis. Even though suggestions had been made that the SA05 would change part by part into the SA06 instead of introducing a brand new chassis.
  6. Toyota used the Toyota TF106 for the first six rounds of the champoinship (Bahrain to Spain), before switching to the new Toyota TF106B from Monaco onwards.
  7. The Circuit de Valencia was reported to be bidding to host a world championship race in the future (a second Grand Prix held in Spain) probably Formula One edition of MotoGP Valencian Community Grand Prix.
  8. After twenty years, this is the last Japanese Grand Prix held at Suzuka International Racing Course. For 2007, this race was scheduled in Toyota's rebuilt Fuji Speedway, which hosted the 1976 and 1977 seasons). After the official announcement, there has been media speculation that Suzuka, supported by Honda, may retain a race under a resurrection of the Pacific Grand Prix title. [link]
  9. Super Aguri appointed Sakon Yamamoto to take over from Yuji Ide as third driver for the British, Canadian and US Grand Prix, as an evaluation for possibily replacing Franck Montagny from the French GP to give Super Aguri an all Japanese line-up again. [link]
  10. On 11th July 2006 Juan Pablo Montoya left McLaren to start a career in NASCAR in the US. This was to allow him time to prepare for the 2007 season. Pedro de la Rosa (who was previously the 3rd driver at McLaren) took his race seat and starts for the team at the French GP.[link]
  11. Sakon Yamamoto will replace Franck Montagny at the German Grand Prix. [link]

External links

 

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