2006 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix, formally the 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix (XXXII フジテレビ日本グランプリ in Japanese) was the seventeenth and penultimate round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan, on 8 October 2006.'Japan 2006: Alonso inherits reversal of fortune.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 08/10/2006), https://www.crash.net/f1/race-report/57176/1/japan-2006-alonso-inherits-reversal-of-fortune, (Accessed 10/02/2020) The race would see Fernando Alonso claim victory and the Championship lead with a race to go, as his main title rival Michael Schumacher suffered a fateful engine failure. It was the first Formula One race to be broadcast in HDTV by Fuji Television.
Qualifying had been in Schumacher's favour, although the German ace was beaten to pole position by his teammate Felipe Massa. Alonso, meanwhile, would line-up in fifth alongside his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, with the two s of Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli separating the title protagonists.
It would be formation flying at the front of the field at the start of the race, with Massa leading Michael Schumacher, while the two Toyotas fended off the Renaults. However, Trulli would soon be overcome by Alonso through the opening lap, putting the Spaniard into fourth, while an identical move would put Jenson Button ahead of Fisichella.
With Alonso hounding Ralf Schumacher Ferrari played their joker early, with Massa moving aside to let teammate Michael Schumacher into the lead at the beginning of lap three. The German ace duly blasted away from the Brazilian to build a five second lead, while Alonso remained stuck behind the #7 Toyota until lap thirteen.
However, despite clearing the troublesome Toyota, Alonso would make very little progress against the Ferraris, with the gap between himself and Schumacher remaining fairly stable. Indeed, Massa had already bailed for his first stop on lap thirteen, with Alonso lasting until lap fifteen, while Schumacher continued for two more laps.
Massa's early stop may have proved crucial, for it allowed Alonso to jump the #6 Ferrari and hence sit in the wake of Schumacher's Ferrari. The lead battle would, however, never fully develop, for the pair seemed to be mired in a constant stream of traffic prior to their second stops.
Yet, just two laps later and the whole race and Championship picture would change, for Schumacher's Ferrari would crawl to a stop at the back of the circuit. A rather nonplussed Schumacher would make a slow walk back to the pits, waving to the crowd as Alonso took over the lead of the race.
With Massa too far back to challenge and third placed Kimi Räikkönen, the only man on Alonso's pace, yet to make his second stop, the race seemed to be over. Indeed, once Räikkönen stopped it was Fisichella who moved into third ahead of Button, with the only fighting on-track during the final stint being found in a duel for the final point between the s.
As such, Alonso cruised through the closing stages to take a comfortable victory, and a ten point lead in the Championship ahead of the season finale in Brazil. Massa and Fisichella completed the podium. Fisichella dedicated his third-place finish to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who had died on 5 October 2006 after a heart attack. With the one-three result for Renault handing them a nine point advantage in the Constructors Championship with a race to go. Button, Räikkönen, Trulli, Ralf Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld secured the remaining points.
==Background==
A second victory in succession for Michael Schumacher had moved the German ace level on points with long-standing leader Fernando Alonso atop the Championship, both ending the weekend on 116 points. However, courtesy of having seven wins to the Spaniard's six, it was the German ace who headed to Japan at the head of the title hunt. Behind, the battle for third had also intensified, with Giancarlo Fisichella having moved a point ahead of Felipe Massa.
In the Constructors Championship had moved back to the head of the pack, albeit by just a point after their double podium in China. had been forced to make way for them, and could potentially concede the title fight in Japan, if Renault claimed a one-two and the Scuderia failed to score. Behind, would claim third in the Championship if failed to outscore them by ten points in Suzuka, while had eased away from in fifth.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Fernando Alonso 	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 	 	R26 	 	RS26 2.4 V8 	
2 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 	 	R26 	 	RS26 2.4 V8 	
3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Team McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-21 	 	FO 108S 2.4 V8 	
4 	Pedro de la Rosa 	Team McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-21 	 	FO 108S 2.4 V8 	
5 	Michael Schumacher 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	248 F1 	 	056 2.4 V8 	
6 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	248 F1 	 	056 2.4 V8 	
7 	Ralf Schumacher 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF106B 	 	RVX-06 2.4 V8 	
8 	Jarno Trulli 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF106B 	 	RVX-06 2.4 V8 	
9 	Mark Webber 	Williams F1 Team 	 	FW28A 	 	CA2006 2.4 V8 	
10 	Nico Rosberg 	Williams F1 Team 	 	FW28A 	 	CA2006 2.4 V8 	
11 	Rubens Barrichello 	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA106 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
12 	Jenson Button 	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA106 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
14 	David Coulthard 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB2 	 	056 2.4 V8 	
15 	Robert Doornbos 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB2 	 	056 2.4 V8 	
16 	Nick Heidfeld 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.06 	 	P86 2.4 V8 	
17 	Robert Kubica 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.06 	 	P86 2.4 V8 	
18 	Tiago Monteiro 	Spyker MF1 Racing 	 	M16 	 	RVX-06 2.4 V8 	
19 	Christijan Albers 	Spyker MF1 Racing 	 	M16 	 	RVX-06 2.4 V8 	
20 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR1 	 	TJ2006 3.0 V10 	
21 	Scott Speed 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR1 	 	TJ2006 3.0 V10 	
22 	Takuma Sato 	Super Aguri F1 	 	SA06 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
23 	Sakon Yamamoto 	Super Aguri F1 	 	SA06 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only 	Test Drivers for Practice Sessions Only
35 	Alexander Wurz 	Williams F1 Team 	 	FW28 	 	CA2006 2.4 V8 	
36 	Anthony Davidson 	Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team 	 	RA106 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
37 	Michael Ammermüller 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB2 	 	056 2.4 V8 	
38 	Sebastian Vettel 	BMW Sauber F1 Team 	 	F1.06 	 	P86 2.4 V8 	
39 	Adrian Sutil 	Spyker MF1 Racing 	 	M16 	 	RVX-06 2.4 V8 	
40 	Neel Jani 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR1 	 	TJ2006 3.0 V10 	
41 	Franck Montagny 	Super Aguri F1 	 	SA06 	 	RA806E 2.4 V8 	
Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/engages.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Q1===
===Q2===
===Q3===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Q1 	Q1 	 	Q2 	Q2 	 	Q3 	Q3 	Grid
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Team 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	 	Pos. 	Time 	Grid
1 	6 	Felipe Massa 	 	 	1 	1:30.112 	 	2 	1:29.830 	 	1 	1:29.599 	1
2 	5 	Michael Schumacher 	 	 	8 	1:31.279 	 	1 	1:28.954 	 	2 	1:29.711 	2
3 	7 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	 	4 	1:30.595 	 	5 	1:30.299 	 	3 	1:29.989 	3
4 	8 	Jarno Trulli 	 	 	2 	1:30.420 	 	3 	1:30.204 	 	4 	1:30.039 	4
5 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	 	6 	1:30.976 	 	8 	1:30.357 	 	5 	1:30.371 	5
6 	2 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	 	11 	1:31.696 	 	6 	1:30.306 	 	6 	1:30.599 	6
7 	12 	Jenson Button 	 	 	5 	1:30.847 	 	4 	1:30.268 	 	7 	1:30.992 	7
8 	11 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	 	14 	1:31.972 	 	10 	1:30.598 	 	8 	1:31.478 	8
9 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	 	13 	1:31.811 	 	9 	1:30.470 	 	9 	1:31.513 	9
10 	10 	Nico Rosberg 	 	 	3 	1:30.585 	 	7 	1:30.321 	 	10 	1:31.856 	10
11 	3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	 	15 	1:32.080 	 	11 	1:30.827 	 	 	 	11
12 	17 	Robert Kubica 	 	 	7 	1:31.204 	 	12 	1:31.094 	 	 	 	12
13 	4 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	 	9 	1:31.581 	 	13 	1:31.254 	 	 	 	13
14 	9 	Mark Webber 	 	 	10 	1:31.647 	 	14 	1:31.276 	 	 	 	14
15 	20 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	 	12 	1:31.741 	 	15 	1:31.943 	 	 	 	15
16 	19 	Christijan Albers 	 	 	16 	1:32.221 	 	16 	1:33.750 	 	 	 	16
17 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	 	17 	1:32.252 	 	 	 	 	 	 	17
18 	15 	Robert Doornbos 	 	 	18 	1:32.402 	 	 	 	 	 	 	18
19 	21 	Scott Speed 	 	 	19 	1:32.867 	 	 	 	 	 	 	19
20 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	 	20 	1:33.666 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
21 	18 	Tiago Monteiro 	 	 	21 	1:33.709 	 	 	 	 	 	 	21
22 	23 	Sakon Yamamoto 	 	 	NC 	— 	 	 	 	 	 	 	22
Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'2006 FORMULA 1™ Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Limited, 2006), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2006/races/806/japan/qualifying.html, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
*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.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Fernando Alonso 	 	53 	1:23:52.413 	5 	10
2 	6 	Felipe Massa 	 	53 	+16.151s 	1 	8
3 	2 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	53 	+23.953s 	6 	6
4 	12 	Jenson Button 	 	53 	+34.101s 	7 	5
5 	3 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	53 	+43.596s 	11 	4
6 	8 	Jarno Trulli 	 	53 	+46.717s 	4 	3
7 	7 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	53 	+48.869s 	3 	2
8 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	53 	+1:16.095 	9 	1
9 	17 	Robert Kubica 	 	53 	+1:16.932 	12 	
10 	10 	Nico Rosberg 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	10 	
11 	4 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	13 	
12 	11 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	8 	
13 	15 	Robert Doornbos 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	18 	
14 	20 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	15 	
15 	22 	Takuma Sato 	 	52 	+1 Lap 	20 	
16 	18 	Tiago Monteiro 	 	51 	+2 Laps 	21 	
17 	23 	Sakon Yamamoto 	 	50 	+3 Laps 	22 	
18* 	21 	Scott Speed 	 	48 	Power steering 	19 	
Ret 	9 	Mark Webber 	 	39 	Accident 	14 	
Ret 	5 	Michael Schumacher 	 	36 	Engine 	2 	
Ret 	14 	David Coulthard 	 	35 	Gearbox 	17 	
Ret 	19 	Christijan Albers 	 	20 	Driveshaft 	16 	
Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)	Source:'Japan 2006: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
** Speed was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
* Tenth Grand Prix start for Robert Doornbos.[Archived] '2006 Japanese GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), https://web.archive.org/web/20190410004525/http://chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2006&gp=Japanese%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 11/02/2020) Original
* Fernando Alonso secured his fifteenth career victory.'17. Japan 2006', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/japon.aspx, (Accessed 11/02/2020)
* claimed their 33rd win as a constructor.
** Renault also secured their 113th win as an engine supplier.
* Michelin last win.
==Standings==
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 who held the advantage heading into the season finale, having left Japan on 195 points. That meant that they were nine clear of in second, and hence only had to pick-up ten points in Brazil to successfully defend their title. Elsewhere, were confirmed in third ahead of , with the fight to complete the top five between and the only other area of interest.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Fernando Alonso 	126 	1
2 	Michael Schumacher 	116 	1
3 	Felipe Massa 	70 	1
4 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	69 	1
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	61 	
6 	Jenson Button 	50 	
7 	Rubens Barrichello 	28 	
8 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	26 	
9 	Nick Heidfeld 	23 	
10 	Ralf Schumacher 	20 	1
11 	Pedro de la Rosa 	18 	1
12 	Jarno Trulli 	15 	1
13 	David Coulthard 	14 	1
14 	Mark Webber 	7 	
15 	Jacques Villeneuve 	7 	
16 	Robert Kubica 	6 	
17 	Nico Rosberg 	4 	
18 	Christian Klien 	2 	
19 	Vitantonio Liuzzi 	1 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	195 	
2 	 	186 	
3 	 	105 	
4 	 	78 	
5 	 	36 	
6 	 	35 	
7 	 	16 	
8 	 	11 	
9 	 	1 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Japanese Grand Prix
Category:2006 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in Japan