2006 Formula One World Championship

The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th edition of the championship. The champion was Fernando Alonso in a close battle. Renault won the constructor's championship.

 Teams and drivers 
 Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Drivers Rounds No Third driver Test driver(s)  Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault Renault R26 Renault RS26 2.4 L V8  1  Fernando Alonso All  n/a  Heikki Kovalainen   José María López   Nelson Piquet, Jr.  Jonathan Cochet 2  Giancarlo Fisichella All  Team McLaren Mercedes McLaren McLaren MP4-21 Mercedes FO 108S 2.4 L V8  3  Kimi Räikkönen All  n/a  Pedro de la Rosa
 Gary Paffett   Lewis Hamilton 4  Juan Pablo Montoya 1-10  Pedro de la Rosa 11-18  Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari Ferrari 248 F1 Ferrari 056 2.4 L V8  5  Michael Schumacher All  n/a  Luca Badoer
 Marc Gené 6  Felipe Massa All  Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota Toyota TF106Toyota TF106B 1 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 L V8  7  Ralf Schumacher All  n/a  Ricardo Zonta
 Olivier Panis Andy Soucek 8  Jarno Trulli All  WilliamsF1 Team Williams Williams FW28 Cosworth CA2006 2.4 L V8 4 Series  9  Mark Webber All 35  Alexander Wurz  Narain Karthikeyan 10  Nico Rosberg All  Lucky Strike Honda Racing F1 Team Honda Honda RA106 Honda RA806E 2.4 L V8  11  Rubens Barrichello All 36  Anthony Davidson  James Rossiter   Marco Andretti 12  Jenson Button All  Red Bull Racing Red Bull Red Bull RB2 Ferrari 056 2.4 L V8  14  David Coulthard All 37  Robert Doornbos   Michael Ammermüller none 15  Christian Klien 1-15  Robert Doornbos 16-18  BMW Sauber F1 Team BMW Sauber BMW Sauber F1.06 BMW P86 2.4 L V8  16  Nick Heidfeld All 38  Robert Kubica Sebastian Vettel  Marco Holzer 17  Jacques Villeneuve 1-12  Robert Kubica 13-18  Midland F1 Racing
 Spyker MF1 MF1
Spyker Midland M16 Toyota RVX-06 2.4 L V8  18  Tiago Monteiro All 39  Markus Winkelhock Giorgio Mondini Adrian Sutil Alexandre Prémat Ernesto Viso  Roman Rusinov Fabrizio del Monte Adrián Vallés  Ronnie Quintarelli 19  Christijan Albers All  Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR01 Cosworth TJ2006 3.0 V10 14 Series  20  Vitantonio Liuzzi All 40  Neel Jani none 21  Scott Speed All  Super Aguri F1 Team Super Aguri Super Aguri SA05Super Aguri SA06 Honda RA806E 2.4 L V8  22  Takuma Sato All 41  Franck Montagny Sakon Yamamoto  Yuji Ide 23  Yuji Ide 1-4  Franck Montagny 5-11  Sakon Yamamoto 12-18

 Team changes 
Four prominent names in the sport disappeared for this season, with Minardi, Sauber, BAR and Jordan withdrawing, and one new team, Super Aguri entered at the last moment. 
The Sauber name remained, although largely as a sentiment, as BMW owned 80% of the team to Peter Sauber's 20%. Jordan became MF1 Racing, as Midland started afresh after a disappointing first season under the Jordan name. Late in the season, the team was bought by Spyker. Honda, who already owned a 45% stake in the BAR team, completed their takeover of the team and changed its name to Honda Racing F1 Team at the start of the season. 
Super Aguri F1 also entered their first season after having problems entering. They received backing from Honda Racing F1 including technology and engines, due to them running Honda driver Takuma Sato.

Williams introduced numerous changes for 2006, particularly changing to Cosworth V8 engines after they and BMW split. Red Bull Racing (RBR) had Ferrari engines, replacing the Cosworth power which gained them seventh in the standings in 2005. Williams and Toyota changed tyre suppliers to Bridgestone, due to Michelin's desire to supply fewer teams in the championship. Despite this Toro Rosso who under the Minardi name ran Bridgestone tyres switched to Michelin in line with parent team RBR.

 Driver changes 
At The Start of the Season
 Renault retained both Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella but replaced test driver Franck Montagny with GP2 driver Heikki Kovalainen.
 McLaren also retained both Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya but Alexander Wurz left the team to test with Williams and the team promoted Gary Paffett to a permanent testing role. Pedro de la Rosa stayed with the team as a test driver.
 Ferrari kept Michael Schumacher but replaced long time team-mate Rubens Barrichello with fellow Brazilian Felipe Massa from Sauber. Massa had previously tested with Ferrari in 2003.
 Williams promoted GP2 World Champion Nico Rosberg to the second driver alongside Mark Webber. Alexander Wurz joined the team as a third driver. India's Narain Karthikeyan has been signed as the second test driver of the team.
 Honda brought in Rubens Barrichello from Ferrari to replace outgoing Takuma Sato.
 Red Bull Racing decided to keep David Coulthard and Christian Klien as full-time racing drivers. Liuzzi who had previously shared the second drive role with Klien moved to new Red Bull owned team Toro Rosso. Robert Doornbos became a test driver for the team.
 New Sauber owners BMW brought in German driver Nick Heidfeld from their old partners Williams. They retained Jacques Villeneuve. Robert Kubica was brought in as 3rd Driver.
 MF1 retained Tiago Monteiro and brought in old Minardi driver Christijan Albers to replace Narain Karthikeyan. They have a rotation system for the 3rd Driver.
 Toro Rosso bring in old RBR drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed and driver and old Sauber test driver, and Red Bull Junior Neel Jani.
 Super Aguri start the season with Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide an all Japanese driver line up. Franck Montagny from Renault is the third driver.

During the Season
 After the San Marino Grand Prix Super Aguri's Yuji Ide had his superlicence revoked by the FIA and could no longer race in F1. He was replaced by the team's reserve driver Franck Montagny for the next race.
 Super Aguri hired Sakon Yamamoto to be their 3rd Driver from the British Grand Prix onwards, filling the vacant seat, left by the previously promoted Montagny.
 After the United States Grand Prix Montoya announced he is moving to NASCAR next season and leaving McLaren. The next day McLaren announced that Montoya would be replaced in their driver line up by test driver Pedro de la Rosa, ending Montoya's 5 year F1 Career.
 Sakon Yamamoto and Franck Montagny switched places at Super Aguri from the German Grand Prix onwards.
 Robert Kubica replaced Jacques Villeneuve at the Hungarian Grand Prix, possibly due to Villeneuve's injuries after a heavy crash in the German Grand Prix. On the day after the Hungarian GP (7 August 2006), BMW Sauber announced that Villeneuve left the team with immediate effect, with Kubica replacing him for the remainder of the season.
 German Formula 3 driver Sebastian Vettel became BMW Sauber's third driver from Turkey onwards, replacing Kubica who was promoted to a full-time race driver.
 On September 11, 2006, Red Bull Racing announced that the team's third/test driver, Robert Doornbos would replace Christian Klien for the final three races of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. For the races in China and Japan, Michael Ammermüller replaced Doornbos as third driver.
 Spyker MF1 announced a duo of new third drivers for two of the final races of the year. GP2 Series drivers Alexandre Prémat and Ernesto Viso would make their starts in China and Brazil respectively; Adrian Sutil, tester in Germany and France, would test in Japan.
 During the test at the Silverstone Circuit during September, GP2 Series drivers Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet Jr, and Adrian Valles performed test duties for McLaren, Renault and Midland F1, respectively. Franck Montagny also tested for Toyota.

 Formula One 2006 race schedule 
 Rd. Grand Prix Circuit Date Time 1 Bahrain Grand Prix  Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir 12 March 14:30 2 Malaysian Grand Prix  Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur 19 March 15:00 3 Australian Grand Prix  Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne 2 April 14:00 4 San Marino Grand Prix  Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola 23 April 14:00 5 European Grand Prix  Nürburgring 7 May 14:00 6 Spanish Grand Prix  Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona 14 May 14:00 7 Monaco Grand Prix  Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 28 May 14:00 8 British Grand Prix  Silverstone Circuit 11 June 12:00 9 Canadian Grand Prix  Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal 25 June 13:00 10 United States Grand Prix  Indianapolis Motor Speedway 2 July 14:00 11 French Grand Prix  Circuit de Nevers, Magny-Cours 16 July 14:00 12 German Grand Prix  Hockenheimring July 30 14:00 13 Hungarian Grand Prix  Hungaroring, Budapest 6 August 14:00 14 Turkish Grand Prix  Istanbul Park 27 August 15:00 15 Italian Grand Prix  Autodromo Nazionale Monza 10 September 14:00 16 Chinese Grand Prix  Shanghai International Circuit 1 October 14:00 17 Japanese Grand Prix  Suzuka Circuit 8 October 14:00 18 Brazilian Grand Prix  Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo 22 October 14:00

 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 race and Japan and China swapped their original dates.

Grands Prix
 Rd. Grand Prix Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Constructor 1  Bahrain Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher  Nico Rosberg  Fernando Alonso  Renault 2  Malaysian Grand Prix  Giancarlo Fisichella  Fernando Alonso  Giancarlo Fisichella  Renault 3  Australian Grand Prix  Jenson Button  Kimi Räikkönen  Fernando Alonso  Renault 4  San Marino Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher  Fernando Alonso  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 5  European Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 6  Spanish Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Felipe Massa  Fernando Alonso  Renault 7  Monaco Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Michael Schumacher  Fernando Alonso  Renault 8  British Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Fernando Alonso  Fernando Alonso  Renault 9  Canadian Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Kimi Räikkönen  Fernando Alonso  Renault 10  United States Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 11  French Grand Prix  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 12  German Grand Prix  Kimi Räikkönen  Michael Schumacher  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 13  Hungarian Grand Prix  Kimi Räikkönen  Felipe Massa  Jenson Button  Honda 14  Turkish Grand Prix  Felipe Massa  Michael Schumacher  Felipe Massa  Ferrari 15  Italian Grand Prix  Kimi Räikkönen  Kimi Räikkönen  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 16  Chinese Grand Prix  Fernando Alonso  Fernando Alonso  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 17  Japanese Grand Prix  Felipe Massa  Fernando Alonso  Fernando Alonso  Renault 18  Brazilian Grand Prix  Felipe Massa  Michael Schumacher  Felipe Massa  Ferrari

 Drivers 
 Pos Driver BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts 1  Fernando Alonso 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 2 5 Ret 2 Ret 2 1 2 134 2  Michael Schumacher 2 6 Ret 1 1 2 5 2 2 1 1 1 8 3 1 1 Ret 4 121 3  Felipe Massa 9 5 Ret 4 3 4 9 5 5 2 3 2 7 1 9 Ret 2 1 80 4  Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 1 5 8 6 3 6 4 4 3 6 6 Ret 6 4 3 3 6 72 5  Kimi Räikkönen 3 Ret 2 5 4 5 Ret 3 3 Ret 5 3 Ret Ret 2 Ret 5 5 65 6  Jenson Button 4 3 10 7 Ret 6 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret 4 1 4 5 4 4 3 56 7  Rubens Barrichello 15 10 7 10 5 7 4 10 Ret 6 Ret Ret 4 8 6 6 12 7 30 8  Juan Pablo Montoya 5 4 Ret 3 Ret Ret 2 6 Ret Ret 26 9  Nick Heidfeld 12 Ret 4 13 10 8 7 7 7 Ret 8 Ret 3 14 8 7 8 17* 23 10  Ralf Schumacher 14 8 3 9 Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 4 9 6 7 15 Ret 7 Ret 20 11  Pedro de la Rosa 7 Ret 2 5 Ret 5 11 8 19 12  Jarno Trulli 16 9 Ret Ret 9 10 17* 11 6 4 Ret 7 12* 9 7 Ret 6 Ret 15 13  David Coulthard 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 14 3 12 8 7 9 11 5 15* 12 9 Ret Ret14 14  Mark Webber 6 Ret Ret 6 Ret 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 10 8 Ret Ret 7 15  Jacques Villeneuve Ret 7 6 12 8 12 14 8 Ret Ret 11 Ret 7 16  Robert Kubica DSQ 12 3 13 9 9 6 17  Nico Rosberg 7 Ret Ret 11 7 11 Ret 9 Ret 9 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 10 Ret 4 18  Christian Klien 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 11 Ret 12 8 Ret 11 11 2 19  Vitantonio Liuzzi 11 11 Ret 14 Ret 15* 10 13 13 8 13 10 Ret Ret 14 10 14 13 1 20  Scott Speed 13 Ret 9 15 11 Ret 13 Ret 10 Ret 10 12 11 13 13 14 18* 11 0 21  Tiago Monteiro 17 13 Ret 16 12 16 15 16 14 Ret Ret DSQ 9 Ret Ret Ret 16 15 0 22  Christijan Albers Ret 12 11 Ret 13 Ret 12 15 Ret Ret 15 DSQ 10 Ret 17 15 Ret 14 0 23  Takuma Sato 18 14 12 Ret Ret 17 Ret 17 15* Ret Ret Ret 13 NC 16 DSQ 15 10 0 24  Robert Doornbos 12 13 12 0 25  Yuji Ide Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 26  Sakon Yamamoto Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 17 16 0 27  Franck Montagny Ret Ret 16 18 Ret Ret 16 0 Pos Driver BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts

(*) Driver did not finish the race but was classified, having raced more than 90% of race distance.

 Pos Driver Constructor(s) Starts Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps Points 1  Fernando Alonso  Renault 18 7 14 6 5 134 2  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari 18 7 12 4 7 121 3  Felipe Massa  Ferrari 18 2 7 3 2 80 4  Giancarlo Fisichella  Renault 18 1 5 1 0 72 5  Kimi Räikkönen  McLaren-Mercedes 18 0 6 3 3 65 6  Jenson Button  Honda 18 1 3 1 0 56 7  Rubens Barrichello  Honda 18 0 0 0 0 30 8  Juan Pablo Montoya  McLaren-Mercedes 10 0 2 0 0 26 9  Nick Heidfeld  BMW Sauber 18 0 1 0 0 23 10  Ralf Schumacher  Toyota 18 0 1 0 0 20 11  Pedro de la Rosa  McLaren-Mercedes 8 0 1 0 0 19 12  Jarno Trulli  Toyota 18 0 0 0 0 15 13  David Coulthard  Red Bull-Ferrari 18 0 1 0 0 14 14  Mark Webber  Williams-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 7 15  Jacques Villeneuve  BMW Sauber 12 0 0 0 0 7 16  Robert Kubica  BMW Sauber 6 0 1 0 0 6 17  Nico Rosberg  Williams-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 1 4 18  Christian Klien  Red Bull-Ferrari 15 0 0 0 0 2 19  Vitantonio Liuzzi  Toro Rosso-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 1 20  Scott Speed  Toro Rosso-Cosworth 18 0 0 0 0 0 21  Tiago Monteiro  MF1-Toyota 18 0 0 0 0 0 22  Christijan Albers  MF1-Toyota 18 0 0 0 0 0 23  Takuma Sato  Super Aguri-Honda 18 0 0 0 0 0 24  Robert Doornbos  Red Bull-Ferrari 3 0 0 0 0 0 25  Yuji Ide  Super Aguri-Honda 4 0 0 0 0 0 26  Sakon Yamamoto  Super Aguri-Honda 7 0 0 0 0 0 27  Franck Montagny  Super Aguri-Honda 7 0 0 0 0 0

Constructors
 Pos Constructor CarNo. BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts 1  Renault 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 5 2 5 Ret 2 Ret 2 1 2 206 2 Ret 1 5 8 6 3 6 4 4 3 6 6 Ret 6 4 3 3 6 2  Ferrari 5 2 6 Ret 1 1 2 5 2 2 1  1 1 8 3 1 1 Ret 4 201 6 9 5 Ret 4 3 4 9 5 5 2 3 2 7 1 9 Ret 2 1 3  McLaren-Mercedes 3 3 Ret 2 5 4 5 Ret 3 3 Ret 5 3 Ret Ret 2 Ret 5 5 110 4 5 4 Ret 3 Ret Ret 2 6 Ret Ret 7 Ret 2 5 Ret 5 11 8 4  Honda 11 15 10 7 10 5 7 4 10 Ret 6 Ret Ret 4 8 6 6 12 7 86 12 4 3 10 7 Ret 6 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret 4 1 4 5 4 4 3 5  BMW Sauber 16 12 Ret 4 13 10 8 7 7 7 Ret 8 Ret 3 14 8 7 8 17 36 17 Ret 7 6 12 8 12 14 8 Ret Ret 11 Ret DSQ 12 3 13 9 9 6  Toyota 7 14 8 3 9 Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 4 9 6 7 15 Ret 7 Ret 35 8 16 9 Ret Ret 9 10 17 11 6 4 Ret 7 12 9 7 Ret 6 Ret 7  Red Bull-Ferrari 14 10 Ret 8 Ret Ret 14 3 12 8 7 9 11 5 15 12 9 Ret Ret 16 15 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 11 Ret 12 8 Ret 11 11 12 13 12 8  Williams-Cosworth 9 6 Ret Ret 6 Ret 9 Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 10 8 Ret Ret 11 10 7 Ret Ret 11 7 11 Ret 9 Ret 9 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 11 10 Ret 9  Toro Rosso-Cosworth 20 11 11 Ret 14 Ret 15 10 13 13 8 13 10 Ret Ret 14 10 14 13 1 21 13 Ret 9 15 11 Ret 13 Ret 10 Ret 10 12 11 13 13 14 18 11 10  MF1-Toyota 18 17 13 Ret 16 12 16 15 16 14 Ret Ret DSQ 9 Ret Ret Ret 16 15 0 19 Ret 12 11 Ret 13 Ret 12 15 Ret Ret 15 DSQ 10 Ret 17 15 Ret 14 11  Super Aguri-Honda 22 18 14 12 Ret Ret 17 Ret 17 15 Ret Ret Ret 13 NC 16 DSQ 15 10 0 23 Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 16 18 Ret Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 17 16 Pos Constructor CarNo. BHR MAL AUS SMR EUR ESP MON GBR CAN USA FRA GER HUN TUR ITA CHN JPN BRA Pts

 Pos Constructor Engine Tyre Starts Wins Podiums Poles F.Laps Points 1  Renault  Renault  18 8 19 7 5 206 2  Ferrari  Ferrari  18 9 19 7 9 201 3  McLaren  Mercedes  18 0 9 3 3 110 4  Honda  Honda  18 1 3 1 0 86 5  BMW Sauber  BMW  18 0 2 0 0 36 6  Toyota  Toyota  18 0 1 0 0 35 7  Red Bull  Ferrari  18 0 1 0 0 16 8  Williams  Cosworth  18 0 0 0 1 11 9  Toro Rosso  Cosworth  18 0 0 0 0 1 10  MF1  Toyota  18 0 0 0 0 0 11  Super Aguri  Honda  18 0 0 0 0 0

 References 

Category:Formula One seasons
Category:2006 in sports