2006 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One race held on 8 October 2006 at the Suzuka Circuit, in Suzuka, Japan. It was the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, and marked the 32nd running of the Japanese Grand Prix. It was won by Fernando Alonso, his last win for the Renault team before he moved to McLaren the following season.

2006 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 17 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship
The Suzuka circuit
The Suzuka circuit
Race details
Date 8 October 2006
Official name 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 307.573 km (191.117 miles)
Weather Fine
Attendance 361,000[1]
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:29.599
Fastest lap
Driver Spain Fernando Alonso Renault
Time 1:32.676 on lap 14
Podium
First Renault
Second Ferrari
Third Renault
Lap leaders

It was the 20th Grand Prix to be held at Suzuka. It was the first Formula One race to be filmed and broadcast in high-definition television. However the Fuji Television broadcast was only available in Japan.[3]

Report

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Practice and qualifying

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Friday drivers

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The bottom 6 teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Team Nat Driver
Williams-Cosworth   Alexander Wurz
Honda   Anthony Davidson
Red Bull-Ferrari   Michael Ammermüller
BMW Sauber   Sebastian Vettel
Spyker MF1-Toyota   Adrian Sutil
Toro Rosso-Cosworth   Neel Jani
Super Aguri-Honda   Franck Montagny

Race

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Felipe Massa started the race from pole, but Michael Schumacher passed him on lap 3 to take the lead. Meanwhile, Alonso was struggling to get past the Toyotas of Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. By lap 10 Alonso was 5.4 seconds off the leader. On lap 15 Alonso managed to pass Massa in the pitstops and chased Schumacher. He succeeded in closing the gap from 5.4 seconds on lap 10 to 4.2 seconds by lap 27 only for it to open up to 5.9 seconds by lap 34 after the two drivers encountered backmarkers. The race was crucial in the fight for the World Championship, as whoever finished ahead of the two would take the championship lead into the final race. On lap 37, after the two rivals had made their final pitstops, Schumacher's engine failed, his first engine failure since the 2000 French Grand Prix, giving the lead to Alonso, who went on to win the race. As a result, he needed only one point from the final race to secure the title.

As of 2023, Alonso's win remains the last victory for a car running on Michelin tyres, as the manufacturer pulled out of Formula One at the end of the season. Third place finisher Giancarlo Fisichella dedicated to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who had died on 5 October 2006 after a heart attack.[4]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos. No. Driver Constructor Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
1 6   Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:30.112 1:29.830 1:29.599 1
2 5   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:31.279 1:28.954 1:29.711 2
3 7   Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:30.595 1:30.299 1:29.989 3
4 8   Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:30.420 1:30.204 1:30.039 4
5 1   Fernando Alonso Renault 1:30.976 1:30.357 1:30.371 5
6 2   Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:31.696 1:30.306 1:30.599 6
7 12   Jenson Button Honda 1:30.847 1:30.268 1:30.992 7
8 11   Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:31.972 1:30.598 1:31.478 8
9 16   Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 1:31.811 1:30.470 1:31.513 9
10 10   Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:30.585 1:30.321 1:31.856 10
11 3   Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:32.080 1:30.827 11
12 17   Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 1:31.204 1:31.094 12
13 4   Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 1:31.581 1:31.254 13
14 9   Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:31.647 1:31.276 14
15 20   Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:31.741 1:31.943 15
16 19   Christijan Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota 1:32.221 1:33.750 16
17 14   David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari 1:32.252 17
18 15   Robert Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari 1:32.402 18
19 21   Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1:32.867 19
20 22   Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:33.666 20
21 18   Tiago Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota 1:33.709 21
22 23   Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda No time 22
Source:[5]

Race

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Michael Schumacher's Ferrari is returned to the pits after an engine failure cost him the race lead, and handed Fernando Alonso a ten-point advantage in the Drivers' Championship with one race remaining.
Pos. No. Driver Constructor Lap Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1   Fernando Alonso Renault 53 1:23:53.413 5 10
2 6   Felipe Massa Ferrari 53 +16.151 1 8
3 2   Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 53 +23.953 6 6
4 12   Jenson Button Honda 53 +34.101 7 5
5 3   Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 53 +43.596 11 4
6 8   Jarno Trulli Toyota 53 +46.717 4 3
7 7   Ralf Schumacher Toyota 53 +48.869 3 2
8 16   Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 53 +1:16.095 9 1
9 17   Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 53 +1:16.932 12
10 10   Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 52 +1 lap 10
11 4   Pedro de la Rosa McLaren-Mercedes 52 +1 lap 13
12 11   Rubens Barrichello Honda 52 +1 lap 8
13 15   Robert Doornbos Red Bull-Ferrari 52 +1 lap 18
14 20   Vitantonio Liuzzi Toro Rosso-Cosworth 52 +1 lap 15
15 22   Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 52 +1 lap 20
16 18   Tiago Monteiro Spyker MF1-Toyota 51 +2 laps 21
17 23   Sakon Yamamoto Super Aguri-Honda 50 +3 laps 22
18 21   Scott Speed Toro Rosso-Cosworth 48 Power steering 19
Ret 9   Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 39 Accident 14
Ret 5   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 36 Engine 2
Ret 14   David Coulthard Red Bull-Ferrari 35 Gearbox 17
Ret 19   Christijan Albers Spyker MF1-Toyota 20 Driveshaft 16
Source:[6]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

References

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  1. ^ "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Japan". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
  3. ^ ZAKZAK Archived 2007-05-23 at the Wayback Machine (in Japanese)
  4. ^ "Fisi dedicates third to dead pal". ITV Sport. Archived from the original on 16 October 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. ^ Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 200. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
  6. ^ Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 205. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8.
  7. ^ a b "Japan 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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Previous race:
2006 Chinese Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
2006 season
Next race:
2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
Previous race:
2005 Japanese Grand Prix
Japanese Grand Prix Next race:
2007 Japanese Grand Prix

34°50′35″N 136°32′26″E / 34.84306°N 136.54056°E / 34.84306; 136.54056