2006 German Grand Prix

The 2006 German Grand Prix (officially known as the Formula 1 Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2006 ) [ 2 ] was a Formula One motor race held at the Hockenheimring on 30 July 2006.

Race

Kimi Räikkönen took pole position, but it proved artificial, as McLaren had inadvertently not put enough fuel as intended in his car before qualifying . In the race, his early pitstop left him unable to challenge for the win. Michael Schumacher scored his 89th career win ahead of teammate Felipe Massa .

Background

The Grand Prix weekend got off to a controversial start when the mass damper system fitted by Renault was deemed legal by the FIA appointed stewards, despite the FIA banning the use of these devices. The FIA appealed against their own steward's decision and Renault withdrew the system after Friday practice to avoid further sanctions.

Driver changes

Super Aguri 's third driver Sakon Yamamoto replaced Franck Montagny to make his Formula One debut. Montagny took over the role of third driver from the Turkish Grand Prix on.

Friday drivers

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.

Qualifying

Kimi Räikkönen scored his eighth career pole position ahead of the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa .

Race

Many questioned the sudden pace of Kimi Räikkönen and the sudden lack of it at the Renault team. Soon after the start of the race, the first question was answered: McLaren had put a minimum amount of fuel in Räikkönen's car, forcing him to make a pit stop after just ten laps. And it became a long stop when his crew had problems changing the right rear tyre. All this meant that the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa sailed off into the distance, with Jenson Button in the Honda and...

Schumacher made his first stop without losing the lead. Meanwhile, Alonso was down in sixth behind Mark Webber . The Australian had started down in eleventh but later even passed Fisichella for fourth. During the second round of pit stops, Fisichella went off track and was passed by his teammate.

Schumacher and Massa scored a comfortable 1-2. It was the German 's 89th career win. Räikkönen used the unplanned third-stop strategy to its best to fight off Webber and overtake Button to take the third step on the podium. In the final stages, Webber's car developed an engine problem and he retired on lap 59.

External links

49°19′40″N 8°33′57″E / 49.32778°N 8.56583°E / 49.32778; 8.56583

Quick Facts

2006 German Grand Prix Race 12 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship← Previous raceNext race →

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2006 German Grand Prix The Hockenheimring

2006 German Grand Prix Race details

2006 German Grand Prix Date

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2006 German Grand Prix Course length

2006 German Grand Prix Distance

Table 1

Constructor	Nat	Driver
Williams-Cosworth	nan	Alexander Wurz
Honda	nan	Anthony Davidson
Red Bull-Ferrari	nan	Robert Doornbos
BMW Sauber	nan	Robert Kubica
MF1-Toyota	nan	Markus Winkelhock
Toro Rosso-Cosworth	nan	Neel Jani
Super Aguri-Honda	nan	-

Table 2

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Q1	Q2
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:15.214	1:14.410
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:14.904	1:13.778
3	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:14.412	1:14.094
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:15.869	1:14.378
5	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:15.916	1:14.540
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:15.757	1:14.652
7	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:15.518	1:14.746
8	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:15.789	1:14.743
9	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren-Mercedes	1:15.655	1:15.021
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Ferrari	1:15.836	1:14.826

Table 3

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	B	67
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	B	67
3	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	M	67
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	M	67
5	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	M	67
6	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	M	67
7	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	B	67
8	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull-Ferrari	M	67
9	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	B	67
10	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso-Cosworth	M	66

F1ABY Commentary

Consider this: did the rain ever truly wash away the ambition of a driver, or merely reveal the contours of a battlefield sculpted by strategy and steel? Hockenheim, 2006 – a fractured promise hung heavy in the air. Räikkönen’s pole, a phantom born of miscalculation, mirrored the season itself; a series of brilliant flashes obscured by the persistent grey. Schumacher, a titan weathering the storm, secured his victory alongside Massa, a silent testament to McLaren’s dominance. Yet, even amidst the roar of engines, Villeneuve’s departure felt like a slow, deliberate extinguishing of a flame, a poignant reminder that in motorsport, loyalty often yields to the relentless pull of circumstance. The scent of damp asphalt and burning rubber – a melancholic symphony of a race lost and futures unwritten.

Hockenheim’s asphalt remembers the ghosts of a thousand battles, a scent of burning rubber and high-octane dreams clinging to the air. The year 2006 offered a brutal, beautiful distillation of motorsport’s core – Schumacher’s relentless drive, Massa’s burgeoning talent, and the melancholic farewell of Villeneuve, a testament to the fleeting nature of glory. A symphony of speed and strategy, conducted beneath the German sun, forever etched within the annals of racing.

F1ABY Trivia

The Hockenheimring shimmered, a cauldron of ambition under a July sun. A miscalculated fuel load, a phantom weight in Räikkönen’s McLaren, robbed him of a victory snatched just moments before. Schumacher, piloting a 208 horsepower MP4-23, secured his 89th Grand Prix triumph, a testament to McLaren’s relentless development. Villeneuve’s departure, shadowed by BMW Sauber’s uncertainty, marked a poignant farewell to a generation, a fading echo of heroism.

A peculiar sequence unfolded – Räikkönen’s pole, a phantom granted by miscalculation, vanished almost as swiftly as it appeared. Schumacher, a titan sculpted from steel and strategy, secured his eighty-ninth victory, a numerical echo of dominance. Consider the stark contrast: Räikkönen’s fleeting advantage, juxtaposed against Massa’s relentless surge, a statistical dance of ambition and execution.

F1ABY Tales

The rain, a venomous grey, slammed into the Hockenheimring, a sudden, brutal baptism. A fractured gearbox screamed from Räikkönen’s Ferrari, the sound swallowed almost entirely by the deluge. Smoke billowed, a dark shroud over the German circuit – a mechanical lament for a victory snatched away. Schumacher, stoic in his Mercedes, pulled away, a predator in the storm, securing his eighth-ieth triumph with chilling precision. Villeneuve, a ghost of Villeneuve past, watched, the bitterness of BMW’s betrayal clinging to him like the damp air. The scent of ozone and wet asphalt, a potent cocktail of ambition and disappointment, hung heavy over the track. A legend fading, a promise broken – the echoes of Hockenheim resonated with the ghosts of racing’s finest.

The rain, a sullen grey drape across Hockenheim, mirrored the disappointment etched on Jacques Villeneuve’s face. A champion’s gaze, once brimming with fierce ambition, now held a quiet, almost mournful, assessment of a career abruptly curtailed. Twenty-nine years, a world championship, and a legacy—all slipping through his fingers like wet asphalt. He’d arrived in Germany seeking a lifeline, a guarantee of continued competition, and found only the cold, pragmatic reality of a team’s shifting priorities. The scent of damp tires and the distant rumble of engines couldn’t mask the bitterness of a promise broken. A legend, fading into the twilight of motorsport.