2006 Spanish F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Spanish Grand Prix
Track: Catalunya Circuit

Weather: dry, warm, sunny

Fernando ALONSO won his 11th F1 World Championship race at the 2006 Spanish F1 GP, becoming Spains first winner of the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona. The Renault driver started from pole and won at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya by 18.502 seconds from Michael Schumacher. It was the 14th F1 win for the Renault F1 team since its 2002 return and Alonsos 3rd win of the season, a home victory of overwhelming national significance.

Alonso pole in front of 130,000 home fans

Barcelona on 14 May 2006 was Fernando Alonsos home Grand Prix and he took pole with a 1:14.648 lap, Fisichella second for a Renault front-row lockout. Schumacher only third for Ferrari, Massa fourth. The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya crowd, which had grown to 130,000 for the weekend after Alonsos 2005 title, roared as the Renault pair took the front row.

Race day: Alonso commands, Ferrari beat Renault at the second stop

Alonso led 54 of the 66 laps at Barcelona, controlling the race throughout except for brief spells during the pit-stop cycles. Fisichella took one lap in front (lap 18) during the first stops, and Schumacher led laps 19-23 and 41-46 during the middle stints. But when the sequences settled Alonso was always in front, and he crossed the line 18.502 seconds ahead of Schumacher. Fisichella took a solid third for Renault, Massa fourth for Ferrari, Raikkonen fifth for McLaren, Button sixth for Honda. Massa set the fastest lap on lap 42 with a 1:16.648.

First Spanish winner of Spanish GP at Barcelona

Alonsos win was the first Spanish GP victory at Barcelona by a Spanish driver in the modern F1 era. The King of Spain, Juan Carlos, watched from the paddock. Alonsos post-race celebration in front of the Spanish flag-draped grandstand was one of the images of the season.

Championship: Alonso 54, Michael 39, Fisichella 26

Alonso extended his lead over Michael Schumacher to 15 points after five races. Renault on 80 constructors points, Ferrari 55, McLaren 24. Monaco in a fortnight would be the sports biggest cultural weekend, and Alonso arrived at the top of the standings.

Classification 2006 Spanish F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R26Renault RS26	1	66	54	1:26:21.759	10
2	5	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari 248 F1Ferrari 056	3	66	11	1:26:40.261+18.502s	8
3	2	GiancarloFisichella	Renault	Renault R26Renault RS26	2	66	1	1:26:45.710+23.951s	6
4	6	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari 248 F1Ferrari 056	4	66		1:26:51.612+29.853s	5
5	3	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/21Mercedes FO 108	9	66		1:27:18.634+56.875s	4
6	12	JensonButton	Honda	Honda RA106Honda RA806E	8	66		1:27:20.106+58.347s	3
7	11	RubensBarrichello	Honda	Honda RA106Honda RA806E	5	65		+1 lap	2
8	16	NickHeidfeld	BMW Sauber	BMW Sauber F1.06BMW P86	10	65		+1 lap	1
9	9	MarkWebber	Williams	Williams FW28Toyota RVX-06	11	65		+1 lap
10	8	JarnoTrulli	Toyota	Toyota TF106Toyota RVX-06	7	65		+1 lap
11	10	NicoRosberg	Williams	Williams FW28Toyota RVX-06	13	65		+1 lap
12	17	JacquesVilleneuve	BMW Sauber	BMW Sauber F1.06BMW P86	22	65		+1 lap
13	15	ChristianKlien	Red Bull	Red Bull RB2Ferrari 056	14	65		+1 lap
14	14	DavidCoulthard	Red Bull	Red Bull RB2Ferrari 056	21	65		+1 lap
15	20	VitantonioLiuzzi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR1Cosworth CA2006	15	63		Hydraulics
16	18	TiagoMonteiro	Midland	Spyker M16Toyota RVX-06	17	63		+3 laps
17	22	TakumaSato	Super Aguri	Super Aguri SA05Honda RA806E	19	62		+4 laps
DNF	19	ChristijanAlbers	Midland	Spyker M16Toyota RVX-06	18	48		Broken wing
DNF	21	ScottSpeed	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR1Cosworth CA2006	16	47		Engine
DNF	7	RalfSchumacher	Toyota	Toyota TF106Toyota RVX-06	6	31		Electronics
DNF	4	Juan-PabloMontoya	McLaren	McLaren MP4/21Mercedes FO 108	12	17		Spin
DNF	23	FranckMontagny	Super Aguri	Super Aguri SA05Honda RA806E	20	10		Driveshaft

Fastest lap: 1:16.648 min. by Felipe Massa

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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