2006 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Monaco Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit

Weather: dry, warm, sunny

Fernando ALONSO won his 12th F1 World Championship race at the 2006 Monaco F1 GP, in a weekend overshadowed by Michael Schumachers Saturday-afternoon Rascasse controversy. The Renault driver started from pole and won the streets of Monte Carlo by 14.567 seconds from Juan-Pablo Montoya. It was the 15th F1 win for the Renault F1 team since its 2002 return and Alonsos 4th win of the season.

Schumacher parks it at Rascasse, gets pole taken away

Monaco on 28 May 2006 delivered one of the ugliest single incidents in F1 qualifying history. On his final Q3 flying lap, having provisionally set the fastest time, Michael Schumacher pulled off the racing line and stopped his Ferrari at the Rascasse corner. The yellow flags brought out prevented Alonso, whose flying lap was in progress, from taking pole from Schumacher. Race stewards spent hours reviewing the incident. Their verdict: the stop was deliberate. Schumacher was stripped of pole and sent to the back of the grid. Alonso inherited pole. The paddock consensus was that Ferrari and Schumacher had crossed a line even by the standards of the era.

Race day: Alonso lights-to-flag, Schumacher fights to fifth

Alonso led every one of the 78 laps except one (Webber lap 24 during the pit-stop cycle). He won by 14.567 seconds from Juan-Pablo Montoya, who took second for McLaren after driving through from midfield. David Coulthard took his first Red Bull podium with third, giving the team their first F1 podium in only their second season. Barrichello fourth for Honda, Michael Schumacher fifth after starting from the pit lane, a recovery drive that reminded everyone of his talent. Fisichella sixth for Renault. Schumacher set the fastest lap on lap 74 with a 1:15.143.

Coulthards podium, Red Bulls landmark

David Coulthards third-place finish was Red Bull Racings first F1 podium, a huge moment for the young Milton Keynes team that had bought out Jaguar for the 2005 season. Coulthard famously borrowed team owner Dietrich Mateschitzs jacket cape (the Red Bull chief was known for his eccentric taste) for the podium ceremony.

Championship: Alonso 64, Michael 43, Massa 25

Alonsos win stretched his lead to 21 points over Schumacher. Renault on 91 constructors, Ferrari 55, McLaren 34. Britain in a fortnight would be another circuit at which Renault had traditionally been strong.

Classification 2006 Monaco F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R26Renault RS26	1	78	77	1:43:43.116	10
2	4	Juan-PabloMontoya	McLaren	McLaren MP4/21Mercedes FO 108	4	78		1:43:57.683+14.567s	8
3	14	DavidCoulthard	Red Bull	Red Bull RB2Ferrari 056	7	78		1:44:35.414+52.298s	6
4	11	RubensBarrichello	Honda	Honda RA106Honda RA806E	5	78		1:44:36.453+53.337s	5
5	5	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari 248 F1Ferrari 056	22	78		1:44:36.946+53.830s	4
6	2	GiancarloFisichella	Renault	Renault R26Renault RS26	9	78		1:44:45.188+1:02.072	3
7	16	NickHeidfeld	BMW Sauber	BMW Sauber F1.06BMW P86	15	77		+1 lap	2
8	7	RalfSchumacher	Toyota	Toyota TF106BToyota RVX-06	10	77		+1 lap	1
9	6	FelipeMassa	Ferrari	Ferrari 248 F1Ferrari 056	21	77		+1 lap
10	20	VitantonioLiuzzi	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR1Cosworth CA2006	12	77		+1 lap
11	12	JensonButton	Honda	Honda RA106Honda RA806E	13	77		+1 lap
12	19	ChristijanAlbers	Midland	Spyker M16Toyota RVX-06	16	77		+1 lap
13	21	ScottSpeed	Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso STR1Cosworth CA2006	18	77		+1 lap
14	17	JacquesVilleneuve	BMW Sauber	BMW Sauber F1.06BMW P86	14	77		+1 lap
15	18	TiagoMonteiro	Midland	Spyker M16Toyota RVX-06	17	76		+2 laps
16	23	FranckMontagny	Super Aguri	Super Aguri SA05Honda RA806E	20	75		+3 laps
17	8	JarnoTrulli	Toyota	Toyota TF106BToyota RVX-06	6	72		Hydraulics
DNF	15	ChristianKlien	Red Bull	Red Bull RB2Ferrari 056	11	56		Transmission
DNF	10	NicoRosberg	Williams	Williams FW28Toyota RVX-06	8	51		Accident
DNF	3	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/21Mercedes FO 108	3	50		Heat shield fire
DNF	9	MarkWebber	Williams	Williams FW28Toyota RVX-06	2	48	1	Exhaust
DNF	22	TakumaSato	Super Aguri	Super Aguri SA05Honda RA806E	19	46		Electrical

Fastest lap: 1:15.143 min. by Michael Schumacher

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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