2006 Bahrain F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Bahrain Grand Prix
Track: Bahrain International Circuit

Weather: dry, very hot, sunny

Fernando ALONSO won his 9th F1 World Championship race at the 2006 Bahrain F1 GP, holding off Michael Schumacher through a 12-lap chase to the flag. The Renault driver started from 4th on the grid and won at the Bahrain International Circuit by 1.246 seconds. It was the 11th F1 win for the Renault F1 team since its 2002 return and Alonsos 1st win of the season, in Formula 1s first V8-engine era race.

New V8 engines, Schumacher pole

The Bahrain International Circuit on 12 March 2006 hosted the season opener under new regulations that replaced the 3.0-litre V10 engines with 2.4-litre V8s. Michael Schumacher took pole with a 1:31.431 lap for Ferrari, Massa second in a Ferrari front-row lockout in his first race for the Scuderia. Button third for Honda, Alonso fourth for Renault. Ferraris return to the front-of-grid was the story of the winter, with the F248 F1 clearly a big step forward.

Race day: Alonso beats Michael in a straight fight

Schumacher led the opening 15 laps, was passed by Alonso during the first pit stops, and the two swapped positions through the middle stints. From lap 41 to the flag Alonso was in front, and despite Michaels late chase the Renault held on to win by 1.246 seconds. It was one of the great head-to-head duels of Alonsos career and Ferraris return to competitive form. Raikkonen third for McLaren, Button fourth for Honda, Montoya fifth, Webber sixth for Williams-Cosworth. Nico Rosberg, on his F1 debut, set the fastest lap on lap 42 with a 1:32.408, an incredible achievement for a rookie.

Rosberg debut brilliance, new Williams-Cosworth era

Nico Rosberg took seventh on debut for Williams-Cosworth (Williams had switched from BMW to Cosworth for 2006 after BMW bought Sauber to run their own team). Rosbergs fastest lap made him the youngest driver to set fastest lap on his F1 debut at that time.

Championship: Alonso 10, Michael 8, Raikkonen 6

Alonso 10, Michael 8, Raikkonen 6, Button 5. Ferrari on 12 constructors, Renault 10, McLaren 10. The Ferrari-Renault fight was on properly. Malaysia in a week.

Classification 2006 Bahrain F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Team	Time	Laps	Grid	Pts
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:29:46.205	57	4	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:29:47.451	57	1	8
3	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:30:05.565	57	22	6
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:30:06.197	57	3	5
5	4	Juan-Pablo Montoya	McLaren	1:30:23.253	57	5	4
6	9	Mark Webber	Williams	1:30:28.137	57	7	3
7	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:30:49.248	57	12	2
8	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull	1:30:52.976	57	8	1
9	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:30:56.112	57	2	0
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull	1:31:01.746	57	13	0
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:31:12.202	57	15	0
12	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1 lap	56	10	0
13	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+1 lap	56	16	0
14	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1 lap	56	17	0
15	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1 lap	56	6	0
16	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1 lap	56	14	0
17	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+2 laps	55	19	0
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+4 laps	53	20	0
DNF	23	Yuji Ide	Super Aguri	Mechanical	35	21	0
DNF	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	Engine	29	11	0
DNF	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	Hydraulics	21	9	0
DNF	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	Driveshaft	0	18	0

Fastest lap: 1:32.408 min. by Nico Rosberg

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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