2006 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Michael Schumacher won a changing-weather Chinese Grand Prix to draw level with Fernando Alonso on points and take the championship lead on wins. Fernando Alonso recovered to second after tyre and pit-stop problems, with Giancarlo Fisichella completing the Shanghai podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Pole time	1:44.360
Fastest lap	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Fastest-lap time	1:37.586 on lap 49
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Third	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
29 September 2006	Practice 1	11:00
29 September 2006	Practice 2	14:00
30 September 2006	Practice 3	11:00
30 September 2006	Qualifying	14:00
1 October 2006	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Fernando Alonso arrived at round 16 leading the 2006 F1 World Championship on 108 points, with Michael Schumacher on 106. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 168 points.

Race entries

Robert Doornbos replaced Christian Klien at Red Bull, with Michael Ammermüller taking Friday third-car duties. Midland appeared under its new Spyker MF1 identity after the team’s sale, and Alexandre Prémat drove its third car. McLaren retained Pedro de la Rosa alongside Kimi Räikkönen.

Free Practice

Wurz led Friday morning as many race drivers again avoided representative timed runs. Williams brought an updated aerodynamic package, while Honda appeared in its blue-and-yellow 555 colours for China. Prémat and Ammermüller gained Friday experience in their third cars, and Kimi Räikkönen and Ammermüller spun without a major incident.

Light rain arrived during the afternoon but did not prevent useful running, with Wurz again quickest. Toro Rosso had a difficult session: Jani stopped on track and both race drivers spun. Fernando Alonso also went off, while Felipe Massa’s engine trouble meant a replacement and a ten-place grid penalty before the competitive sessions.

A damp, drying Saturday session produced a late scramble for times. Michael Schumacher finished fastest despite an off, with Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button next. Both Toro Rossos ran high in the changing conditions, while Kimi Räikkönen spun twice and several other drivers ventured off without serious damage. The weather promised to remain central to the weekend.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2006 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 29 September 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	1:35.574	21
2	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	+0.017s	26
3	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.717s	4
4	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+2.138s	4
5	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+2.160s	21
6	39	Alexandre Premat	Midland	+2.213s	24
7	38	Sebastian Vettel	BMW Sauber	+2.339s	24
8	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+2.488s	6
9	37	Michael Ammermuller	Red Bull Racing	+2.886s	18
10	41	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	+2.890s	19
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+3.426s	6
12	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+3.643s	4
13	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+3.854s	7
14	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+3.920s	6
15	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+4.313s	8
16	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+4.373s	7
17	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+5.841s	10
18	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+10.316s	4
19	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	No time	1
20	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	No time	2
21	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	No time	2
22	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
23	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2006 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 29 September 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	1:35.539	26
2	38	Sebastian Vettel	BMW Sauber	+0.040s	23
3	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	+0.175s	30
4	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.060s	8
5	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.102s	12
6	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.200s	10
7	41	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	+1.739s	26
8	37	Michael Ammermuller	Red Bull Racing	+2.139s	26
9	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+2.159s	13
10	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+2.179s	12
11	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.322s	10
12	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	+2.483s	9
13	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+2.506s	6
14	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.523s	11
15	39	Alexandre Premat	Midland	+2.559s	26
16	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.737s	16
17	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+3.349s	14
18	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+3.420s	11
19	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+3.541s	18
20	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+3.579s	28
21	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+3.640s	4
22	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+3.678s	5
23	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+3.983s	15
24	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+4.031s	20
25	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+4.097s	22
26	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+4.616s	15
27	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+4.675s	15
28	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+4.780s	14
29	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+5.776s	9

Free Practice 3 Classification

2006 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 30 September 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:40.193	8
2	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+0.172s	7
3	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+0.397s	12
4	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+0.602s	9
5	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+0.957s	11
6	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+1.094s	10
7	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+1.270s	11
8	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.498s	6
9	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	+1.630s	7
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.643s	18
11	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+2.395s	11
12	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+2.419s	14
13	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+3.023s	5
14	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+3.255s	9
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+3.307s	10
16	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.529s	12
17	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+3.834s	14
18	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+5.241s	12
19	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+5.830s	12
20	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+6.657s	10
21	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	No time	1
22	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	No time	2

Qualifying

Fernando Alonso took pole on a wet track, with Giancarlo Fisichella alongside to complete a Renault front row. Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button filled the second row for Honda, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. Michael Schumacher qualified sixth as the leading Bridgestone runner in conditions favouring Michelin.

Felipe Massa missed Q3 and his engine-change penalty sent him to the rear. The result put Schumacher behind several quick Michelin-shod cars, while Fernando Alonso had his team-mate alongside to help control the opening phase. The race would depend heavily on how quickly the circuit dried and when the teams changed tyres.

Qualifying Classification

2006 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 30 September 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:44.128	1:43.951	1:44.360	21
2	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:44.378	1:44.336	1:44.992	19
3	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:47.072	1:45.288	1:45.503	26
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:45.809	1:44.662	1:45.503	27
5	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:44.909	1:45.622	1:45.754	22
6	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:47.366	1:45.660	1:45.775	24
7	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	1:44.808	1:45.095	1:45.877	23
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:46.249	1:45.055	1:46.053	27
9	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:46.049	1:45.576	1:46.632	26
10	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	1:46.387	1:45.747	1:48.021	24
11	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	1:46.222	1:45.851	—	15
12	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:45.931	1:45.968	—	15
13	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:47.231	1:45.970	—	15
14	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:45.564	1:46.172	—	15
15	9	Mark Webber	Williams	1:48.560	1:46.413	—	18
16	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:47.535	1:47.419	—	18
17	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:48.894	—	—	9
18	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:49.098	—	—	9
19	19	Christijan Albers	Spyker MF1	1:49.542	—	—	—
20	18	Tiago Monteiro	Spyker MF1	1:49.903	—	—	6
21	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:50.326	—	—	6
22	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	1:55.560	—	—	7

Felipe Massa and Takuma Sato each received a 10-place grid penalty for engine changes.

Christijan Albers was demoted to the back of the grid for failing to bring his car into the weighbridge when instructed to do so.

What happened in the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix?

Fernando Alonso built a large lead in the wet, while Kimi Räikkönen passed the Hondas and then Giancarlo Fisichella before retiring with mechanical trouble. Schumacher improved as the track dried and worked towards the Renaults. Fernando Alonso changed his front tyres at the first stop, but the new pair cost him grip and his advantage rapidly disappeared.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Schumacher passed Fernando Alonso, whose later switch to dry tyres was delayed by a wheel-nut problem. Schumacher then changed tyres before Giancarlo Fisichella and passed the Renault as it struggled for grip out of the pits. Fernando Alonso recovered his speed on dry tyres and charged back through the closing stages.

Schumacher held on to win by just over three seconds, with Fernando Alonso second and Giancarlo Fisichella third. Jenson Button emerged fourth from a late midfield battle, ahead of Pedro de la Rosa, Rubens Barrichello and Nick Heidfeld, with Mark Webber eighth. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were now level on points, with two races remaining.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 116 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 116. Renault led the constructors’ table on 179, with Ferrari on 178.

2006 Chinese Grand Prix race results

The 2006 Chinese Grand Prix was held on 1 October 2006, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	56	1:37:32.747	10
2	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	56	+3.121	8
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	56	+44.197	6
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	56	+1:12.056	5
5	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	56	+1:17.137	4
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	56	+1:19.131	3
7	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	56	+1:31.979	2
8	9	Mark Webber	Williams	56	+1:43.588	1
9	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	56	+1:43.796	0
10	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	55	+1 lap	0
11	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	55	+1 lap	0
12	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	55	+1 lap	0
13	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	55	+1 lap	0
14	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	55	+1 lap	0
15	19	Christijan Albers	Spyker MF1	53	+3 laps	0
16	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	52	+4 laps	0
Ret	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	49	Oil pressure	0
Ret	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	Collision	0
Ret	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	38	Engine	0
Ret	18	Tiago Monteiro	Spyker MF1	37	Spin	0
Ret	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	18	Throttle	0
DSQ	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	55	Ignored blue flags	0

Christijan Albers received a 25-second time penalty for ignoring blue flags.

Takuma Sato originally finished 14th, but was disqualified for ignoring blue flags.

2006 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	49	1:37.586	201.090
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	50	1:38.553	199.117
3	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	45	1:39.149	197.920
4	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	53	1:39.164	197.890
5	12	Jenson Button	Honda	51	1:39.206	197.806
6	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	53	1:39.332	197.555
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	42	1:39.397	197.426
8	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	49	1:39.681	196.863
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	52	1:39.749	196.729
10	15	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	52	1:39.801	196.627
11	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	47	1:39.823	196.583
12	9	Mark Webber	Williams	44	1:39.907	196.418
13	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	51	1:40.193	195.857
14	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	52	1:40.471	195.316
15	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	52	1:40.549	195.164
16	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	48	1:40.856	194.570
17	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	50	1:41.483	193.368
18	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	53	1:41.710	192.936
19	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	42	1:41.847	192.677
20	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	14	1:44.094	188.518
21	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	24	1:44.787	187.271
22	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	35	1:45.356	186.259

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2006 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

2006 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	116
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	116
3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	63
4	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	62
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	McLaren	57
6	Jenson Button	British	Honda	45
7	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	28
8	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren	26
9	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	22
10	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	McLaren	18
11	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	18
12	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	14
13	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	12
14	Mark Webber	Australian	Williams	7
15	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BMW Sauber	7
16	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	6
17	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	4
18	Christian Klien	Austrian	Red Bull Racing	2
19	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	1
20	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
21	Tiago Monteiro	Portuguese	Midland / Spyker MF1	0
22	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Midland / Spyker MF1	0
23	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
24	Robert Doornbos	Dutch	Red Bull Racing	0
25	Yuji Ide	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
26	Franck Montagny	French	Super Aguri	0
27	Sakon Yamamoto	Japanese	Super Aguri	0

2006 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Renault	179
2	Ferrari	178
3	McLaren	101
4	Honda	73
5	BMW Sauber	35
6	Toyota	30
7	Red Bull Racing	16
8	Williams	11
9	Toro Rosso	1
10	Midland	0
11	Super Aguri	0
12	Spyker MF1	0

2006 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2006 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	12 March
2	2006 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	19 March
3	2006 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	2 April
4	2006 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	23 April
5	2006 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 May
6	2006 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	14 May
7	2006 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	28 May
8	2006 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	11 June
9	2006 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	25 June
10	2006 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	2 July
11	2006 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	16 July
12	2006 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	30 July
13	2006 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	6 August
14	2006 Turkish Grand Prix	Istanbul Park, Istanbul	27 August
15	2006 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
16	2006 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	1 October
17	2006 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	8 October
18	2006 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	22 October