2006 Hungarian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jenson Button claimed his long-awaited first Formula 1 victory in a dramatic wet Hungarian Grand Prix. Starting fourteenth after an engine penalty, he rose through the field as both championship leaders hit trouble, with Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld completing the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren
Pole time	1:19.599
Fastest lap	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:23.516 on lap 65
First	Jenson Button	Honda
Second	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren
Third	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
4 August 2006	Practice 1	11:00
4 August 2006	Practice 2	14:00
5 August 2006	Practice 3	11:00
5 August 2006	Qualifying	14:00
6 August 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 13 leading the 2006 F1 World Championship on 100 points, with Michael Schumacher on 89. Renault headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 149 points.

Race entries

Robert Kubica stepped up from BMW Sauber’s third car to replace Jacques Villeneuve, making his Grand Prix debut alongside Nick Heidfeld. Sakon Yamamoto continued with Super Aguri after his first appearance in Germany. The other race pairings remained unchanged.

Free Practice

Kimi Räikkönen set the Friday morning pace with only a handful of laps, while Davidson completed a much longer programme in Honda’s third car. Renault limited both drivers to installation running, and several teams kept their regular cars in the garage. Robert Kubica began the weekend in a new role, preparing to race rather than handing the car back after Friday.

Felipe Massa led the afternoon by a substantial margin, but Fernando Alonso’s conduct became the session’s major story. An incident with Robert Doornbos and overtaking under yellow flags brought a two-second addition to each of his qualifying times. Giancarlo Fisichella spun and Christijan Albers stopped on track, while Fernando Alonso faced a serious obstacle to his championship weekend.

Michael Schumacher topped Saturday practice, but Jenson Button’s smoky engine failure brought out red flags and left Honda needing a replacement. Schumacher then received the same two-second qualifying-time penalty as Fernando Alonso for passing under the red flags. Jenson Button’s ten-place engine penalty and the title rivals’ sanctions ensured the grid would look very different from the raw practice order.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix FP1, 4 August 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:21.624	5
2	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	+0.772s	28
3	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.875s	5
4	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	+1.106s	6
5	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+1.317s	25
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.929s	6
7	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.035s	5
8	37	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+2.375s	27
9	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.996s	9
10	39	Markus Winkelhock	Midland	+3.570s	26
11	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+3.800s	17
12	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+3.853s	6
13	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+5.054s	7
14	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+5.056s	5
15	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+5.697s	8
16	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+8.141s	4
17	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+8.486s	5
18	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+8.729s	12
19	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	No time	1
20	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
21	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
22	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	No time	1

Free Practice 2 Classification

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix FP2, 4 August 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:21.778	12
2	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.319s	15
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.411s	14
4	37	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+1.417s	30
5	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	+1.720s	31
6	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+1.969s	19
7	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+1.993s	18
8	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+2.153s	19
9	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+2.156s	11
10	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+2.328s	11
11	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	+2.474s	11
12	39	Markus Winkelhock	Midland	+2.603s	28
13	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+2.667s	17
14	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+2.687s	15
15	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+2.730s	8
16	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+2.831s	31
17	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.845s	23
18	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+3.015s	12
19	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+3.076s	33
20	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+3.260s	7
21	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+3.374s	16
22	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+3.615s	8
23	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+3.869s	14
24	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+4.065s	12
25	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+4.190s	11
26	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+4.420s	16
27	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+5.099s	20

Free Practice 3 Classification

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix FP3, 5 August 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.795	11
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.677s	11
3	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+1.011s	18
4	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.038s	18
5	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.324s	25
6	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.545s	13
7	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+1.567s	15
8	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	+1.629s	14
9	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.765s	13
10	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.804s	8
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+1.848s	14
12	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+2.044s	17
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+3.024s	12
14	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+3.063s	16
15	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+3.168s	13
16	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+3.586s	15
17	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+3.936s	4
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+4.052s	15
19	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+4.578s	16
20	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+4.802s	14
21	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+5.252s	12
22	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+5.465s	19

Qualifying

Kimi Räikkönen took pole ahead of Felipe Massa and Rubens Barrichello. Jenson Button set the fourth-fastest time but dropped to fourteenth after his engine change. De la Pedro de la Rosa therefore started near the front alongside the leading Ferrari and Honda challengers.

The time penalties prevented both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso from reaching Q3, leaving them eleventh and fifteenth on the grid respectively. Robert Kubica reached the final session on debut. A wet forecast offered the displaced contenders a possible route back, but it also promised a much less predictable race.

Qualifying Classification

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying, 5 August 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:20.080	1:19.704	1:19.599	17
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:19.742	1:19.504	1:19.886	17
3	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:21.141	1:19.783	1:20.085	22
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:20.820	1:19.943	1:20.092	22
5	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	1:21.288	1:19.991	1:20.117	19
6	9	Mark Webber	Williams	1:21.335	1:20.047	1:20.266	23
7	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:21.112	1:20.243	1:20.759	23
8	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:21.370	1:20.154	1:20.924	22
9	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:21.434	1:20.231	1:21.132	23
10	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:20.891	1:20.256	1:22.049	21
11	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:21.437	1:20.623	—	10
12	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:21.440	1:20.875	—	9
13	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:21.163	1:20.890	—	11
14	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	1:22.027	1:21.207	—	10
15	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:21.792	1:21.364	—	12
16	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	1:22.009	1:23.767	—	9
17	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:22.068	—	—	7
18	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:22.084	—	—	6
19	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	1:22.317	—	—	8
20	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:22.967	—	—	6
21	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	1:23.146	—	—	6
22	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	1:24.016	—	—	6

Jenson Button and Christijan Albers both received a ten-place grid penalty because of earlier engine changes.

The Grand Prix stewards declared that Scott Speed had impeded another driver during the qualifying session, and penalised him by deleting his three fastest qualifying times. His qualifying time became 1:23.005 instead of 1:22.317, setting him one position back on the grid.

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher both had two seconds added to their lap times for each part of qualifying; the times shown here include the two-second penalties.

What happened in the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix?

Rain produced the first wet Hungarian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button made rapid progress on Michelin tyres, while the Bridgestone runners struggled. Fernando Alonso reached the lead through the stops, and Kimi Räikkönen later crashed into Vitantonio Liuzzi while lapping traffic, bringing out the safety car and removing the pole-sitter.

Jenson Button emerged as Fernando Alonso’s main challenger. When the Renault changed to dry tyres, a right-rear wheel problem sent Fernando Alonso off and out of the race, handing Jenson Button the lead. Michael Schumacher stayed on intermediates as the track dried, but lost ground to cars on dry-weather tyres and damaged his suspension in contact with Nick Heidfeld.

Jenson Button secured his maiden win, with Pedro de la Rosa second and Nick Heidfeld third. Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher followed. Robert Kubica finished seventh on the road but was excluded for an underweight car, promoting Felipe Massa and the classified Michael Schumacher into the final points positions.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 100 points, followed by Michael Schumacher on 90. Renault led the constructors’ table on 149, with Ferrari on 142.

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix race results

The 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 6 August 2006, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	12	Jenson Button	Honda	70	1:52:20.941	10
2	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	70	+30.837	8
3	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	70	+43.822	6
4	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	70	+45.205	5
5	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	69	+1 lap	4
6	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	69	+1 lap	3
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	69	+1 lap	2
8	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	67	Collision damage	1
9	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	67	+3 laps	0
10	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	67	+3 laps	0
11	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	66	+4 laps	0
12	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	65	Engine	0
13	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	65	+5 laps	0
Ret	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	51	Wheel nut/driveshaft	0
Ret	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	25	Collision	0
Ret	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	25	Collision damage	0
Ret	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	19	Electrical/Accident	0
Ret	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	18	Accident damage	0
Ret	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	6	Spun off	0
Ret	9	Mark Webber	Williams	1	Spun off	0
Ret	23	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	0	Engine	0
DSQ	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	69	Underweight (+1 lap)	0

Robert Kubica originally finished seventh, but was disqualified after the race, as his car was 2 kg underweight at the end of the race due to excessive tyre wear.

2006 Hungarian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	65	1:23.516	188.845
2	4	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	67	1:24.315	187.055
3	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	69	1:24.678	186.253
4	12	Jenson Button	Honda	57	1:25.143	185.236
5	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	65	1:25.247	185.010
6	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	58	1:25.779	183.863
7	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	65	1:25.801	183.816
8	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	67	1:26.117	183.141
9	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	66	1:26.249	182.861
10	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	65	1:27.572	180.098
11	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	57	1:27.834	179.561
12	17	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	55	1:28.154	178.909
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	66	1:28.178	178.860
14	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	50	1:29.408	176.400
15	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	53	1:30.957	173.396
16	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	7	1:33.690	168.338
17	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	9	1:35.550	165.061
18	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	6	1:38.702	159.790
19	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	8	1:38.858	159.537
20	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	9	1:38.964	159.367

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 Hungarian Grand Prix.

2006 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	100
2	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	90
3	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	52
4	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	49
5	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	McLaren	49
6	Jenson Button	British	Honda	31
7	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren	26
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	21
9	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	19
10	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	16
11	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	14
12	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	McLaren	10
13	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	10
14	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BMW Sauber	7
15	Mark Webber	Australian	Williams	6
16	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	4
17	Christian Klien	Austrian	Red Bull Racing	2
18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	1
19	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
20	Tiago Monteiro	Portuguese	Midland	0
21	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Midland	0
22	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
23	Yuji Ide	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
24	Franck Montagny	French	Super Aguri	0
–	Sakon Yamamoto	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
–	Robert Kubica	Polish	BMW Sauber	0

2006 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Renault	149
2	Ferrari	142
3	McLaren	85
4	Honda	52
5	Toyota	26
6	BMW Sauber	26
7	Red Bull Racing	16
8	Williams	10
9	Toro Rosso	1
10	Midland	0
11	Super Aguri	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