2006 United States Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Michael Schumacher led Felipe Massa home in a Ferrari one-two at Indianapolis, ending Fernando Alonso’s run of podium finishes. The United States Grand Prix began with multiple collisions that removed much of the field before Ferrari took control.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Pole time	1:10.832
Fastest lap	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	1:12.719 on lap 56
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Felipe Massa	Ferrari
Third	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
30 June 2006	Practice 1	11:00
30 June 2006	Practice 2	14:00
1 July 2006	Practice 3	10:00
1 July 2006	Qualifying	13:00
2 July 2006	Race	13:00

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 10 leading the 2006 F1 World Championship on 84 points, with Michael Schumacher on 59. Renault headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 121 points.

Race entries

The 11 teams kept the same race line-ups for the United States Grand Prix. Alexander Wurz, Anthony Davidson, Giorgio Mondini, Neel Jani, Robert Doornbos, Robert Kubica, Sakon Yamamoto also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Davidson led Friday morning, while Michael Schumacher’s brief run ended in the gravel at Turn 4. Many teams limited their race drivers to installation laps, again leaving the third cars with much of the preparation work. Honda placed all three cars near the front, although the restricted running made it too early to read that as a firm race prediction.

Davidson remained quickest in the afternoon, ahead of Robert Kubica and Giancarlo Fisichella. Midland showed encouraging pace through Mondini and Tiago Monteiro, while the leading race drivers continued mixed preparation programmes. The session offered useful mileage without resolving whether Ferrari’s speed would translate into a decisive advantage once qualifying began.

Ferrari made its strongest statement on Saturday, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa finishing well clear of the rest. Giancarlo Fisichella led the pursuing group, with Fernando Alonso further back. Fuel loads still complicated precise comparisons, but the scale of Ferrari’s improvement gave the team a convincing platform for its qualifying challenge.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2006 United States Grand Prix FP1, 30 June 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	1:12.083	27
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.375s	3
3	38	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.925s	31
4	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.007s	5
5	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.106s	6
6	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+1.627s	24
7	39	Giorgio Mondini	Midland	+2.571s	33
8	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+2.662s	38
9	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+2.708s	8
10	37	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+2.935s	22
11	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+3.008s	8
12	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+3.449s	8
13	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+3.564s	10
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.888s	17
15	41	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+4.033s	31
16	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	+4.406s	17
17	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	No time	2
18	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	No time	2
19	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	No time	3
20	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	No time	1
21	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
22	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	No time	1
23	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	No time	1
24	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	No time	1
25	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	No time	1
26	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	No time	2

Free Practice 2 Classification

2006 United States Grand Prix FP2, 30 June 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	36	Anthony Davidson	Honda	1:12.013	38
2	38	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	+0.796s	39
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+0.920s	14
4	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.251s	26
5	39	Giorgio Mondini	Midland	+1.314s	33
6	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.333s	18
7	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+1.374s	21
8	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.384s	16
9	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.461s	14
10	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.541s	9
11	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+1.675s	26
12	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+1.678s	15
13	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.712s	14
14	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.722s	24
15	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	+1.812s	10
16	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	+1.844s	17
17	40	Neel Jani	Toro Rosso	+1.933s	31
18	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.998s	20
19	35	Alexander Wurz	Williams	+2.037s	39
20	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+2.071s	15
21	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+2.156s	19
22	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+2.378s	24
23	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.436s	16
24	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+2.549s	17
25	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+2.663s	18
26	37	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull Racing	+2.826s	13
27	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+3.050s	10
28	41	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	+3.107s	33
29	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	No time	2

Free Practice 3 Classification

2006 United States Grand Prix FP3, 1 July 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:10.760	15
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.279s	8
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	+1.180s	15
4	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	+1.289s	18
5	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+1.389s	13
6	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	+1.442s	15
7	12	Jenson Button	Honda	+1.509s	18
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	+1.567s	13
9	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+1.809s	13
10	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	+1.832s	10
11	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+1.915s	18
12	9	Mark Webber	Williams	+2.144s	15
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	+2.153s	18
14	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+2.331s	21
15	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+2.341s	19
16	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+2.343s	17
17	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	+2.353s	15
18	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	+2.412s	19
19	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+2.470s	12
20	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	+2.604s	17
21	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+3.046s	16
22	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	+3.694s	10

Qualifying

Michael Schumacher took pole ahead of Felipe Massa, completing a Ferrari front row. Giancarlo Fisichella qualified third and Rubens Barrichello fourth, while Fernando Alonso was fifth. The championship leader faced a much tougher starting position than at the preceding rounds.

Nico Rosberg lost all his qualifying times after failing to obey a signal to stop for weighing, and Vitantonio Liuzzi received an engine-change penalty. Jarno Trulli’s car was still undergoing repairs when parc fermé requirements took effect, so he started from the pit lane. Those changes gave several drivers recovery work to do from the rear.

Qualifying Classification

2006 United States Grand Prix Qualifying, 1 July 2006

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:11.588	1:10.636	1:10.832	23
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:11.088	1:11.146	1:11.435	23
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	1:12.287	1:11.200	1:11.920	27
4	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:12.156	1:11.263	1:12.109	29
5	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:12.416	1:11.877	1:12.449	26
6	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	1:12.114	1:11.724	1:12.479	26
7	12	Jenson Button	Honda	1:12.238	1:11.865	1:12.523	29
8	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	1:11.879	1:11.673	1:12.795	29
9	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	1:12.777	1:12.135	1:13.174	31
10	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:11.891	1:11.718	1:15.280	16
11	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	1:12.477	1:12.150	—	12
12	9	Mark Webber	Williams	1:12.935	1:12.292	—	13
13	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	1:13.167	1:12.792	—	14
14	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	1:12.711	1:12.854	—	9
15	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	1:12.627	1:12.864	—	9
16	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	1:12.773	1:12.925	—	12
17	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	1:13.180	—	—	6
18	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	1:13.496	—	—	6
19	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	1:13.506	—	—	7
20	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:13.787	—	—	3
21	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	1:14.041	—	—	10
22	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	1:16.036	—	—	4

Nico Rosberg was retroactively excluded from the results of qualifying for ignoring an instruction from the officials.

Jarno Trulli was to start the race from the pitlane after changing his suspension outside of parc fermé conditions.

Vitantonio Liuzzi received a 10-place grid penalty for an engine change.

What happened in the 2006 United States Grand Prix?

Two first-lap collisions transformed the race. Mark Webber, Christian Klien and Franck Montagny were caught in one incident, while contact involving the McLarens also collected Jenson Button, Scott Speed and Nick Heidfeld, whose BMW Sauber rolled. The drivers escaped injury, but the accidents removed a large part of the field and brought out the safety car.

Felipe Massa led the early stages before Michael Schumacher moved ahead through the pit stops. Ferrari’s pace kept Renault at a distance, with Giancarlo Fisichella running third and Jarno Trulli recovering strongly from the pit lane. Fernando Alonso struggled to match the leaders and could not maintain his season-long podium sequence.

Schumacher won from Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, with Jarno Trulli fourth and Fernando Alonso fifth. Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard and Vitantonio Liuzzi completed the points, Vitantonio Liuzzi earning Toro Rosso’s first. This proved to be Juan Pablo Montoya’s final Formula 1 appearance before his move away from McLaren.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 88 points, followed by Michael Schumacher on 69. Renault led the constructors’ table on 131, with Ferrari on 105.

2006 United States Grand Prix race results

The 2006 United States Grand Prix was held on 2 July 2006, with a scheduled start of 13:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	73	1:34:35.199	10
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	73	+7.984	8
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	73	+16.595	6
4	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	73	+23.604	5
5	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	73	+28.410	4
6	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	73	+36.513	3
7	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	72	+1 lap	2
8	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	72	+1 lap	1
9	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	72	+1 lap	0
Ret	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	62	Wheel bearing	0
Ret	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	37	Transmission	0
Ret	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	23	Engine	0
Ret	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	9	Collision damage	0
Ret	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	6	Collision	0
Ret	12	Jenson Button	Honda	3	Collision damage	0
Ret	3	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	0	Collision	0
Ret	16	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	0	Collision	0
Ret	4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	0	Collision	0
Ret	9	Mark Webber	Williams	0	Collision	0
Ret	21	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	0	Collision	0
Ret	15	Christian Klien	Red Bull Racing	0	Collision	0
Ret	23	Franck Montagny	Super Aguri	0	Collision	0

Jarno Trulli started the race from the pitlane.

2006 United States Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	56	1:12.719	207.527
2	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	29	1:12.954	206.859
3	2	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	28	1:13.131	206.358
4	7	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	29	1:13.225	206.093
5	8	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	37	1:13.269	205.969
6	1	Fernando Alonso	Renault	72	1:13.316	205.837
7	11	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	47	1:13.611	205.012
8	17	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	19	1:13.934	204.117
9	20	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	41	1:14.286	203.149
10	10	Nico Rosberg	Williams	42	1:14.707	202.005
11	14	David Coulthard	Red Bull Racing	33	1:14.730	201.942
12	19	Christijan Albers	Midland	34	1:14.731	201.940
13	18	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	9	1:22.036	183.958
14	22	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	6	1:43.802	145.384
15	12	Jenson Button	Honda	2	2:04.692	121.027

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 United States Grand Prix.

2006 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Renault	88
2	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	69
3	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Renault	43
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	McLaren	39
5	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	36
6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	McLaren	26
7	Jenson Button	British	Honda	16
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Honda	16
9	Nick Heidfeld	German	BMW Sauber	12
10	David Coulthard	British	Red Bull Racing	10
11	Ralf Schumacher	German	Toyota	8
12	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Toyota	8
13	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BMW Sauber	7
14	Mark Webber	Australian	Williams	6
15	Nico Rosberg	German	Williams	4
16	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Italian	Toro Rosso	1
17	Christian Klien	Austrian	Red Bull Racing	1
18	Scott Speed	American	Toro Rosso	0
19	Christijan Albers	Dutch	Midland	0
20	Tiago Monteiro	Portuguese	Midland	0
21	Takuma Sato	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
22	Yuji Ide	Japanese	Super Aguri	0
23	Franck Montagny	French	Super Aguri	0

2006 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Renault	131
2	Ferrari	105
3	McLaren	65
4	Honda	32
5	BMW Sauber	19
6	Toyota	16
7	Red Bull Racing	11
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