2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
Date	October 22, 2006
Round	18
Track	Interlagos
Laps	71
Weather	Hot & Sunny
Pole Position
Driver	Felipe Massa
Time	1:10.680
Fastest Lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher
Time	1:12.162

The Championship would come down to the final race of the season, the Brazilian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso had a ten point lead, and only needed a point to become World Champion. Michael Schumacher needed a win to have a chance of the title, and retire on a high.

Schumacher and Ferrari looked brilliant in Qualifying 1 and 2. It was another disappointment for Red Bull, since David Coulthard could only qualify in nineteenth place.

Disaster struck in the final session though, as Schumacher had a problem that caused him to retire with a problem. He managed to finish tenth therefore, and Alonso had the advantage as he came in fourth. Felipe Massa took pole at a canter in his home race for Ferrari, suggesting a low fuel load.

However, in the race, Massa stormed into the lead, even a safety car not being a problem for him. Both Williams retired though, signalling the end of Cosworth’s 39 year tenure in Formula One. Both Toyota’s retired with the same suspension problem.

Debri from Nico Rosberg’s crashed Williams led to Schumacher getting a puncture, just as he was moving into sixth place for Ferrari. He pitted and dropped to last place.

The World Championship looked over as Alonso had moved into second place. From fourteenth on the grid, Jenson Button had moved up to third. However, Schumacher set fastest lap after fastest lap, and benefited from a lot of cars letting him through to go into fifth.

He then passed Kimi Raikkonen, his successor at Ferrari in 2007, but more importantly moved into fourth. If Button collided with Alonso, Massa would have let his team-mate through to win the title.

Despite another fastest lap on the penultimate lap, Michael Schumacher could only finish fourth, with Felipe Massa ecstatic at having won his home Grand Prix. Renault won the Constructors’ Championship too by five points.

So Fernando Alonso was back-to-back World Champion, and moves to McLaren for 2007. It was argued that Schumacher’s last race before retirement showed one of his greatest drives.

Fernando Alonso would be the only World Champion on the grid in 2007.

[edit] Results

Rank	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	71	1:31:53.751	1	10
2	Fernando Alonso	Renault	71	+18.6 sec	4	8
3	Jenson Button	Honda	71	+ 19.3 sec	14	6
4	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+ 24.0 sec	10	5
5	Kimi Raikkonen	McLaren	71	+28.5 sec	2	4
6	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	71	+ 30.2 sec	6	3
7	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	71	+40.2 sec	5	2
8	Pedro de la Rosa	McLaren	71	+52.0 sec	12	1
9	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	71	+67.6 sec	9
10	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	70	+1 lap	19
11	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	70	+1 lap	16
12	Robert Doornbos	Red Bull	70	+1 lap	22
13	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	70	+1 lap	15
14	Christijan Albers	Spyker	70	+1 lap	17
15	Tiago Monteiro	Spyker	69	+2 laps	21
16	Sakon Yamamoto	Super Aguri	69	+2 laps	20
Ret	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	63	Accident	8
Ret	David Coulthard	Red Bull	14	Gearbox	18
Ret	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	10	Suspension	3
Ret	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	9	Suspension	7
Ret	Mark Webber	Williams	1	Collision	11
Ret	Nico Rosberg	Williams	0	Collision	13

2006 Formula One Season
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Brazilian Grand Prix
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Tracks: Interlagos • Rio de Janeiro