2006 German Grand Prix
 2006 German Grand Prix
| |
|---|---|
| Date | July 30, 2006 |
| Round | 12 |
| Track | Hockenheim |
| Laps | 67 |
| Weather | Hot & Sunny |
| | |
| Driver | Kimi Raikkonen |
| Time | 1:14.070 |
| | |
| Driver | Michael Schumacher |
| Time | 1:16.357 |
Two weeks after Magny-Cours, the traditional venue of Hockenheim hosted the next round in the World Championship.
Super Aguri launched their new car, and replaced Franck Montagny with Sakon Yamamoto for the rest of the season.
There was a technical issue that hurt Renault in this race, as their damper system, designed to increase downforce when going on the curbs, to help the car stick to the road and get quicker traction and more grip, was banned for this race. Renault were the chief implementers of the system, and it was felt that this would be a problem for them in the race.
Qualifying passed smoothly other than the crash of Scott Speed in Qualifying 1 which caused the session to be red flagged. Kimi Raikkonen short-fuelled in an attempt to get pole, but a problem with the fuel rig gave him so little fuel that he got pole easily. The two Ferrari's were right behind him.
In the race, Raikkonen indeed pitted early, and a problem with the right-rear wheel caused him to lose time in his pit stop, and his pole position advantage.
The two Ferrari's stole the show thereafter, and Michael Schumacher recorded a comfortable victory. In contrast, Fernando Alonso struggled, and this threw the World Championship wide open again – the lead was now down to just eleven points with six races remaining.
The two Midland cars were disqualified after the race for using the banned flexi-wings.
[edit] Results
| Rank | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 67 | 1:27:51.693 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 |  Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 67 | +0.7 sec | 3 | 8 |
| 3 |  Kimi Raikkonen | McLaren | 67 | + 13.2 sec | 1 | 6 |
| 4 |  Jenson Button | Honda | 67 | + 18.8 sec | 4 | 5 |
| 5 |  Fernando Alonso | Renault | 67 | +23.7 sec | 7 | 4 |
| 6 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 67 | + 24.8 sec | 5 | 3 |
| 7 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 67 | +26.5 sec | 20 | 2 |
| 8 |  Christian Klien | Red Bull | 67 | +48.1 sec | 12 | 1 |
| 9 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 67 | +60.3 sec | 8 | |
| 10 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso | 66 | +1 lap | 16 | |
| 11 | David Coulthard | Red Bull | 66 | +1 lap | 10 | |
| 12 |  Scott Speed | Toro Rosso | 66 | +1 lap | 19 | |
| Ret |  Mark Webber | Williams | 59 | Water leak | 11 | |
| Ret |  Takuma Sato | Super Aguri | 38 | Gearbox | 17 | |
| Ret |  Jacques Villeneuve | BMW Sauber | 30 | Accident | 13 | |
| Ret | Rubens Barrichello | Honda | 18 | Engine | 6 | |
| Ret | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 9 | Brakes | 15 | |
| Ret | Pedro de la Rosa | McLaren | 2 | Fuel pump | 9 | |
| Ret | Sakon Yamamoto | Super Aguri | 1 | Driveshaft | 22 | |
| Ret | Nico Rosberg | Williams | 0 | Accident | 14 | |
| DSQ |  Christijan Albers | Midland | 66 | Disqualified | 21 | |
| DSQ |  Tiago Monteiro | Midland | 66 | Disqualified | 18 |
