2006 Malaysian Grand Prix

2006 Malaysian Grand Prix
Date	March 19, 2006
Round	2
Track	Sepang
Laps	56
Weather	Humid & Sunny
Pole Position
Driver	Giancarlo Fisichella
Time	1:33.840
Fastest Lap
Driver	Fernando Alonso
Time	1:34.803

Two weeks after the hot Bahrain Grand Prix, the circus moved to another hot race in Malaysia. As a result, a lot of cars were forced into engine changes, most notably the Ferrari's of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa, who actually changed his twice.

Qualifying 1 and 2 were unspectacular, but in the final pole position shoot-out, Renault's Fernando Alonso could only manage seventh, after an error with fuelling meant he carried too much fuel and the extra weight slowed him down.

Giancarlo Fisichella had no such problem as he was on pole, snatching it away from Honda's Jenson Button. Nico Rosberg stole third for Williams-Cosworth, and after the fourth placed Michael Schumacher was forced to take an engine penalty, it became an all Williams second row, as Mark Webber was fourth. Juan Pablo Montoya lead a heavily-fuelled McLaren-Mercedes third row, before coming to Alonso.

At the start of the race, Renault used their brilliant launch-control system to leapfrog both the McLaren's and Williams' off the line, lifting Alonso up to third after the first corner. Kimi Raikkonen slipped back from 6th, and collided with the Red Bull Racing-Ferrari of Christian Klien forcing him out of the race.

Williams had a bad day, as first Rosberg then Webber retired through engine related problems.

Towards the back of the field, the fast starting Ferrari's and Ralf Schumacher tore their way through the field. They moved into the points by the end of the race.

At the pit stops, Alonso moved into second - his fuel problem gave him the advantage of being able to stay out longer. This helped him leap Button.

As the end drew near, Felipe Massa managed to hold his Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher behind him, and he hung on for fifth, behind the steady but solid Juan Pablo Montoya. Ralf Schumacher went from last to eighth to get a point for Toyota.

The leaders eased off towards the end, as Giancarlo Fisichella took the win from Alonso. Button completed the podium line-up.

This left Alonso seven points clear at the top of the championship from Michael Schumacher, and five points further ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.

[edit] Results

Rank	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	Giancarlo Fisichella	Renault	56	1:30:40.529	1	10
2	Fernando Alonso	Renault	56	+4.5 sec	7	8
3	Jenson Button	Honda	56	+ 9.6 sec	2	6
4	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	56	+ 39.3 sec	5	5
5	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+43.2 sec	21	4
6	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	56	+ 43.8 sec	14	3
7	Jacques Villeneuve	BMW Sauber	56	+80.4 sec	10	2
8	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	56	+81.2 sec	22	1
9	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	55	+1 lap	9
10	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	55	+1 lap	20
11	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	54	+2 laps	13
12	Christijan Albers	Midland	54	+2 laps	15
13	Tiago Monteiro	Midland	54	+2 laps	16
14	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	53	+3 laps	17
Ret	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	48	Engine	11
Ret	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	41	Clutch	12
Ret	Yuji Ide	Super Aguri	33	Mechanical	18
Ret	Christian Klien	Red Bull	26	Hydraulics	8
Ret	Mark Webber	Williams	15	Hydraulics	4
Ret	David Coulthard	Red Bull	10	Hydraulics	19
Ret	Nico Rosberg	Williams	6	Engine	3
Ret	Kimi Raikkonen	McLaren	0	Accident	6