Alonso Throws Away Chinese Grand Prix and Maybe the World Championship
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| 2006 Formula One Season | |
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Round Sixteen, Shanghai, 56 laps
Formula One left Europe with both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso fighting for the World Championship.
It rained in qualifying, which heavily favoured the Michelin tyres. This was evident in Qualifying 1, when the top 12 drivers were Michelin, with the others on Bridgestone. As a result, as qualifying went on, Schumacher did remarkably well to put himself in sixth. Team-mate Felipe Massa was in thirteenth, but with an engine penalty, he dropped to twentieth. Meanwhile, Alonso coasted to pole, with team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella on the front row with him.
Before the race, the decision was taken by most of the teams to go out on intermediate tyres. As a result, Renault were expected to dominate. Sure enough, Alonso dominated off the startline. The two Renault’s led the way around, with only Kimi Raikkonen managing to put up a fight with the Renault’s. Alonso had opened up a big lead.
Before the first stops, Renault lost power on their pit wall, making it difficult for them to track their cars’ performance. When Alonso pitted, he came in for new inters on the front, but kept his rear tyres the same. This didn’t work however, and soon he was lapping so slowly that Fisichella had to pass him, hotly pursued by Schumacher, who after a slow start had passed both the Honda’s of Barrichello and Button.
Early attempts at dry tyres failed, with Robert Kubica taking the dry tyres too early, a move which cost him a lap or so in time.
As everyone came in for the dry tyres, so did Alonso, and he was able to get his up to temperature quickly, albeit after a wheel-nut problem in the pit lane cost him another twenty seconds. Five laps later, Schumacher pitted for dry tyres, and he too, managed to get them up to speed on the outlap. Fisichella pitted from the lead a lap later, but he could not warm his tyres up on turn one. As a result, Schumacher roared past to take the lead. Alonso pulled back to Schumacher at a rate of two seconds per lap, but it was too late, although he did manage to take second place.
With a few laps left, it started to rain again, and behind the top three, there was a battle developing between Button, Barrichello, Pedro de la Rosa, and Nick Heidfeld. With a Super Aguri in the way too by the time the cars got down to the hairpin after the long straight, the inevitable collision on cold tyres took place. Button passed Barrichello and Heidfeld cleanly, but the move cost Barrichello his front wing, and caused Heidfeld to spin. Pedro de la Rosa calmly claimed fifth, avoiding the collision.
Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were tied on points, but Schumacher took the lead for the first time that season by virtue of having won more races. Renault regained the lead in the Constructors’ Championship, due to Ferrari’s Felipe Massa being caught up in an accident while attempting to pass David Coulthard for the final point on offer.
| Pole Position – Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:44.340 |
| Fastest Lap – Fernando Alonso, Renault, 1:37.586 |
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| Tracks: Shanghai |
ArmchairGM Race Related Formula One Resources:
- 2006 Drivers' Championship Standings
- 2006 Constructors' Championship Standings
- 2006 Chinese Grand Prix Video - Will be available later
- Shanghai - The Map of the Track
Other ArmchairGM F1 Stuff:
- Formula One Encyclopedia
- Other race reports available by clicking the flags on top of the page
Source
Date
Sun 10/01/06, 3:53 am EST
