Results from the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
With title defender Fernando Alonso needing to simply finish in the points - eight or better - the final showdown of a thrilling season between the Spaniard and former champion Micahel Schumacher looked set to be an anti-climax. And with mechanical faliure confining the German's Ferrari to 10th on the grid, his hopes of pulling off a miracle for an eighth world title before he retired were all but gone.
It was the local crowds who got the most satisfaction as home boy Filipe Massa took the chequered flag for Ferrari, but it was not enough to gain them the onstructors' Championship. Alonso finished right behind him, with Schumacher driving a scorcher to finish fourth. Jenson Button finished his mediocre season in third to separate them, while under-performer Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth in his last race for McLaren.
Giancarlo Fishichella came home safely in 6th to ensure Renault picked up both the Drivers' Title and Constructors' Title, while Rubens Barrichello put the second Honda in the points followed by the McLaren of Pedro de la Rosa.
Massa blazed away from pole position and was rarely challenged, as Schumacher immediately gained two places and was challeging Fishichella for sixth by lap 9 only to suffer a puncture shortly after overtaking him in an aggressive trademark move. A collision between the two Williams at the start, ending both their races, had left carbon fibre shards on the track.
After the first pitstops, around lap 20 Button, becames the star of the moment catapulting himself into fourth. But his heroics were overshadowed by a determined Schumacher who fought his way back up to 7th by lap 40. It evolved into some thrilling racing as he first past Barrichello, then Fisichella and finally Raikkonen to finish fourth and retire from an incredible F1 career with full respect for his brilliance and courage.
The front order remained little changed other than a disastrous pitstop that cost de la Rosa second at one point. Further down the field both Toyotas retired along with David Coulthard's Red Bull.
Alonso finished comfortably, but well off the pace of Massa to become the youngest driver in F1 history to win back-to-back titles ahead of his move to McLaren in 2007. Schumacher had to settle for second, with teammate Massa in third and Renault's Fisichella in Fourth. It was a season to forget for Raikkonen and McLaren, with the constructor failing to win a race for the first time in 10 seasons.
Despite the late charge from Ferrari, Renault finished ahead by five points to once again take the Constructors' Title, while McLaren were a distant third, ahead of Honda and BMW-Sauber.
Full results of the Brazilian Grand Prix 2006
- Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari one hour 31 minutes 53.751 seconds
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +18.658 seconds
- Jenson Button (GB) Honda +19.394
- Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari +24.094
- Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) McLaren-Mercedes +28.503
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault +30.287
- Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +40.294
- Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes +52.068
- Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber +1:07.642
- Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap behind
- Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
- Robert Doornbos (Ned) Red Bull-Ferrari 1 lap
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
- Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 1 lap
- Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 2 laps
- Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 2 laps
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 8 laps
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Ferrari 14 laps completed
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 10 laps
R Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 9 laps
R Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap
R Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap