Results from the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix
In Shanghai the title race between rival contenders Micheal Schumacher and Fernando Alonso came head to head in the rain as the former champion and Ferrari triumphed at the expense of Renault's botched tyre changing strategy, leaving the two on equal points heading into the last two races and guaranteeing a showdown right up until the final chequered flag of the season. The season has turned into such a thriller that few noticed Giancarlo Fisichella slip home quietly in third to gain Renault a precious one point advantage in the Constructors' title. And the cameras also nearly missed a bold lunge on the last corner that saw Jenson Button leap-frog two places into fourth.
Although Alonso finished second, three seconds adrift of the soon-to-retire Schumacher, his damage limitation left him disappointed after starting in pole position alongside his team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. Schumacher, meanwhile was placed back in sixth after his Bridgestones failed to perform in the wet qualifying.
But Schumacher drove a patient and calculating race that saw him as much as 20 seconds behind the race leader at one point. As the track dried out, the race became as much a lottery as it did a strategists nightmare; planning when to pit, whether to change to slicks and calculating just how the changing conditions suited the wearing semi-slicks which everyone started on.
A decision to switch to slick tyres on lap 31 proves disastrous for Alonso who simply couldn't keep the pace at the front and eventually ceded the lead to Fisichella and was soon overhauled by Schumacher. A later pitstop to rectify the error resulted in a delayed wheel fit manouvre costing him a further 10 seconds. Meanwhile, the ever precise Ferrari team called their bluff on Renault and pitted a lap earlier handing them the initiative and snatching the lead from Fisichella shortly after he emerged on unstable fresh tyres.
Although Alonso was able to catch up, and was conveniently handed second place by his team mate, Schumacher was home 'dry' in a remarkable victory. Earlier on in the race both had to contend with the pacy McLaren of Kimi Raikkonen threatening to upset the whole show-down but once again he retired, this time on lap 19 while in second place.
The real wheel-to-wheel battle however was for the rest of the points as the two Hondas of of Button and Rubens Barrichello duelled with Pedro de la Rosa in the other McLaren and Nick Heidfeld's BMW. As they approached the backmarkers on the last lap Button capitalised on the confusion and overtook both his team mate and Heidfeld ahead of him, causing the BMW to spin and contact Barrichello. Button snatched forth, De La Rosa came through for fifth, Barrichello had to settle for sixth and poor old Heidfeld ended up seventh. Mark Webber picked up the last of the points for Williams.
Meanwhile Ferrari's Filipe Massa, who started at the back of the grid due to an engine change, failed to finish, handing the initiative back to Renault for the Constructors' Championship. He did however fight his way up the field before retiring with mechanical failure.
Both Alonso and Shumacher are on an equal 116 points, but Schumacher has the advantage with more victories this season and Alonso has not won since the Canadian Grand Prix. Fisichella has moved ahead of his rivals for third place one point ahead of Massa's 62, while Raikkonen is now five points adrift in fifth. Briton's Jenson Button is sixth, where he is likely to finish the season. Renault, meanwhile now have a one point advantage over Ferrari on 179, While McLaren are a distant third on 101 followed by Honda's 73 points.
Full results of the Chinese Grand Prix 2006
- Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari one hour 37 minutes 32.747 seconds
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +3.121 seconds
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault +44.197
- Jenson Button (GB) Honda +1:12.056
- Pedro de la Rosa (Spa) McLaren-Mercedes +1:17.137
- Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda +1:19.131
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber +1:31.979
- Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth +1:43.588
- David Coulthard (GB) RedBull-Ferrari +1:43.796
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap behind
- Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 1 lap
- Robert Doornbos (Ned) RedBull-Ferrari 1 lap
- Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1 lap
- DQ Takuma Sato* (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 1 lap
- Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
- Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 3 laps
- Sakon Yamamoto (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 4 laps
R Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 49 laps completed
R Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 44 laps
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 38 laps
R Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 37 laps
R Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 18 laps