Results from the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix
Schumacher is back! Everything went exactly according to the script at Imola as thousands of avid Ferrari fans witnessed a return to form of the former world champion and his team, taking their first competitive victory in more than 18 months. A thrilling duel with title front-runner Fernando Alonso over the closing laps added to the excitement as Ferrari finished first and fourth to make up for a dismal showing in Melbourne.
Third behind Alonso was Juan Pablo Montoya, gaining much needed points for McLaren, followed by Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikonnen in the other McLaren. Mark Webber was again consistently good in the Williams followed by an unlucky 7th for Jenson Button, with Giarncarlo Fisichella picking the last of the points for Renault.
Starting from pole position, the German would’ve already been bouyed by the fact that he had surpassed yet another record – most pole positions ever, which was previously held by the late Ayton Senna. From there the race was a formality with few incidents and no upsets after pitting. Despite having the quicker car, Alonso started further back on the grid and the Renault team eventually 'blinked first' at a crucial point in the race with Schumacher expertly fending him off. Pitting first, in a race that saw most teams on a two stop strategy, they were unable to get ahead of the Ferrari as they had done in Bahrain and settled for second.
Pit stops, on the other hand, dealt both Honda drivers some miserable fortune as the crew had a shocker of a day, delaying Rubens Barrichelo by more than seven seconds and later miscommunicating to Button, resulting in the hapless Briton driving away with the fuel line still attached and prompting a third stop. For the second time in as many races he saw a front row start spoiled.
Kimi Raikkonen did well to recover from a lowly 11th at one stage to finish fifth, and the third place for Montoya meant a satisfactory day out for McLaren, but the Finn now has his work cut out for him if he is to challenge for the Drivers' Championship. Alonso continues to dominate the lead with 36 points, while Schumacher has slightly shortened the gap to 15, and now has a three point advantage over Raikkonen who is on 18. Renault’s impressive advantage of 51 points in the Constructors' Championship has been significantly eroded as McLaren now move to 33 and Ferrari catch up with 30 points.
There were few incidents in this, the first European fixture of the 2006 season, other than a spectacular role by Christian Albers on lap one. Jarno Trulli lasted only five laps in his Toyota, and other retirees were the two Aguri Hondas, and the two Red Bull Ferraris. In fact it was a race to forget for the usually competitive Toyotas, along with Rubens Barrichello. Outstanding newcomer Nico Rosberg failed to show any fireworks this time round.
Results of Sunday's San Marino Grand Prix:
- Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari 1:31:06.486
- Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault +00:02.096
- Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) McLaren 00:15.868
- Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 00:17.096
- Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) McLaren 00:17.524
- Mark Webber (Aus) Williams-Cosworth 00:37.739
- Jenson Button (GB) Honda 00:39.635
- Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Renault 00:40.200
- Ralf Schumacher (Ger) Toyota 00:45.511
- Rubens Barrichello (Brz) Honda 01:17.851
- Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-Cosworth 01:19.675
- Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BMW Sauber 01:22.370
- Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1 lap behind
- Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
- Scott Speed (US) Toro Rosso-Cosworth 1 lap
- Tiago Monteiro (Por) MF1-Toyota 1 lap
R David Coulthard (GB) Red Bull-Ferrari 47 laps
R Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 44 laps
R Christian Klien (Aut) Red Bull-Ferrari 40 laps
R Yuji Ide (Jpn) Super Aguri-Honda 23 laps
R Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 5 laps
R Christijan Albers (Ned) MF1-Toyota 0 laps