The
2006 Bahrain Grand Prix was the first round of the 2006
Formula One World Championship, held on 12 March 2006 at the
Bahrain International Circuit,
Bahrain.
Qualifying
The race was the first run under the new
2006 qualifying rules, in which the one hour session is split into three 'knock out' parts. The first part eliminated
Kimi Räikkönen (rear wishbone failure) and
Ralf Schumacher, who was caught out by the red flag after Räikkönen's accident and failed to set a competitive time, as well as the MF1's and the two Super Aguris. The second part saw fewer surprises, with the expected runners lining up for the final top 10 part. The result was that the Ferraris swept the front row.
UK TV pundit
Martin Brundle referred to the fuel credits used to represent the fuel used during qualifying as 'Tiger Tokens', referring to promotional points offered by the fuel company
Esso in the
United Kingdom.
Race
At the start of the race,
Fernando Alonso moved up to second in the first lap, only for
Michael Schumacher to begin to pull away. Alonso was involved in a near collision with Schumacher's teammate
Felipe Massa, who spun at the first corner. Massa was never a threat after this point, not helped by a delay in his pit stop to change tyres the same lap. Alonso's teammate
Giancarlo Fisichella also played little part in the race due to an engine mapping problem which restricted power. He retired on the 21st lap due to hydraulic failure. To the surprise of few,
Kimi Räikkönen...
Read More