2006 Bahrain Grand Prix

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...
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