2006 German Grand Prix

Background

The Grand Prix weekend got off to a controversial start when the mass damper system fitted by Renault was deemed legal by the FIA appointed stewards, despite the FIA banning the use of these devices. The FIA appealed against their own steward's decision and Renault withdrew the system after Friday practice to avoid further sanctions.

Driver changes

Super Aguri's third driver Sakon Yamamoto replaced Franck Montagny to make his Formula One debut. Montagny took over the role of third driver from the Turkish Grand Prix on.

Practice

Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race: two on Friday, both lasting 90 minutes, and one on Saturday for 60 minutes. The first session was led by Williams's Alexander Wurz, the second by BMW Sauber's third driver Robert Kubica and the third by Christian Klien at Red Bull Racing.

Friday drivers

The bottom 6 teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Qualifying

Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. The first part ran for 15 minutes, and cars that finished the session 17th position or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of the qualifying session lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 16. The final part of the qualifying session ran for 20 minutes which determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions.

Kimi Räikkönen scored his eighth career pole position ahead of the Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa.

;Notes

• – Jarno Trulli qualified 13th but dropped ten places on the starting grid due to an engine change to his Toyota.
• – Christijan Albers qualified 18th but dropped ten places on the starting grid due to an engine change to his MF1.
• – Sakon Yamamoto started the race from the pit lane after changing the chassis of his Super Aguri after qualifying.

Race

Race report

Many questioned the sudden pace of Kimi Räikkönen and the sudden lack of it at the Renault team. Soon after the start of the race, the first question was answered: McLaren had put a minimum amount of fuel in Räikkönen's car, forcing him to make a pit stop after just ten laps. And it became a long stop when his crew had problems changing the right rear tyre. All this meant that the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa sailed off into the distance, with Jenson Button in the Honda and the Renaults of Giancarlo Fisichella and Fernando Alonso chasing behind.

Schumacher made his first stop without losing the lead. Meanwhile, Alonso was down in sixth behind Mark Webber. The Australian had started down in eleventh but later even passed Fisichella for fourth. During the second round of pit stops, Fisichella went off track and was passed by his teammate.

Schumacher and Massa scored a comfortable 1-2. It was the German's 89th career win. Räikkönen used the unplanned third-stop strategy to its best to fight off Webber and overtake Button to take the third step on the podium. In the final stages, Webber's car developed an engine problem and he retired on lap 59.

Jacques Villeneuve had crashed his BMW on lap 30. It would turn out to be the last race of his career.

Midland drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro were disqualified after the race for having illegally flexing rear wings.

Race classification

;Notes

• – Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro were disqualified for having illegally flexing rear wings.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
• Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

References

References

1. "2006 German Grand Prix".
2. "German".
3. (7 August 2006). "Villeneuve parts company with BMW". BBC Sport.
4. (7 August 2006). "Au revoir Jacques". GrandPrix.com.
5. (1 August 2006). "Kubica replaces Villeneuve". GrandPrix.com.
6. (15 December 2005). "2006 Formula One Sporting Regulations". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile.
7. "FORMULA 1™ GROSSER MOBIL 1 PREIS VON DEUTSCHLAND 2006 - PRACTICE 1".
8. Domenjoz, Luc. (February 2007). "Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007". Chronosports S.A..
9. (30 June 2006). "Midlands disqualified over rear-wing flex". [[Formula One Group.
10. "2006 German Grand Prix - Race". Formula1.com Limited.
11. (30 July 2006). "2006 German Grand Prix - Race Results & History - GP Archive".
12. "Germany 2006 - Championship • STATS F1".