2006 Brazilian Grand Prix

2006 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race 18 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 22 October 2006 (2006-10-22)
Official name Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006
Location Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.309 km (2.677 miles)
Distance 71 laps, 305.909 km (190.083 miles)
Weather Temperatures reaching up to 23 °C (73 °F)[1]
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:10.680
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:12.162 on lap 70
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Renault
Third Honda
Lap leaders

The 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix (officially the Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006)[2] was a Formula One motor race held on 22 October 2006 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo. It was the eighteenth and final race of the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race determined the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships for the season, with Fernando Alonso and Renault winning their respective championships. The race itself attracted 154 million viewers.[3]

The 71-lap race was won by local driver Felipe Massa, driving a Ferrari, with Alonso taking second in his Renault and Jenson Button third in a Honda. Massa was the first Brazilian driver to win his home Grand Prix since Ayrton Senna in 1993. Michael Schumacher, in what was expected to be his last race, finished fourth, having started tenth and suffered a puncture which dropped him to 19th.

Schumacher retired from Formula One after this race, with seven Drivers' Championships to his name, although he would return in 2010 with Mercedes. His seat at Ferrari was taken by Kimi Räikkönen, whilst Alonso moved to McLaren to partner rookie Lewis Hamilton.

This race also marked the end of the tyre war which lasted 5 years with Michelin pulling out of the sport, It was also the end of two major tobacco sponsorships with Mild Seven and British American tobacco ending their association with Renault and Honda and leaving the sport after this race.

  1. ^ "Weather info for the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix". Weather Underground. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  2. ^ "Formula 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2006 - Race". Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  3. ^ Spurgeon, Brad (15 March 2007). "Season opens with the focus on younger faces". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 March 2007. Retrieved 10 October 2007.