| 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 1 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship | |||
 The Bahrain Circuit in Sakhir | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 12 March 2006 | ||
| Official name | 2006 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Bahrain International Circuit Sakhir, Bahrain | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.412 km (3.363 miles) | ||
| Distance | 57 laps, 308.238 km (191.530 miles) | ||
| Weather |
Fine, Dry and Hot Air Temp 23 °C (73 °F)[1] Track Temp 40 °C (104 °F)[1] dropping to 34 °C (93 °F) | ||
| Attendance | 77,000 (Weekend)[2] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:31.431 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Nico Rosberg | Williams-Cosworth | |
| Time | 1:32.408 on lap 42 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Renault | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix (officially the 2006 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix)[3] was a Formula One motor race held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain on 12 March 2006. The 57-lap race was the opening round of the 2006 Formula One season and the third running of the Bahrain Grand Prix. It was won by the 2005 World Champions, Fernando Alonso and the Renault team. Ferrari driver and polesitter Michael Schumacher began his final season in Formula One (before his return with Mercedes in 2010) with second position. Kimi Räikkönen completed the podium after he finished in third place with the McLaren team, despite starting in last position.
The race was the first Grand Prix for future world champion Nico Rosberg, son of World Champion Keke Rosberg, who raced with the Williams team. He set the fastest lap of the race and, at the age of 20 years and 258 days, broke the record for the youngest driver to do so, which he held until Max Verstappen scored his first fastest lap, at age 19, at the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix. It was also the debut race for the BMW Sauber, Toro Rosso, Midland F1 and Super Aguri teams, and drivers Scott Speed and Yuji Ide.
It also saw the début of the 2.4 litre (146.4 cu in) naturally-aspirated V8 engines which were used by all teams except Toro Rosso, who were still using the 3.0 litre (183 cu in) V10 engines that were used from 1995 to 2005, as the team's chassis, the STR1, was reused from the Red Bull RB1 from the 2005 season. This race notably marked the first time teams had fielded V8-powered cars, since the 1997 European Grand Prix.
- ^ a b "2006 Bahrain GP". Chicane F1. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "Trends in Bahrain". 22 April 2013.
- ^ "Bahrain". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2021.