2006 Monaco Grand Prix | |||
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Race 7 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One World Championship | |||
Race details | |||
Date | 28 May 2006 | ||
Official name | Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2006 | ||
Location | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | ||
Course | Street circuit | ||
Course length | 3.340 km (2.075 miles) | ||
Distance | 78 laps, 260.520 km (161.880 miles) | ||
Weather | Fine | ||
Pole position | |||
Driver | Renault | ||
Time | 1:13.962 | ||
Fastest lap | |||
Driver | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |
Time | 1:15.143 on lap 74 | ||
Podium | |||
First | Renault | ||
Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
Third | Red Bull-Ferrari | ||
Lap leaders |
The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix (formally known as the Formula 1 Grand Prix de Monaco 2006)[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 28 May 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. The 78-lap race was the seventh round of the 2006 Formula One season. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of those races. His main championship rival, Michael Schumacher was looking to win the race as it would equal Ayrton Senna's record at Monaco for most wins (six).
The race was remembered by many people for Michael Schumacher's actions during the closing stages of the qualifying session for the race, where he stopped his car in La Rascasse corner, thus preventing his rival Fernando Alonso from attempting to improve his time. Schumacher maintained that this was an innocent mistake; his actions were deemed deliberate by the race stewards and he was demoted to the back of the grid as punishment for his actions, promoting Alonso from second to pole position. It was also remembered for Schumacher coming back from his penalty during the race to finish fifth on a circuit that is notorious for overtaking being almost impossible.
Fernando Alonso went on to win the race, his first in Monaco. Juan Pablo Montoya came second, scoring his last podium and David Coulthard took full advantage of Jarno Trulli's late hydraulic failure to finish in third, scoring Red Bull Racing's first ever podium finish and also first ever podium for Ferrari as an engine supplier for a customer team since 2003 United States Grand Prix when Sauber was a Ferrari customer team but badged as Petronas. It was also his first podium finish since the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix.