For this week’s Flashback Friday we take a look at Monza, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher in 2006, what some might call a mighty mix.
We remember some popular names on the grid at the time, Heidfield, Fisichella, Barrichello etc. Racing in Monza was one of the most exciting times of the season (as it still is now!) Back in the day, the bottom six teams from the 2005 constructors championship and Super Aguri could run a third car in free practice but these cars could not run in qualifying or the race. (This included drivers like Sebastian Vettel and Anthony Davidson)
Qualifying
In Q1 the following drivers were eliminated: Yamamoto, Sato, Webber (who was driving for Williams-Cosworth at the time), Albers and Liuzzi. In Q2, the familiar names of Nico Rosberg, Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard accompanied Trulli, Klien and Speed out of the second stage of qualifying. An intense battle for pole with Schumacher and Raikkonen took centre stage at the end of Q3, with the future 2007 world champion pipping the seven time world champion to the top spot at Ferrari’s home circuit. Heidfield, Massa, Button, Kubica, De la Rosa, Barrichello, Fisichella and Alonso completed the top 10. Alonso had qualified in 5th place but was later penalised for impeding Massa which then brought him down to 10th.
Race
On September 10, 2006, 53 laps of racing awaited the 22 drivers on the grid in the sunny weather of Italy. Kimi Raikkonen would lead the other 21 drivers off the grid for an exciting afternoon.
Raikkonen got a good start, pulling away from Schumacher and Heidfield who were battling for second place. Alonso had gained places, moving up the field to sixth. The leading two cars of Raikkonen and Schumacher had built a gap between themselves and the rest of the pack. Rosberg had power issues with his car, with the German ending his race earlier than the rest for the fourth time in a row.
By the time pit windows were open the teams had formed their strategies based on what they believed would beat their opponent, and Ferrari got it right. Raikkonen went into the pits two laps before Schumacher, who, in that time had picked up the pace to give him enough time to come out ahead of the McLaren. During the pitstops for the top two, Kubica lead the race, coming in at a later stage.
Schumacher and Raikkonen had very similar paces and the leading car could not build up a significant gap. Even after the second round of pitstops, things did not change; although, Raikkonen allowed for a little gap to form to preserve his tyres.
An engine failure on lap 44 meant Alonso lost the last spot on the podium. This caused an issue for Massa who, from this incident locked up, went wide and had to change tyres in the pit. This ultimately handed Kubica third place for his first ever podium.
Schumacher crossed the line for his 90th win and for Ferrari’s 190th win, followed by Raikkonen and Kubica. It was during his victory lap that Schumacher announced he would retire at the end of the season, leaving the F1 community with a very bitter-sweet feeling. Nevertheless, with three races to go, Schumacher would battle it out with Alonso for the title of driver’s champion 2006.
We hope you enjoyed this week’s #FlashbackFriday. Make sure you like and share it with others so they can relive such sweet memories. Also, don’t forget to follow all of our social media and tag us when you share your predictions!
The Fastest Sector 