With 15 years having passed since Michael Schumacher won the 2006 US Grand Prix, we look back at how it all unfolded on the day.
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The 2006 US Grand Prix came a little over a year since the infamous 2005 Formula 1 race in the same circuit. The 2005 race was remembered for descending into farce due to all teams with Michelin tyres refusing to participate. As such, the 2006 race had some work to do as far as reparing goodwill was concerned. Both editions had one thing in common though: they were won by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher. However, the 2005 win was rightfully seen as hollow given only six drivers took part. This time around though, Schumacher managed to beat out the entire grid – although the chaos of the race did make things easier.
With 15 years having passed since Schumacher’s win in the 2006 US Grand Prix, we look back at how it all unfolded on the day.
It was well-known that 2006 was going to be Schumacher’s last season in Formula 1. The seven-time world champion was going to be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen in the 2007 season.
Rather than find a new team, Schumacher opted to call it quits from the sport. He did eventually make a comeback with Mercedes, but at the time no one knew that would happen.
Knowing he would be calling it quits, Schumacher wanted to win one final world championship with Ferrari. However, Renault and Fernando Alonso were proving pretty hard to beat.
It wasn’t like 2005 – the Ferraris were better equipped to deal with the regulations in place for 2006 and had even won a couple of races till that point.
Yet that was only two race wins out of nine – Renault claimed the remaining seven, of which six were Alonso’s. To make matters worse, the Spaniard was on a four-race win streak. Something had to give.
Qualifying saw a Ferrari lockout on the front grid, with Schumacher claiming pole ahead of Felipe Massa. Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella was third, with Rubens Barichello of Honda in fourth.
Alonso was merely fifth, with his final Q3 qualifying time being nearly 2 seconds slower than Schumacher’s pole-setting time. If he was to make it five wins on th trot, it would be quite the effort.
The race started with chaos ensuing, as two big accidents saw a total of 7 cars out of the race. Mark Webber bumped into the Red Bull of Christian Klein at Turn 1, who spun and smashed against Franck Montagny of Super Aguri.
On Turn 2, things were much worse. McLaren’s Juan Pablo Montoya nudged teammate Raikkonen, who spun out of the race. Montoya then hit Honda’s Jenson Button and Toro Rosso’s Scott Speed.
Button’s front right tyre got under Nick Heidfeld’s BMW-Sauber and sent him tumbling. Amazingly, no one was injured due to this carnage.
The race stayed quiet thereafter, with the front three ending the race in the same position they started. Given that, by the end, only nine cars were left, there was quite the battle at the back of the grid.
The last two points places – seventh and eighth – came down to David Coulthard, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. In the end it was Rosberg who lost out, with Coulthard taking 7th and Liuzzi 8th.
Liuzzi, in the process, became the first driver to score a point for Scuderia Toro Rosso, Red Bull’s sister team. Both him and Red Bull’s Coulthard finished a lap behind Schumacher.
The win was a notable one for Michael Schumacher. It was his fifth win at Indianapolis, making him the only driver in any motorsport discipline to win five at the circuit.
It also started a run of three race wins for the German as he clawed his way back into the title battle. As a result, Ferrari also fought back in the constructor’s championship.
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