Formula One: 2006 French Grand Prix - Magny Cours
Episode score
8.2
Great
2006 French Grand Prix - Magny Cours
- 11.
- Season: 1
- Episode: 11
- First Aired: 7/16/2006
Michael Schumacher won the 2006 French Grand Prix for Ferrari, ahead of Renault's Fernando Alonso and Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa. Read full recap »
- Stars:
- Steve Rider (Host)
- Martin Brundle (Race Commentator)
- Mark Blundell (Formula One analyst)
- Louise Goodman (Pit Reporter)
- James Allen (2) (Race Commentator)
- In 1991, the French Grand Prix moved from Paul Ricard to Magny-Cours near Nevers for domestic political reasons. A modern, ultra-smooth track, the layout is not without challenge for the drivers but strikes most observers as bland and sterile all the same. edit »
- Prost’s number of French GP wins was trumped by Michael Schumacher in 2004, who won the event for the seventh time. He goes into this year's race looking to become the first man to win the same race on eight occasions edit »
- Alain Prost is the most successful French driver of all time with four world championships and 51 grand prix victories. He won his home race no fewer than six times between 1981 (his maiden F1 success) and 1993. edit »
- In 1982, France held two rounds of the world championship, but the second, at Dijon, was designated the Swiss Grand Prix, despite racing having been banned in that country since the 1955 Le Mans tragedy. edit »
- Renault won a hat-trick of French GPs in 1981-83, each time with a Frenchman behind the wheel. Alain Prost won in ’81 and ’83 and Arnoux triumphed in ’82. edit »
- The fastest lap time of 1:17.111 was set by race winner Michael Schumacher. edit »
- Michael Schumacher wins the French GP for the 8th time, making it the most times anyone has won the race. edit »
- Toro Rosso has opted to change Liuzzi’s three-litre V10 and he therefore is subject to the ten position engine change penalty and therefore starts at the back of the field, or should he choose, the pit lane. edit »
- This year’s French GP marks 150 Grand Prix since brothers Michael and Ralf Schumacher were united on the Formula One grid. edit »
- After sitting out the Jerez testing last week with a twinge in his neck, there were concerns that BMW-Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld would not be fit enough to race at the French GP. Heidfeld, however, insists he is again 'one hundred per cent fit' after his frightening accident at the start of the Indy race. edit »
- Michael Schumacher: (on winning the 2006 French GP) A fantastic result, even if in all honesty it was unexpected. We did not know how the race would pan out, especially as we had not been able to do many long runs over the previous days. For these ten points, I have to thank the great guys in the team and our exceptional technical partners, starting with Bridgestone. The whole package - car, engine, tyres - was excellent today. I got a good start and from then on I could run my own race. Now we have to keep this momentum going. The championship is far from over and these two points we have made up on our main rivals are very important. I hope we can soon make up more ground. edit »
- Fernando Alonso: (on finishing 2nd in the 2006 French GP) That was a long, tough race for me but in the circumstances, a perfect result. We went into the race with two possibilities on the strategy, and once we saw that Ferrari would be three-stopping then we knew it would be hard to pass them on the track. So we chose to rely on the consistent tyre performance, and make two stops. The car balance was consistent all the way through the race, and I pushed hard to make sure I could get ahead of Felipe in the final part of the race. Given where I started on the grid, I think second is everything I could have hoped for because we knew that Michael was a bit quicker this weekend - like in Imola and the Nurburgring. Back then, everybody thought that Michael would win all the races after two wins in a row, and we responded very strongly. Hopefully, we can do the same at Hockenheim in two weeks' time. edit »
- Felipe Massa: (on finishing 3rd in the 2006 French GP) I think this was a very good result for us, although of course I would have liked to keep second place. I was on a three stop strategy and Fernando was switched to a two stop race and that meant I was not able to fight with him on the track. I also had a lot of traffic in my second and third stints and this effectively spoilt our three stop strategy and cost me second place. But overall, sixteen points in the bag means we make up a bit of ground on our rivals in both championships. The 248 F1 and the Bridgestone tyres worked better than I expected, possibly because of the extra rubber which gradually got put down on the track. edit »
- Michael Schumacher: (on himself & his brother, Ralf, competing in 150 GPs together) I think we both can be proud. We are probably the most successful siblings to ever drive together in motor sport. edit »
- Ted Kravitz :How much will you miss Juan Pablo Montoya?
Michael Schumacher: Next question edit »
- Driver Championship Points - Progressive
Fernando Alonso 96
Michael Schumacher 79
Giancarlo Fisichella 46
Kimi Raikkonen 43
Felipe Massa 42
Juan Pablo Montoya 26
Jenson Button 16
Rubens Barrichello 16
Nick Heidfeld 13
Ralf Schumacher 13
David Coulthard 10
Jarno Trulli 8
Jacques Villeneuve 7
Mark Webber 6
Nico Rosburg 4
Pedro De La Rosa 2
Christian Klien 1
Vitantonio Liuzzi 0
Scott Speed 0
Tiago Monterio 0
Takuma Sato 0
Yuji Ide 0
Christijan Albers 0
Franck Montagny 0 edit » - Constructor Championship Points - Progressive
Renault 142
Ferrari 121
McLaren-Mercedes 71
Honda 32
Toyota 21
BMW-Sauber 20
Red Bull Racing-Ferrari 11
Williams-Cosworth 10
STR-Cosworth 1
Midland F1-Toyota 0
Super Aguri 0 edit » - 2006 French Grand Prix result (70 laps)
1. M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari 1h32m07.803s
2. ALONSO Renault +10.1s
3. MASSA Ferrari +22.5s
4. R.SCHUMACHER Toyota +27.5s
5. RAIKKONEN McLaren +33.0s
6. FISICHELLA Renault +45.2s
7. DE LA ROSA McLaren +49.4s
8. HEIDFELD BMW +1 lap
9. COULTHARD Red Bull +1 lap
10. SPEED Toro Rosso +1 lap
11. VILLENEUVE BMW +1 lap
12. KLIEN Red Bull +1 lap
13. LIUZZI Toro Rosso +1 lap
14. ROSBERG Williams +2 laps
15. ALBERS Midland +2 laps
16. MONTAGNY Super Aguri +3 laps
Did not finish
R. BUTTON Honda +9 laps
R. WEBBER Williams +17 laps
R. TRULLI Toyota +31 laps
R. BARRICHELLO Honda +52 laps
R. MONTEIRO Midland +59 laps
R. SATO Super Aguri +70 laps edit » - 2006 French Grand Prix starting grid
1. M SCHUMACHER Ferrari
2. MASSA Ferrari
3. ALONSO Renault
4. TRULLI Toyota
5. R SCHUMACHER Toyota
6. RAIKKONEN McLaren
7. FISICHELLA Renault
8. DE LA ROSA McLaren
9. COULTHARD Red Bull
10. WEBBER Williams
11. HEIDFELD BMW
12. KLIEN Red Bull
13. BARRICHELLO Honda
14. SPEED Toro Rosso
15. ALBERS Midland
16. VILLENEUVE BMW
17. BUTTON Honda
18. ROSBERG Williams*
19. MONTEIRO Midland
20. MONTAGNY Super Aguri
21. SATO Super Aguri
22. LIUZZI Toro Rosso*
* demoted 10 places due to engine change edit »
2006 French Grand Prix - Magny Cours
The Bottom Line: "Exciting"07/16/06 07:03am | report abuseA very interesting race ...Continue »
Show Score
8.3
great
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