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The 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 60th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 57th Formula One World Championship which began on 12 March and ended on 22 October after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault for the second year in a row, with Alonso becoming the youngest ever double world champion at the time. Then-retiring seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher of Scuderia Ferrari finished runner-up, 13 points behind. The Constructors' Championship was won by Renault, which defeated Ferrari by five points.[1]
The season was highlighted by the rivalry between Alonso and Schumacher, who each won seven races. Renault and Ferrari drivers dominated the field, victorious in all but one race: the Hungarian Grand Prix was won by Honda's Jenson Button, and the four second-place finishes not achieved by Renault or Ferrari were accomplished by McLaren. This season also marked the beginning of the usage of 2.4L V8 engines in Formula One from the 3.0L V10 engines that were used in the previous seasons, which continued till the end of the 2013 season. 2006 was also the first season since 1988 and 1997 respectively to feature multiple engine displacements and configurations, as Scuderia Toro Rosso were given special dispensation to continue using V10s.
For the first time since the 1956 season, no British constructor won any race and for the first time since the 1957 season all races were won by cars powered by an engine built by the same constructor that also built chassis.
The season saw several changes occurring in the drivers' market starting already in December 2005 as Alonso sealed a move to McLaren for 2007.[2] In September 2006, Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season, with 2003 and 2005 championship runner-up Kimi Räikkönen being announced as his replacement at Ferrari.[3][4] Among other notable departures included Juan Pablo Montoya, who left McLaren mid-season to pursue a career in NASCAR and Jacques Villeneuve who left after the German Grand Prix.[5]
As of 2024, this is the last Constructors' Championship for Renault, and the last Drivers' Championship for a Spanish Formula One driver. The 2006 championship also saw the last season of the Bridgestone-Michelin tyre war which had started in 2001 as Michelin withdrew from the sport at the end of this season leaving Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier for 2007, a position the Japanese company would retain until leaving the sport themselves at the end of 2010 and replaced by Pirelli from 2011 onwards. Also as of 2024, this is the last Formula One season to feature more than one tyre supplier.
- ^ 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship standings, www.fia.com, 11 January 2007 Retrieved via web.archive.org on 12 September 2013
- ^ "Alonso will join McLaren in 2007". BBC Sport. 19 December 2005. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "Schumacher to quit at the end of the year". BBC Sport. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "Ferrari reveal Raikkonen signing". BBC Sport. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
- ^ "McLaren agree to release Montoya". BBC Sport. 11 July 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2015.