2006 Formula One season facts for kids
The 2006 Formula One season was the 57th year of this exciting racing championship. Fernando Alonso won the championship in a very close battle. His team, Renault, also won the award for the best team, called the constructor's championship.
Contents
Teams and Drivers: Who Raced?
In 2006, many famous teams and drivers competed. Formula One cars are super fast, and they use special engines, like the V8 engine, which has 8 cylinders.
Big Team Changes
Before the 2006 season, some well-known teams left the sport. These included Minardi, Sauber, BAR, and Jordan. But a new team, Super Aguri, joined at the last minute!
- The Sauber team name stayed, but BMW bought most of it.
- Jordan became MF1 Racing, and later in the season, it was bought by Spyker.
- Honda took full control of the BAR team and renamed it Honda Racing F1 Team.
- Super Aguri F1 got help from Honda, including engines and technology.
Some teams also changed their engine or tire suppliers:
- Williams started using Cosworth V8 engines after their partnership with BMW ended.
- Red Bull Racing switched to Ferrari engines.
- Williams and Toyota changed their tire supplier to Bridgestone.
- Interestingly, Toro Rosso (which used to be Minardi) switched from Bridgestone to Michelin tires.
Driver Line-Up Changes
Many drivers moved to new teams or got new roles for the 2006 season.
At the Start of the Season:
- Renault kept their main drivers, Fernando Alonso and Giancarlo Fisichella.
- McLaren also kept Kimi Räikkönen and Juan Pablo Montoya.
- Ferrari kept Michael Schumacher but brought in Felipe Massa from Sauber to race alongside him.
- Williams promoted Nico Rosberg, a young champion, to race with Mark Webber.
- Honda welcomed Rubens Barrichello from Ferrari.
- Red Bull Racing kept David Coulthard and Christian Klien.
- The new BMW Sauber team brought in Nick Heidfeld and kept Jacques Villeneuve.
- MF1 Racing signed Tiago Monteiro and Christijan Albers.
- Toro Rosso brought in Vitantonio Liuzzi and Scott Speed.
- Super Aguri started with an all-Japanese driver team: Takuma Sato and Yuji Ide.
Changes During the Season:
- After a few races, Yuji Ide from Super Aguri could no longer race in F1. Franck Montagny took his place.
- Juan Pablo Montoya announced he was leaving McLaren to race in NASCAR. Pedro de la Rosa took over his spot.
- Robert Kubica replaced Jacques Villeneuve at BMW Sauber after the Hungarian Grand Prix.
- Robert Doornbos replaced Christian Klien for the last three races at Red Bull Racing.
2006 Formula One Race Schedule
The 2006 season had 18 exciting races around the world!
Race Results and Standings
The 2006 Formula One season started in Bahrain for the first time. The Australian Grand Prix was moved to a later date to avoid clashing with the Commonwealth Games. Brazil hosted the final race of the season.
Grand Prix Winners
Here are the winners of each race in 2006:
Top Drivers of 2006
Here are the final standings for the top drivers in 2006. Points are given for finishing in the top 8 positions in a race.
Top Teams (Constructors) of 2006
Here are the final standings for the teams in 2006. The "Constructors' Championship" is for the best team overall.
| Pos | Constructor | Engine | Tyre | Starts | Wins | Podiums | Poles | F.Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Renault |
Renault |
M | 18 | 8 | 19 | 7 | 5 | 206 |
| 2 |  Ferrari |
Ferrari |
B | 18 | 9 | 19 | 7 | 9 | 201 |
| 3 |  McLaren |
 Mercedes |
M | 18 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 110 |
| 4 |  Honda |
Honda |
M | 18 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 86 |
| 5 | BMW Sauber |
BMW |
M | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 36 |
| 6 | Toyota |
Toyota |
B | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
| 7 |  Red Bull |
Ferrari |
M | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| 8 | Williams |
Cosworth |
B | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 9 | Toro Rosso |
Cosworth |
M | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 |  MF1 |
Toyota |
B | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Super Aguri |
Honda |
B | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Images for kids
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Fernando Alonso won the Formula One Drivers' Championship for the second time in a row with Renault.
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Michael Schumacher finished the season second with Ferrari, in what was then believed to be his final year of Formula One.
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Felipe Massa, in his first year with Ferrari, finished third in the standings.
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Fernando Alonso driving his Renault R26 car during a testing session held in February 2006 at Circuit de Valencia.
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The 2006 season was a duel between Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Michael Schumacher (Ferrari).
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A Renault at the Chinese Grand Prix, the changeable weather resulting in a crucial win for Michael Schumacher.
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See also
In Spanish: Temporada 2006 de Fórmula 1 para niños
