Michael Schumacher secured his first victory of the season on this day in 2006 after he celebrated in the fourth race of the season in Imola, where he beat Fernando Alonso in Renault from the pole position in a tense strategic race.
Alonso had an outstanding start of the season with two wins and second place in the first three races (28 points) while Schumacher was second in Bahrain, sixth in Malaysia and crashed in Australia.
In qualifying, Schumacher clinched second pole position in the season (1:22.795) after Bahrain in front of two Honda drivers Button and Barrichello, team mate Masse and Fernando Alonso in Renault who had more fuel.
It was 66th pole position in his career, most in Formula 1’s history after equalizing Senna’s record in the first race of the season in Bahrain (65 pole positions).
Start of the 2006 San Marino GP (Photo: Ferrari)Schumacher entered the pits five laps earlier after running lighter in final part of the qualifying, but Ferrari put more fuel during his pitstop to extend his second stint. In order to save tyres for the key last laps of second stint, Schumacher deliberately slowed down and made it easier for Alonso to catch up.
Alonso came within a second of Schumacher in the lap 33, but despite the speed difference he could not pass him on the track, just like year earlier when Michael failed to pass Alonso.
But when Spaniard entered the pits in lap 41, Schumacher released all the speed in his Ferrari F248F1 and Bridgestone tyres, drove a brilliant lap and entered the pits in the next lap which was enough to get out in the lead ahead of Alonso.
By the end of the race Alonso followed Schumacher closely, but with no serious threats to his lead. Michael secured first win of the season, but Alonso continued to lead the drivers championship with 15 points more than the German. Renault led the constructors with 18 points more than McLaren and 21 points more than Ferrari.
STARTING GRID
| 1 | 5 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:22.795 | – |
| 2 | 12 | Jenson Button | Honda | 1:22.988 | 0.193 |
| 3 | 11 | R.Barrichello | Honda | 1:23.242 | 0.447 |
| 4 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:23.702 | 0.907 |
| 5 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:23.709 | 0.914 |
| 6 | 7 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 1:23.772 | 0.977 |
| 7 | 4 | J.P.Montoya | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:24.021 | 1.226 |
| 8 | 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:24.158 | 1.363 |
| 9 | 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 1:24.172 | 1.377 |
| 10 | 9 | Mark Webber | Williams/Cosworth | 1:24.795 | 2.000 |
| 11 | 2 | G.Fisichella | Renault | 1:23.771 | 0.976 |
| 12 | 17 | J.Villeneuve | BMW Sauber | 1:23.887 | 1.092 |
| 13 | 10 | Nico Rosberg | Williams/Cosworth | 1:23.966 | 1.171 |
| 14 | 14 | David Coulthard | Red Bull/Ferrari | 1:24.101 | 1.306 |
| 15 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 1:24.129 | 1.334 |
| 16 | 20 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso/Cosworth | 1:24.520 | 1.725 |
| 17 | 15 | Christian Klien | Red Bull/Ferrari | 1:25.410 | 2.615 |
| 18 | 21 | Scott Speed | Toro Rosso/Cosworth | 1:25.437 | 2.642 |
| 19 | 18 | Tiago Monteiro | Midland/Toyota | 1:26.820 | 4.025 |
| 20 | 19 | Christijan Albers | Midland/Toyota | 1:27.088 | 4.293 |
| 21 | 22 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri/Honda | 1:27.609 | 4.814 |
| 22 | 23 | Yuji Ide | Super Aguri/Honda | 1:29.282 | 6.487 |
RACE RESULTS
| 1 | 5 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 62 | 1:31:06.486 | |
| 2 | 1 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 62 | 1:31:08.582 | 2.096 |
| 3 | 4 | J.P.Montoya | McLaren/Mercedes | 62 | 1:31:22.354 | 15.868 |
| 4 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 62 | 1:31:23.582 | 17.096 |
| 5 | 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 62 | 1:31:24.010 | 17.524 |
| 6 | 9 | Mark Webber | Williams/Cosworth | 62 | 1:31:44.225 | 37.739 |
| 7 | 12 | Jenson Button | Honda | 62 | 1:31:46.121 | 39.635 |
| 8 | 2 | G.Fisichella | Renault | 62 | 1:31:46.686 | 40.200 |
| 9 | 7 | Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 62 | 1:31:51.997 | 45.511 |
| 10 | 11 | R.Barrichello | Honda | 62 | 1:32:24.337 | 1:17.851 |
| 11 | 10 | Nico Rosberg | Williams/Cosworth | 62 | 1:32:26.161 | 1:19.675 |
| 12 | 17 | J.Villeneuve | BMW Sauber | 62 | 1:32:28.856 | 1:22.370 |
| 13 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 61 | 1:31:14.621 | 1 lap |
| 14 | 20 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Toro Rosso/Cosworth | 61 | 1:31:16.127 | 1 lap |
| 15 | 21 | Scott Speed | Toro Rosso/Cosworth | 61 | 1:31:17.717 | 1 lap |
| 16 | 18 | Tiago Monteiro | Midland/Toyota | 60 | 1:32:04.462 | 2 lapa |
| (16) | 14 | David Coulthard | Red Bull/Ferrari | 47 | 1:11:12.998 | Halfshaft |
| (18) | 22 | Takuma Sato | Super Aguri/Honda | 44 | 1:08:45.746 | Spun off |
| (17) | 15 | Christian Klien | Red Bull/Ferrari | 40 | 1:00:36.834 | Hydraulics |
| (20) | 23 | Yuji Ide | Super Aguri/Honda | 23 | 50:50.196 | Suspension |
| (10) | 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 5 | 8:41.967 | Steering |
| 19 | Christijan Albers | Midland/Toyota | 0 | Collision | ||
Fastest lap: Fernando Alonso – 1:24.569 (lap 23)
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 4/18 RACES
| 1 | Fernando Alonso | 36 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 21 | 8 | 3 | – | 10 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | 18 | 6 | – | 8 | 4 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 15 | – | 10 | 4 | 1 |
| 5 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 15 | 4 | 5 | – | 6 |
| 6 | Jenson Button | 13 | 5 | 6 | – | 2 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | 9 | – | 4 | – | 5 |
| 8 | Ralf Schumacher | 7 | – | 1 | 6 | – |
| 9 | Mark Webber | 6 | 3 | – | – | 3 |
| 10 | Nick Heidfeld | 5 | – | – | 5 | – |
| 11 | Jacques Villeneuve | 5 | – | 2 | 3 | – |
| 12 | Rubens Barrichello | 2 | – | – | 2 | – |
| 13 | Nico Rosberg | 2 | 2 | – | – | – |
| 14 | David Coulthard | 1 | – | – | 1 | – |
| 15 | Christian Klien | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 16 | Scott Speed | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | Jarno Trulli | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 18 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | Christijan Albers | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Takuma Sato | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | Tiago Monteiro | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 22 | Yuji Ide | 0 | – | – | – | – |
CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
| 1 | Renault | 51 | 10 | 18 | 14 | 9 |
| 2 | McLaren/Mercedes | 33 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 10 |
| 3 | Ferrari | 30 | 8 | 7 | – | 15 |
| 4 | Honda | 15 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | BMW Sauber/BMW | 10 | – | 2 | 8 | – |
| 6 | Williams/Cosworth | 8 | 5 | – | 3 | |
| 7 | Toyota | 7 | – | 1 | 6 | – |
| 8 | Red Bull/Ferrari | 2 | 1 | – | 1 | – |
| 9 | Toro Rosso/Cosworth | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Midland/Toyota | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Super Aguri/Honda | 0 | – | – | – | – |
Schumacher celebrates his first victory of the 2006 F1 season and 85th in his career (Photo: Ferrari)
