2006 Bahrain GP: Alonso beats Schumacher in the pit-stop duel

The 2006 season began with a duel between the reigning world champion and the record champion. Fernando Alonso won the 2006 Bahrain GP for Renault, ahead of polesitter Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. The second pit stop proved decisive: Alonso emerged from the pit lane side by side with Schumacher and held his ground into the first corner. Third place went to Kimi Räikkönen in the McLaren, and he got there from the back of the grid.

The Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir hosted two premieres at once. For the first time the field raced with the new 2.4-litre V8 engines, and the three-part knockout qualifying format was also new. Only Toro Rosso still ran a V10.

Schumacher started from pole and kept the lead. Felipe Massa had started second, but Alonso passed him for second place on the opening lap. In the early stages Massa lost the rear under braking for the first corner and spun, with Alonso only just getting past him. Massa then needed new tyres. Because a wheel gun failed, he was stationary in the pits for around 46 seconds and dropped to the back of the field.

At the front, Schumacher and Alonso were almost evenly matched. Schumacher made his first stop on lap 15, Alonso not until lap 19. That put Alonso in the lead from lap 16. Juan Pablo Montoya then led briefly from lap 20, before Schumacher was back in front from lap 24. After the first stops Alonso was still right behind the Ferrari, so the race was only decided at the second stops.

Schumacher made his second stop on lap 36, Alonso three laps later. According to Autosport, the Renault was stationary for around 7.7 seconds, roughly one second less than the Ferrari. That was enough: Alonso rejoined alongside Schumacher, took the inside line at Turn 1 and squeezed the Ferrari onto the kerbs. Schumacher outbraked himself at Turn 4, allowing Alonso to pull a small gap.

Jenson Button still had another stop to make and therefore led briefly on lap 40. From lap 41 Alonso was back in front and never gave up the lead. Schumacher attacked in the closing stages but never got past. At the flag he was 1.246 seconds short.

The man of the day was Räikkönen, who made up 19 places. In qualifying his right-rear suspension had broken on his very first timed lap, according to Wikipedia because of a manufacturing defect. As a result he set no time and had to start from 22nd. In the race McLaren opted for just one stop, on lap 30. After that Räikkönen was quicker than team-mate Montoya despite carrying considerably more fuel, and secured third place.

Button had to fight for third for a long time. From third on the grid the Honda made a poor getaway; Autosport suspects a clutch problem. He lost places early on as a result. He then worked his way back up, passing Montoya along the way. After his first pit stop, however, he lost time in traffic and finished fourth, just 0.632 seconds behind Räikkönen.

Nico Rosberg was contesting his first Formula 1 race and immediately made people take notice in the Williams. After contact with Nick Heidfeld at the first corner, he fought his way forward from twelfth on the grid. He passed David Coulthard on lap 49 and then Christian Klien in the Red Bull on lap 56. That earned him his first championship points in seventh place. On top of that came the fastest lap of the race, a 1:32.408 on lap 42. At 20 years and 258 days, he was at the time the youngest driver ever to set a fastest lap. The previous record had been held by Alonso. Team-mate Mark Webber finished sixth.

Four drivers failed to finish:

• Christijan Albers (MF1): His driveshaft broke and he did not even complete a lap.
• Giancarlo Fisichella (Renault): He had an engine problem early on that cost him power. After 21 laps he had to retire with a hydraulic failure.
• Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber): His engine failed after 29 laps.
• Yuji Ide (Super Aguri): He retired after 35 laps with a technical fault.

Winners: Räikkönen gained more places than any other driver. Rosberg gained five positions and scored points on his debut. Alonso won the opening race of his title defence, with number 1 on his car.

Losers: Fisichella retired after starting ninth. Massa started second and finished only ninth, seven places down. Rubens Barrichello had a difficult start at Honda: he started sixth and finished fifteenth, a lap down.

In the 2006 championship standings, Alonso led with 10 points ahead of Schumacher on 8 and Räikkönen on 6. Among the teams, Renault and McLaren were level on 10 points each, with Ferrari next on 8. Honda and Williams had 5 points apiece.

Verdict: The very first race of the V8 era was already a close duel between Alonso and Schumacher. The two teams were almost evenly matched, and the pit stops made the difference. You can find all the results and data on the race page.