2006 Canadian GP: Alonso wins as Räikkönen's mistake helps Schumacher

Fernando Alonso won the 2006 Canadian GP at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve from pole position. For Renault it was a lights-to-flag victory, with only two brief interruptions at the front. Michael Schumacher finished second in the Ferrari, with Kimi Räikkönen third in the McLaren. For a long time Räikkönen was Alonso's only challenger, but two botched pit stops and a mistake on the penultimate lap cost him second place.

Alonso claimed his fourth win in a row and his sixth in the ninth race of the season. He had never won in Montreal before. For Michelin it was a 100th victory in Formula 1.

Things went wrong before the lights had even gone out. Giancarlo Fisichella, second on the grid in the other Renault, crept forward too early, braked again and was immediately passed by Räikkönen. Race control handed him a drive-through penalty. He then dropped from third to fifth. Michael Schumacher made a poor getaway and lost two places on the opening lap, including to Nico Rosberg and Juan Pablo Montoya.

There were several clashes further back. At the hairpin, the two MF1 drivers Christijan Albers and Tiago Monteiro collided. Albers retired on the spot, while Monteiro had to pit for repairs. On lap 2 Montoya tried to go down the inside of Rosberg and sent the Williams into the wall. Rosberg was out, the Safety Car was deployed and Montoya pitted for a new nose.

Räikkönen kept Alonso under pressure in the opening phase. On lap 12 he pulled alongside but could not get past. Alonso was the first of the two to pit for fuel. Räikkönen stayed out two laps longer and, according to our data, led from lap 23. At his stop, however, the rear wheels spun and the right-rear tyre proved difficult to fit. Afterwards he was more than three seconds behind Alonso. From lap 25 Alonso was back in front.

Before his second stop Räikkönen almost spun at the hairpin. Once again Alonso pitted first, and Räikkönen led from lap 50 to 52. As he left his pit box, though, the Finn stalled the engine and only just rejoined ahead of Schumacher. From lap 53 Alonso led for good. Räikkönen set the fastest lap, but by then it was no help.

Schumacher's race got off to a slow start. After the Montoya incident he was stuck behind Jarno Trulli in the Toyota for around 20 laps, losing a lot of time to the leaders. On lap 29 he also brushed the wall at the final corner while trying to close in on Räikkönen, but was able to carry on. After the Finn's botched second stop he was up to third.

On lap 59 Jacques Villeneuve ran onto the rubber marbles off the racing line while trying to pass Ralf Schumacher. The BMW Sauber hit the wall hard. Off the line, the track was already treacherous because of tyre debris. The second Safety Car bunched the field up around ten laps from the end and, according to grandprix.com, wiped out roughly half a minute of Schumacher's deficit. After the restart Alonso pulled away again. On lap 69 Räikkönen slid wide at the hairpin and Schumacher went through into second. At the flag he was 2.1 seconds behind Alonso.

• Christijan Albers (MF1): Crash on lap 1 after colliding with team-mate Monteiro
• Nico Rosberg (Williams): Crash on lap 2 after contact with Montoya
• Franck Montagny (Super Aguri): Franck Montagny's race was over after 2 laps with an engine failure.
• Rubens Barrichello (Honda): Rubens Barrichello suffered a technical failure after 11 laps.
• Juan Pablo Montoya (McLaren): Crash after 13 laps. With damaged rear suspension he hit the wall at the final corner.
• Ralf Schumacher (Toyota): Retired after 58 laps. He struggled with balance problems, spun several times and was given a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Toyota parked the car as a precaution.
• Jacques Villeneuve (BMW Sauber): Crash on lap 59 at his home race, on the circuit named after his father
• Takuma Sato (Super Aguri): Takuma Sato hit the wall shortly before the end but was still classified 15th with 64 laps.

Mark Webber and Vitantonio Liuzzi also had to pit early in the race and fell well down the order.

David Coulthard made up the most places. Following an engine change he started 22nd in the Red Bull and finished eighth, 14 places higher. He secured the final point three laps from the end with a move on Jenson Button at the chicane. Felipe Massa went from 10th on the grid to fifth on a one-stop strategy. Nick Heidfeld gained six places to finish seventh. Scott Speed took tenth, gaining seven places for a strong result for Toro Rosso. Trulli finished sixth despite his engine misfiring from mid-race onwards. They were his first points of the season.

The big losers were Räikkönen and McLaren: pit-stop woes, a driver error and Montoya's retirement. Fisichella also threw away a possible podium with his jump start. Honda left without points, and Christian Klien just missed out on the points in eleventh.

At the halfway point of the season Alonso had 84 points, 25 more than Michael Schumacher on 59. According to grandprix.com, that meant the Spaniard had scored 84 out of a possible 90 points. Behind them were Räikkönen on 39 and Fisichella on 37 points. Massa overtook Montoya and moved up to fifth with 28 points. In the constructors' championship Renault led with 121 points, ahead of Ferrari on 87 and McLaren on 65.

At the time, Alonso looked to be heading clearly towards the title. Ferrari lost further ground in Montreal as well. You can find all the figures in the 2006 championship standings.