Bahrain GP 2006: Alonso beats Schumacher and a rookie surprises

March 16, 2022

Bahrain was the first race on the Formula 1 calendar in 2006 . At the premiere of the new season, the single-seaters wore the new numbers based on the classification of the previous year, at a time when there were still no fixed numbers. Among all, the number 1 that appeared on Alonso ‘s Renault stood out.

The Spaniard had been crowned world champion for the first time just a few months before, and he arrived at the new course as the favorite to defend the title. In the first Grand Prix Fernando Alonso did not disappoint, and got the victory.

But to win, Alonso had to fight a historic battle with seven-time champion Michael Schumacher , who was playing his last season with Ferrari and who was shining again after a 2005 in the shade with an incapable single-seater.

The German had started from pole, and Fernando managed to get away from Jenson Button in the middle and then pass a Felipe Massa who was about to take him ahead laps later.

Alonso spent practically the entire race chasing Schumacher and, after the second pit stop, he came out onto the track just as the Ferrari driver passed. They rolled in parallel, wheel to wheel until the first turn. The Spaniard did not wrinkle and took advantage of the inside of the curve to lengthen the line and stay in the lead.

Watch the video of the Alonso-Schumacher duel in Bahrain 2006 before reading on

Alonso did so with a first position that he would not let go until the checkered flag, where he arrived only 1.246 seconds ahead of the Kaiser .

They were accompanied on the podium by a great Kimi Raikkonen, who climbed from last place (22nd) to third in a brilliant comeback with a surprising one-stop strategy.

Of the ‘ hattrick ‘ (first place in qualifying, first in the race and best time in one lap on Sunday), in addition to pole, Alonso also lacked the fastest lap, which ended up in the hands of a rookie who ten years later, Nico Rosberg would also rise to glory.

The German debuted in Formula 1 that weekend, and got the best lap of the day with Williams, stealing part of the prominence from the reigning champion despite the fact that a touch at the start with Nick Heidfeld and Tiago Monteiro forced him to go through the box to the first change to repair the damage.