The 2006 Drivers Review

Fernando Alonso - Renault

World Champion
134 points
7 wins, 7 podiums, 6 pole positions, 5 fastest laps

Alonso may have cruised to his maiden title in 2005, but he was forced to fight every inch of the way during a tense second half in 2006. The pressure caused cracks to appear in Alonso's off-track facade but, on circuit, he was rock solid. Few drivers are able to wring the best out of the car with Alonso's consistency and ability to avoid race-ending mistakes.

He may have enjoyed a stroke of good fortune in Michael Schumacher's engine failure at Suzuka. But, considering that Alonso himself had lost 16 points to mechanical unreliability at Hungary and Monza, the scales evened out. If there were any doubts about Alonso's worthiness as a champion in 2005, the young Spaniard comprehensively dispelled them this season.

Michael Schumacher - Ferrari

2nd
121 points
7 wins, 5 podiums, 4 pole positions, 7 fastest laps

In what was ostensibly his last year in F1, Michael Schumacher went out on a relative high, demonstrating that he still has the beating of most rivals on most days. Mistakes at Australia, Monaco and Hungary cost him dearly. Against a lesser rival than Fernando Alonso, he may still have recovered from those mistakes to win the championship. But Alonso didn't give him a break all season.

There will always be questions about whether Schumacher chose the right time to retire. When a driver can turn in a performance like Brazil in his very last F1 appearance, there is obviously plenty of racing still left in the man. On the other hand, going well beyond his best years and eventually being forced to quit, as old rival Damon Hill was, would not do Schumacher's legacy any favours. He left us with some great memories and masterful performances from his final year, and that's how it should be.

Felipe Massa - Ferrari

3rd
80 points
2 wins, 5 podiums, 3 pole positions, 2 fastest laps

It was hard to believe that the quick, efficient and consistent driver who ended the year was the same Felipe Massa whose inconsistency had been a liability to the team early on. If there was a title for 'Most Improved Driver', Massa would have been a unanimous choice for it. It wasn't just his improved speed in qualifying that impressed, but also his race pace consistency.

At one point in the season, Massa looked like the fourth-placed outsider (after Schumacher, Raikkonen and Valentino Rossi) to keep his Ferrari racing seat into 2007. After his well-deserved maiden win in Turkey and an emotion follow-up success on home soil in Brazil, Massa looks set to be an asset to the team, and to give Kimi Raikkonen all he can handle in 2007.

Giancarlo Fisichella - Renault

4th
72 points
1 win, 4 podiums, 1 pole position

Once again, a year that started out promisingly for Fisichella (with victory in just the second GP at Malaysia) turned sour. After Sepang, one of the very few high points was a solid performance at Indianapolis where he outdrove Alonso fair and square. For the rest, Fisichella again found himself outperformed in all spheres by the world champion. At times, it was hard to believe they were driving the same car. Fisichella will not be sad to see the back of Alonso, although newcomer Heikki Kovalainen could also prove a handful in 2007.

Kimi Raikkonen - McLaren

5th
65 points
6 podiums, 3 pole positions, 3 fastest laps

The most disappointed driver in the field. After the championship near misses in 2003 and 2005, Raikkonen had every reason to be confident going into 2006. McLaren had the speed, they lacked only reliability. Alas, the 2006 car not only failed to resolve the reliability issue, it also lost a critical step against its main rivals.

McLaren's conservative strategy of running a long first stint also hurt the Finn, often causing him to qualify badly and lose time in traffic while the Ferraris and Renaults scampered away in front. For the first time in three seasons, Kimi Raikkonen went win-less in 2006. He did come close, most notably with a pole position and competitive second place at Monza. But with Alonso and Schumacher in this type of relentless form, there was no way for Raikkonen to turn the championship battle into a three-way affair.

Jenson Button - Honda

6th
56 points
1 win, 2 podiums, 1 pole position

The arrival of Rubens Barrichello at Honda was reckoned to be a tough test for Button's championship credentials, and it turned into the most erratic teammate comparison in the sport. Early on, Button impressed and Barrichello looked completely lost in the Honda. Before mid-season, the Brazilian found his form and it was Button's turn to explain why his teammate was so much faster in qualifying. By year's end, the balance had swung in Button's favour again, boosted by his long-awaited maiden win in the wet at Hungary.

Over the last seven races of the year, Button was only outscored by Michael Schumacher, and even that was by the slim margin of 42 to 40. The Englishman will be looking to carry that form and consistency into 2007.

Rubens Barrichello - Honda

7th
30 points

The experienced Brazilian pulled off a significant escape act in his first season at Honda. After six years at Ferrari, it took Barrichello longer than expected to adapt to the Honda and, three races into the year, he looked like he had lost all confidence in his own skills. The rot stopped with a fifth place at the Nurburgring, followed by a fourth two races later at his favoured Monaco.

Barrichello continued to outqualify teammate Jenson Button quite regularly after that, although he couldn't match Button's race results, ending the year with no podium finishes to Button's win and two podiums. Nevertheless, considering that it was his first year in a team where Button has been a constant, 2006 wasn't a complete disappointment for Barrichello.

Juan Pablo Montoya - McLaren

8th
26 points
10 appearances, 2 podiums

Montoya started his 2006 campaign as he had ended off in 2005 - fast at times, but far too prone to tangling with other cars and making unforced errors. Podium finishes in San Marino and Monaco provided brief respite. However, his worsening relationship with the team and teammate Kimi Raikkonen came to a head at Indianapolis, where another Montoya error resulted in both McLarens retiring just a few hundred metres after the start. Driver and team went their separate ways and Montoya returned to the US, to try his hand at NASCAR.

Few aggressive young drivers maintain their style for long in F1, the risks outweigh the rewards too heavily. For better or worse, Montoya refused to change over the course of his six-year F1 career. It resulted in an exciting style, but one which was never going to win him a WDC title.

Nick Heidfeld - BMW Sauber

9th
23 points
1 podium

After years of struggling in the doldrums with uncompetitive outfits like Prost and Jordan, Heidfeld's career took an upswing with the unexpected and growing competitiveness of the BMW in 2006. Heidfeld acquitted himself solidly if not spectacularly early on, racking up a string of minor points finishes without ever threatening the race leaders. He seized his major chance in the wet at Hungary and, with Alonso and Raikkonen out and Michael Schumacher bouncing off kerbs in his attempts to keep the chasing pack (including Heidfeld) behind, capitalised to record his first podium finish with the new team.

Rookie Robert Kubica's arrival two-thirds of the way through the season gave Heidfeld a scare. Despite being vastly more experienced, the German found himself being outpaced by his young teammate, nowhere more so than at Monza, where Kubica emulated Heidfeld's third place finish at Hungary. According to former team owner Peter Sauber, the challenge of Kubica resulted in Heidfeld becoming half-a-second per lap quicker. He'll need it if he is to outperform Kubica over the longer term.

Ralf Schumacher - Toyota

10th
20 points
1 podium

It was another vexing year for both Toyota drivers. Things started quite promisingly, with Schumacher recording a podium in the third GP of the year at Australia. Thereafter, Schumacher had to make do with minor points placings, if anything. The late-season Toyota resurgence had more to do with Bridgestone superiority than any significant progress with the car.

The double retirement during the early stages of the final race in Brazil reflected the season's effort - so much potential, so little to show for it. Schumacher did manage to outscore teammate Jarno Trulli by a slim margin over the year. But, considering that Trulli didn't manage to finish in the points until the season's halfway point at Canada, it's not an achievement that will satisfy either Schumacher or Toyota.

Pedro de la Rosa - McLaren

11th
19 points
8 appearances, 1 podium

The McLaren stand-in driver was handed just one opportunity in 2005, and turned in an exciting and competitive performance in Bahrain. With Montoya's move to NASCAR in 2006, de la Rosa was given eight races to reassert himself in F1. Other than an excellent effort in Hungary, where he was faster than teammate Raikkonen and deserved his second-place finish, the Spaniard failed to impress. He was clearly not in Raikkonen's class, and would not give new McLaren driver Fernando Alonso the sort of challenge that he relishes.

Jarno Trulli - Toyota

12th
15 points

By mid-season, Trulli was faced with the disconcerting prospect of ending the season with no points at all. For the first eight races of 2006, he'd drawn a blank. He did manage to bounce back with a fourth place at Indianapolis, but that was his best finish for the year. His race at Suzuka was typical. After looking promising by qualifying fourth, the Italian went backwards all afternoon, eventually crawling home to sixth while holding up a frustrated Ralf Schumacher behind him. Trulli couldn't even count on his customary qualifying excellence, sharing the spoils 9-9 with his teammate over the season.

After proving a handful for Fernando Alonso at Renault in 2004, and then scoring three podium finishes in the first five GPs of 2005 for Toyota, Trulli has slipped back into a state of unfulfilled potential. He is at least matching Ralf Schumacher, at considerably less cost to Toyota. However, that isn't enough for a driver reckoned to be among the fastest in the field.

David Coulthard - Red Bull Racing

13th
14 points
1 podium

Coulthard lamented Red Bull Racing's lack of 2006 development long and loud. Understandably for the experienced Scot, it was highly frustrating to have former Williams and McLaren designer Adrian Newey on board - but focusing primarily on the 2007 car. Coulthard again proved to be Red Bull's senior and more dependable driver. However, Christian Klien is not the most daunting teammate, and Red Bull lost ground on their 2005 form.

Mark Webber - Williams

14th
7 points

Could Webber's career possibly have developed any worse than it has? After an eye-catching debut year at Minardi, Webber has signed for two teams (Jaguar and Williams) who seemed to offer increasingly better prospects. In both cases, it's been smoke and mirrors, and Webber has ended up with a car that doesn't do justice to his talent. With just seven points to his tally, 29 less than last season and 10 less than his debut season with Jaguar, Webber will want to forget 2006 in a hurry.

His only high point was a potential podium finish at Monaco, only to have the Williams expire cruelly. He did see off the challenge of rookie teammate Nico Rosberg handsomely. But, in a car as uncompetitive as the 2006 Williams, people barely noticed.

Jacques Villeneuve - BMW Sauber

15th
7 points
12 appearances

Paradoxically, Villeneuve was enjoying one of his better latter-day campaigns when BMW decided that Robert Kubica presented the better long-term option for the team. Until that point, Villeneuve had got slightly the better of Nick Heidfeld in qualifying, even if he wasn't quite matching the German's race results. The Canadian had ceased to be a championship-challenging force, but was giving Heidfeld solid competition. F1 drivers have survived in the sport on less.

Robert Kubica - BMW Sauber

16th
6 points
6 appearances, 1 podium

Polish rookie Robert Kubica's arrival in F1 for the final six races of the year caused a stir. He had not only shown outstanding pace during Friday runs with BMW, he had also replaced Jacques Villeneuve, one of only three world champion drivers in the field. Kubica's debut GP in Hungary was a baptism of fire. In the wet, he couldn't hope to match his experienced teammate Nick Heidfeld.

However, just two races later in more comfortable conditions at Monza, Kubica showed that it wasn't all hype, as he fought a race-long duel with Ferrari's Felipe Massa to eventually claim a podium finish in just his third GP. Based on his brief debut stint with BMW, Kubica has the skills (if not the experience yet) to tackle the top drivers on even terms.

Nico Rosberg - Williams

17th
4 points
1 fastest lap

How many drivers enter F1 and not only score points but set the fastest race lap on debut? Nico Rosberg, son of former champion Keke Rosberg, arrived with a bang in Bahrain. Alas, that was as good as the 2006 season got for the young charger and former GP2 champion. He repeated his seventh place finish later in Europe, but every other GP ended pointless.

Rosberg was also involved in too many incidents, including with Juan Pablo Montoya in Canada and his own teammate Mark Webber at the season finale in Brazil. However, that is to be expected for a rookie. Rosberg will also be disappointed that he didn't perform better against Webber in qualifying, beating the Australian just five times over the course of the season. Still, time is on his side.

Christian Klien - Red Bull Racing

18th
2 points
15 appearances

Klien was F1's 'nearly' man, doing just enough to keep a drive but not enough to attract the bigger teams. His luck ran dry in 2006, with Red Bull dropping him in favour of Robert Doornbos for the final three races of the year. A pair of eighth place finishes was not good enough in a car that took David Coulthard to third place in Monaco (albeit at the expense of faster cars that retired).

Tonio Liuzzi - Toro Rosso

19th
1 point

The Toro Rossos, the only cars in the field still running the 2005 V10 engines, didn't prove as competitive as many had thought. Vitantonio Liuzzi did snag the team's single point with an eighth place finish at Indianapolis, and held an edge over teammate Scott Speed throughout the year. Although neither has attracted the interest of the major teams, both have earned another chance in 2007.

Scott Speed - Toro Rosso

20th
0 points

North America has been waiting for another F1 challenger to pick up where Jacques Villeneuve left off, and win another WDC title. Based on his debut season with Toro Rosso, Scott Speed looks unlikely to fill that void. He fought a relatively close battle with teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi, but was shaded overall. Both drivers had a tendency to get involved in incidents too often. Speed was a victim of the Montoya/Raikkonen contact on home soil at Indianapolis, and it was Liuzzi's spin that brought out the safety car that ruined Michael Schumacher's chances in Turkey. Speed, like Liuzzi, has earned another chance in 2007.

Tiago Monteiro - Spyker MF1

21st
0 points

Monteiro had grabbed attention in 2005, partly through his remarkable rookie reliability record but mainly because he won the sole remaining podium slot behind the dominant Ferraris at the bizarre six-car US GP. In 2006, he drew far less attention. Although he did perform at much the same level as teammate Christijan Albers over the season, losing out narrowly 10-8 in qualifying but gaining the team's highest finish, ninth place at Hungary.

Christijan Albers - Spyker MF1

22nd
0 points

With points finishes a distant prospect for the Midland team, their best chance to showcase the team is in qualifying. Albers may have started stone last on more than one occasion during the season, but he also outqualified both Jacques Villeneuve and Jenson Button in France, and the two Red Bulls in both the USA and Japan. Unfortunately, the Midland couldn't sustain that pace over a race distance.

Takuma Sato - Super Aguri

23rd
0 points

After being dropped by Honda in favour of Rubens Barrichello, Sato found himself with the unenviable task of leading the new Super Aguri team in 2006. Sato routinely trounced his trio of teammates, scant consolation considering that all were rank rookies. However, in the very last race of the year at Interlagos, Sato performed brilliantly to bring the hopelessly uncompetitive Super Aguri home in tenth place. It was a morale-boosting end to a year that saw solid progress with little reward for the Super Aguri outfit.

Robert Doornbos - Red Bull Racing

24th
0 points
3 appearances

Doornbos' three-race spell replacing Christian Klien was too short to evaluate whether he has developed significantly since his debut in 2005. He wasn't a match for David Coulthard, but he wasn't expected to be. Perhaps his two most notable moments were in tempting Fernando Alonso into a moment of petulant brake-testing foolishness in Hungary, and then almost driving off the circuit in his eagerness to let Michael Schumacher past (for position) in Brazil.

Yuji Ide - Super Aguri

25th
0 points
4 appearances

Even after a decent career in Formula Nippon, Ide was simply not ready for F1. He never managed to get within a second and a half of teammate Takuma Sato during a qualifying run. At F1 level, that is too big a mountain for the 31-year-old to climb.

Sakon Yamamoto - Super Aguri

26th
0 points
7 appearances

The F3 and Formula Nippon driver fared slightly better than his compatriot Yuji Ide. However, Yamamoto was also clearly uncomfortable with the Super Aguri and F1 in general. Outclassed by Takuma Sato, who in turn was beaten comfortably by Jenson Button and Giancarlo Fisichella in earlier years, Yamamoto's debut effort was an experiment that will fail to yield long-term results.

Franck Montagny - Super Aguri

27th
0 points
7 appearances

Of the three Super Aguri debutants, Montagny performed most credibly, setting times closest to team benchmark Takuma Sato. He did manage to complete three full GP distances, although he trailed the rest of the field on each occasion. It's hard enough for any rookie to enter F1 and be competitive, even with an experienced team. With the Super Aguri team also going through the learning curve of a rookie season, it became an impossible task.

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