The 2006 Race-by-Race Review

Michael Schumacher's departure ensured that 2006 will forever be remembered as the end of a remarkable era in Formula One.

The astonishing list of broken records only tell half the story of Schumacher's reign. Never has one driver enjoyed such a margin of superiority over the majority of his peers for so long. It was entirely appropriate that Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve - two men who earned heroic reputations precisely because they dared to challenge Schumacher from the moment they arrived on the grid - also said farewell to F1 in 2006, albeit in less elegant fashion.

But Schumacher would leave F1 not celebrating an eighth title, but as a defeated championship contender, after finishing second to Fernando Alonso, the driver who had emerged as Schumacher's clear successor. That was never more obvious than in their head-to-head title battle this season, a contest that followed an incredibly tortuous path.

First Alonso looked set for an easy title defence as Ferrari's Bahrain form was undermined by their struggles in Malaysia and Australia. Then Schumacher struck back with a pair of wins, only to see Alonso dominate four consecutive races and establish a 25-point lead while Schumacher sullied his reputation (again) by trying to sabotage Alonso's pole challenge with a crass move in Monaco.

Ferrari and Bridgestone would then dominate almost until the end of the season - through the controversies of the mass damper ban, the penalties and chaos of Hungary, the unforgettable drama of Monza, and the thrilling see-saw battle in China. But just as Schumacher drew level and seemed to have momentum on his side, it all fell apart. Not only could Alonso enjoy a second title, but none of his future rivals would be able to have the satisfaction of beating the legendary Schumacher to a championship. F1 will be very different in 2007...

Round 1: Bahrain     Alonso and Schumacher commence their duel

Race winner: Alonso
Pole time: M Schumacher, 1:31.431
Fastest lap: Rosberg, 1:32.408

Ferrari emphatically announced their return to competitiveness by sweeping the front row of the grid, with new recruit Felipe Massa just 0.047 seconds shy of Michael Schumacher's pole time.

Some rivals played down talk of a Ferrari resurgence by suggesting that the Italian team's decision to test at Sakhir in February was the key to their Bahrain form. Nevertheless, Schumacher pulled out a comfortable lead in the early stages of the race.

A qualifying error had left Fernando Alonso only fourth on the grid, but he benefited from second row partner Jenson Button's poor start to immediately take third, before relieving Massa of second with little drama.

Alonso then edged ever closer to Schumacher, and after their final stops it was the Renault that made it into Turn 1 first, by a few crucial inches. The champion held Schumacher out wide, and would not be headed again.

Meanwhile, Massa had faded from contention with a spin and a disastrously long pitstop, while a loss of power and a subsequent hydraulics failure meant that Giancarlo Fisichella never featured.

There were signs that as many as five teams had the pace to win races. Kimi Raikkonen had started last after a frightening suspension failure in the first segment of the successful new knockout qualifying session, but incredible pace on a heavy fuel load helped him to come right through from 22nd to third, just ahead of Button, whose Honda was not far off Ferrari/Renault pace but lost crucial ground at the start.

Williams were perhaps the sensations of Sakhir. While Mark Webber drove a strong race to sixth, his rookie teammate Nico Rosberg stole the headlines by setting the fastest lap as he charged from last to eighth after running into Nick Heidfeld at the start.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        10        1.  Renault            10
 2.  M.Schumacher   8        2.  McLaren-Mercedes   10
 3.  Raikkonen      6        3.  Ferrari             8
 4.  Button         5        4.  Honda               5
 5.  Montoya        4        5.  Williams-Cosworth   5
 6.  Webber         3        6.  Red Bull-Ferrari    1
 7.  Rosberg        2
 8.  Klien          1

Round 2: Malaysia     Renault take control

Race winner: Fisichella
Pole time: Fisichella, 1:33.840
Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:34.803

Fisichella's path to victory became easier when a fuel rig malfunction left his teammate Alonso with a much heavier fuel load than intended in Q3. The champion could only haul his over-laden car to eighth on the grid, but when the lights went out he immediately shot through to third. Ironically the longer stints made possible by his additional fuel load then helped Alonso to take second from Jenson Button.

The lead Honda was the only car that looked capable of challenging Renault at Sepang. Just seven days after their apparent renaissance in Bahrain, Ferrari were hit by piston problems that caused engine change penalties for both Michael Schumacher and Massa, and Red Bull's David Coulthard. Criticism from rivals over the allegedly excessive flexing in their wings added to Ferrari's headaches.

Surprisingly it was Massa who coped best with the setback - coming from 21st on the grid to fifth on a one-stop strategy. Schumacher started 14th, stopped twice, and finished behind his deputy in sixth, having been genuinely outpaced.

There was little sign of the speed that McLaren had demonstrated in Bahrain. Kimi Raikkonen was eliminated in a first lap tangle with Christian Klien, while Juan Pablo Montoya blamed tyre graining for his anonymous fourth.

This race turned out to be one of Williams' best chances of a podium in 2006. Rosberg and Webber qualified third and fourth but engine and hydraulic failures respectively meant that both were out by lap 15.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        18        1.  Renault               28
 2.  M.Schumacher  11        2.  Ferrari               15
 3.  Button        11        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      15
 4.  Fisichella    10        4.  Honda                 11
 5.  Montoya        9        5.  Williams-Cosworth      5
 6.  Raikkonen      6        6.  BMW-Sauber             2
 7.  Massa          4        7.  Toyota                 1
 8.  Webber         3        8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       1

Round 3: Australia     Alonso keeps his head

Race winner: Alonso
Pole time: Button, 1:25.229
Fastest lap: Raikkonen, 1:26.045

Button had earned pole with a sublime lap half a second faster than the Renaults on a heavier fuel load. But Honda suffered worst than most with their tyre warming, and Button would spend the race trying in vain to fend off faster rivals. He eventually slumped to fifth and then suffered the final ignominy of a massive engine failure yards from the chequered flag.

With outside front row starter Fisichella stalling on the grid, it was Raikkonen who stepped up to challenge Alonso. Minor wing damage sustained while battling with Button early on stymied Raikkonen's challenge initially, but he came alive when a new nose section was fitted at his final stop. Although series of new fastest laps brought Raikkonen to within 1.8 seconds of Alonso, the Spaniard had the situation well under control.

Ferrari had a dismal weekend. Massa crashed in qualifying and then became entangled with Klien and Rosberg at the start. Schumacher was eliminated in Q2, and spent the opening laps squabbling with Toro Rossos. When his chosen Bridgestones started working, Schumacher charged towards the top five before burying the car in the Turn 16 wall.

The other leading Bridgestone teams actually fared a little better. A long first stint put Webber into the lead and on course for at least a podium, only for gearbox failure to intervene, while Toyota's Ralf Schumacher overcame a pitlane speeding penalty to take third place.

He benefited from Nick Heidfeld making a slight error while in second - the BMW having run a competitive race and benefited from others' delays - and from Juan Pablo Montoya's McLaren shutting down after being launched over the Turn 16 exit kerbs as he chased Schumacher.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        28        1.  Renault               42
 2.  Raikkonen     14        2.  McLaren-Mercedes      23
 3.  Fisichella    14        3.  Ferrari               15
 4.  M.Schumacher  11        4.  Honda                 13
 5.  Button        11        5.  BMW-Sauber            10
 6.  Montoya        9        6.  Toyota                 7
 7.  R.Schumacher   7        7.  Williams-Cosworth      5
 8.  Heidfeld       5        8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       2

Round 4: San Marino    Ferrari's march begins

Race winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: M Schumacher, 1:22.795
Fastest lap: Alonso, 1:24.569

Boosted by aerodynamic upgrades and Bridgestone's progress, Schumacher took a record-breaking 66th pole ahead of the two Hondas - Rubens Barrichello now finally on Button's pace but still starting behind his teammate. Alonso chose to run a long first stint so started fifth, crucially behind Massa, who would delay the Renault during the early laps.

Alonso duly moved up to second after the first stops, albeit 13 seconds adrift of the dominant Schumacher. But then the contest turned around as the Ferrari's Bridgestones began graining badly. In an exact inversion of the ultra-tense 2005 Imola race, Alonso reduced Schumacher's lead to nothing and put tremendous pressure on the leader.

However, Schumacher had been driving cannily to conserve his tyres, and when Alonso pitted a lap early in a bid to jump the Ferrari, Schumacher was able to up his pace for one crucial fast lap and hang onto the lead when he stopped. The duped Alonso continued to chase Schumacher throughout the closing stint, but to no avail. Renault took consolation from their suspicion that Ferrari's speed was a one-off, just like their 2005 Imola performance...

Montoya beat the subdued Massa and Raikkonen to third after his best performance of the season.

The Hondas faded away following troubled pitstops. Button's incident was the most dramatic - he was released too soon and dragged the fuel rig with him. No one was hurt, but the pitlane shambles appeared to sum up the direction that Honda's once-promising season was taking.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        36        1.  Renault               51
 2.  M.Schumacher  21        2.  McLaren-Mercedes      33
 3.  Raikkonen     18        3.  Ferrari               30
 4.  Montoya       15        4.  Honda                 15
 5.  Fisichella    15        5.  BMW-Sauber            10
 6.  Button        13        6.  Williams-Cosworth      8
 7.  Massa          9        7.  Toyota                 7
 8.  R.Schumacher   7        8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       2

Round 5: Europe     Schumacher takes charge

Race winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: Alonso, 1:29.819
Fastest lap: M Schumacher, 1:32.099

Nevertheless, it was Alonso who took pole position and led the first two stints. But he never could shake off Schumacher, and when the Ferrari stayed out longer before its final stop, the seven times champion was able to show his true pace. A series of stunning light fuel laps ensured a second consecutive victory for Schumacher, while Alonso had to keep an eye on the battling Massa and Raikkonen as they edged ever closer in the final laps.

This proved to be a breakthrough performance for Massa, who had been somewhat flaky in his early Ferrari outings. But he matched Schumacher's times for much of the Nurburgring weekend, and fully deserved his first podium.

If they hadn't gone into engine conservation mode in the final stages, the top four could have lapped the field. This was largely because the rest of the top ten was queued up behind Barrichello's slow Honda, which resolutely occupied fifth to the flag despite pressure from miscellaneous rivals. Fisichella took sixth - having raged at Jacques Villeneuve in the pitlane the previous day after an alleged blocking incident left the number two Renault only 13th on the grid.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        44         1.  Renault               62
 2.  M.Schumacher  31         2.  McLaren-Mercedes      46
 3.  Raikkonen     23         3.  Ferrari               38
 4.  Fisichella    18         4.  Honda                 19
 5.  Massa         15         5.  BMW-Sauber            11
 6.  Montoya       15         6.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 7.  Button        13         7.  Toyota                 7
 8.  R.Schumacher   7         8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       2

Round 6: Spain     Alonso's fight back wows a nation

Race winner: Alonso
Pole time: Alonso, 1:14.648
Fastest lap: Massa, 1:16.648

There could not, therefore, have been a better venue for Alonso to regain control of the title battle. Renault achieved a front row sweep, against all expectations, with Alonso predictably on pole position and then sprinting away from Fisichella in the opening laps.

It was just as well that he did, for third-placed Schumacher had enough fuel to run six laps longer than Alonso before his first stop. This vaulted him past Fisichella - who then lost ground with a brief visit to the gravel - but Alonso was unstoppable on this occasion.

Although Schumacher and Ferrari appeared to have a slight speed and strategic advantage, the margin that Alonso established in the early laps proved crucial, as did his pace on fresh tyres. Schumacher had to settle for second, while Alonso celebrated his most satisfying victory yet.

Fisichella and Massa were overshadowed in third and fourth, as was last year's Barcelona winner Raikkonen - nearly a minute off the pace in fifth. He had only qualified ninth, but gained four places with a superbly aggressive first lap, and then did enough to resist Button in the second half of the race.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        54        1.  Renault               78
 2.  M.Schumacher  39        2.  Ferrari               59
 3.  Raikkonen     27        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      42
 4.  Fisichella    24        4.  Honda                 24
 5.  Massa         20        5.  BMW-Sauber            12
 6.  Button        16        6.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 7.  Montoya       15        7.  Toyota                 7
 8.  Barrichello    8        8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       2

Round 7: Monaco     Alonso's triumph, Schumacher's shame

Race winner: Alonso
Pole time: M Schumacher 1:13.898*
* Schumacher penalised for obstructing the track. Pole awarded to Alonso (1:13.962)
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:15.143

The move earned Schumacher near-universal castigation, most importantly from the stewards, who demoted him to the back of the grid. He would join teammate Massa, who crashed early in qualifying.

Alonso therefore started from pole. At first, he edged away from the chasing Raikkonen and Webber, but when Alonso slowed his pace to protect his vulnerable Michelins in the middle stages, the race suddenly became a tense three-way fight as both his pursuers closed right in. Fourth placed Montoya soon made it a quartet.

Sadly, both Raikkonen and Webber would retire with similar problems - an exhaust problem leading to a wiring loom on the Williams burning out, and a heat shield failure having the same effect on the McLaren, ironically during the safety car period called to retrieve Webber's stranded car.

Traffic between Alonso and Montoya on the restart meant the Renault had an easy run to victory, and attention turned to Schumacher's progress. It took the Ferrari a while to pick its way through the backmarkers, but a well-timed stop allowed Schumacher to vault the queue trapped behind Heidfeld's slow BMW, putting him seventh after the safety car. The Ferrari was stunningly fast once in clear air, but it was attrition that ultimately helped him to fifth.

Coulthard took Red Bull's first ever podium in third. He had been behind teammate Klien until the Austrian lost drive and retired. This put Coulthard in the perfect position to capitalise when Barrichello picked up a pitlane speeding penalty, and Jarno Trulli had a hydraulic failure five laps from home.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        64        1.  Renault               91
 2.  M.Schumacher  43        2.  Ferrari               63
 3.  Fisichella    27        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      50
 4.  Raikkonen     27        4.  Honda                 29
 5.  Montoya       23        5.  BMW-Sauber            14
 6.  Massa         20        6.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 7.  Button        16        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari       8
 8.  Barrichello   13        8.  Toyota                 8

Round 8: Britain     Easy for Alonso

Winner: Alonso
Pole time: Alonso 1:20.253
Fastest lap: Alonso 1:21.599

The Spaniard took pole position on a heavier fuel load than his immediate rivals and then dominated the race, winning by 14 seconds.

Schumacher eventually took second place after a race-long battle with Raikkonen. They were briefly wheel-to-wheel in the opening stages, but unsurprisingly the actual pass came in the pits, with Schumacher emerging in front when their final stops were completed. Fisichella then put Raikkonen under pressure for fourth, while Massa was a rather anonymous fifth.

With both Schumacher and Alonso having won in front of their home crowds, the British fans hoped that Button might at least make it onto the Silverstone podium. But the Honda driver's weekend could hardly have been worse. Wrong-footed by a call to the weighbridge in Q1, Button was a disastrous 19th on the grid. He reached 12th in the race before an engine failure covered his rear tyres in oil and deposited the Honda in the gravel.

The largely uneventful race and Alonso's increasingly large points lead meant that off-track events dominated the headlines. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association meeting saw a showdown between Schumacher and his rivals over the Monaco incident, while pressure built on McLaren to give their protege Lewis Hamilton a 2007 race seat after his awesome performance in the supporting GP2 rounds.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        74        1.  Renault              106
 2.  M.Schumacher  51        2.  Ferrari               75
 3.  Raikkonen     33        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      59
 4.  Fisichella    32        4.  Honda                 29
 5.  Montoya       26        5.  BMW-Sauber            17
 6.  Massa         24        6.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 7.  Button        16        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari       8
 8.  Barrichello   13        8.  Toyota                 8
 

Round 9: Canada     Four in a row

Winner: Alonso
Pole time: Alonso 1:14.942
Fastest lap: Raikkonen 1:15.841

Alonso made no errors on a day when virtually everyone else visited at least one run-off area, and prior to a late safety car he held a 25-second lead over Raikkonen and 40 seconds over Schumacher.

It had been somewhat closer in the early laps, as Raikkonen made several attempts to pass Alonso. But the McLaren's pace faded - not helped by the clutch problems that contributed to two very slow stops.

Schumacher's heavy fuel qualifying strategy did not pay off, leaving him fifth on the grid and trapped behind Trulli for the first 23 laps, by which time the leaders were far ahead. The safety car for Villeneuve's late crash brought Schumacher back into contention, though, and he pounced for second when Raikkonen ran wide on the penultimate lap.

A jump start penalty left Fisichella a distant fourth, ahead of Massa, who made good use of a one-stop fuel load to come through from 10th on the grid.

Alonso's fourth win in a row meant that he had finished first or second in every race of 2006, and established a 25-point lead over Schumacher in the drivers' table, with Renault leading Ferrari by 34 in the constructors'. It appeared that all the champions had to do was cruise through the second half of the season and casually defend their advantage...

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        84        1.  Renault              121
 2.  M.Schumacher  59        2.  Ferrari               87
 3.  Raikkonen     39        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      65
 4.  Fisichella    37        4.  Honda                 29
 5.  Massa         28        5.  BMW-Sauber            19
 6.  Montoya       26        6.  Toyota                11
 7.  Button        16        7.  Williams-Cosworth     10
 8.  Barrichello   13        8.  Red Bull-Ferrari       9

Round 10: USA     The comeback commences

Winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: M Schumacher 1:10.832
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:12.719

Schumacher not only shared the front row with teammate Massa, but was 1.1 seconds quicker than Fisichella in the best non-Ferrari. Troubled by understeer, Alonso could only manage fifth.

A fast start and brave move into Turn 1 almost took Alonso into second on the opening lap, but that was as good as his weekend got. As the Ferraris disappeared up the road - with Massa leading Schumacher after making a quicker getaway - Alonso eventually had to let the much-faster Fisichella past for third.

The champion then fell under pressure from the Toyotas, with Trulli particularly impressing as he came from the back of the grid after a suspension failure early in qualifying. Alonso dropped behind both Toyotas at the final pitstops, although Ralf Schumacher's late wheel bearing failure at least gave him fifth.

The Ferraris neatly swapped places in their first stops, and then cruised to a calm one-two that would reduce Schumacher's deficit to Alonso to a more manageable 19 points. Fisichella's third was little consolation for Renault, who hoped that their lack of pace was simply a consequence of Michelin being over-cautious following the 2005 Indianapolis debacle.

The race had got off to a spectacular and destructive start when Montoya ran into Raikkonen at the second corner and tapped his teammate into Heidfeld, sending the BMW rolling and starting a chain reaction that would also eliminate Scott Speed and Button. Montoya would not be seen in an F1 car again, announcing his NASCAR plans a week later and then - to no one's great surprise - being stood down by McLaren.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        88        1.  Renault              131
 2.  M.Schumacher  69        2.  Ferrari              105
 3.  Fisichella    43        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      65
 4.  Raikkonen     39        4.  Honda                 32
 5.  Massa         36        5.  BMW-Sauber            19
 6.  Montoya       26        6.  Toyota                16
 7.  Button        16        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      11
 8.  Barrichello   16        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 11: France    Ferrari strike another blow

Winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: M Schumacher 1:15.493
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:17.111

But while Schumacher could have won this race by whatever margin he pleased, it wasn't all bad news for Renault this time. Alonso tried hard to split the Ferraris off the line, but when his efforts failed, his team set their sights on beating Massa to second instead. A canny switch from a three to a two-stop strategy worked perfectly, as despite Alonso running significantly heavier, Massa could not pull far enough away to stay in second after his final stop.

Alonso's speed in his long final stint suggested that Michelin were not in bad shape, yet conversely the presence of both Toyotas in the top five on the grid and the fact that Ralf Schumacher beat Raikkonen to fourth in the race indicated that Bridgestone held the upper hand at Magny-Cours.

At the start of the weekend most of the paddock talk centred on Montoya's NASCAR prospects, but this topic was soon brushed aside for the far more prosaic debate over future engine regulations and homologation, as the manufacturers and the FIA haggled very publicly over the kind of minutiae that only alienates the sport's fans.

Almost unnoticed as the flurry of press releases and counter press releases continued to build even during the GP itself, Montoya's replacement Pedro de la Rosa finished a promising seventh on his racing return.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso        96        1.  Renault              142
 2.  M.Schumacher  79        2.  Ferrari              121
 3.  Fisichella    46        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      71
 4.  Raikkonen     43        4.  Honda                 32
 5.  Massa         42        5.  Toyota                21
 6.  Montoya       26        6.  BMW-Sauber            20
 7.  Button        16        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      11
 8.  Barrichello   16        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 12: Germany     Ferrari dominant, Renault dampened

Winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: Raikkonen 1:14.070
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:16.357

The timing was devastatingly bad for Renault, as the proclamation came not only on a weekend when Michelin again fell short in the tyre war, but on the eve of the summer testing ban, which would drastically hamper their efforts to make up for the loss of speed caused by the damper's removal.

So while the defiant Alonso could only qualify seventh and finish fifth, Schumacher led Massa to another Ferrari one-two in what would turn out to be his final home Grand Prix.

Only Raikkonen managed to interrupt the Ferrari demonstration run, and that was slightly by default. A fuel sensor malfunction meant that the McLaren went into Q3 rather lighter than intended, and although Raikkonen took pole and led the start of the race, he made his first pitstop after a mere 10 laps.

Despite this handicap, plus a hydraulic fault, blistered tyres and a cross-threaded wheel nut at his first stop, Raikkonen drove a remarkable race to recover to third, passing the resurgent Button with 10 laps to go.

Webber might just have kept the McLaren off the podium having made a two-stop strategy work impressively from 11th on the grid, but a water leak saw the Williams retire yet again. This minimised Alonso's pain, as did teammate Fisichella's co-operation when potentially faster than the points leader, the rapid Trulli starting at the back after a practice engine failure, and Barrichello dropping out with a blow-up of his own. Without these incidents, Alonso would have struggled to even break into the points.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       100        1.  Renault              149
 2.  M.Schumacher  89        2.  Ferrari              139
 3.  Massa         50        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      77
 4.  Raikkonen     49        4.  Honda                 37
 5.  Fisichella    49        5.  Toyota                23
 6.  Montoya       26        6.  BMW-Sauber            20
 7.  Button        21        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      12
 8.  Barrichello   16        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 13: Hungary     Button at last

Winner: Button
Pole time: Raikkonen 1:19.599
Fastest lap: Massa 1:23.516

But the conditions were only the start of the madness on this most unpredictable of weekends. The under-pressure Alonso became embroiled in a 'road rage' incident with Red Bull tester Robert Doornbos in practice, and was given the unprecedented penalty of a two-second addition to his qualifying times.

Then Schumacher received the same punishment after overtaking two cars - including Alonso, who may have slowed mischievously - following a red flag on Saturday morning.

The stoppage had been caused by a dramatic engine failure for Button, and the penalty incurred for the subsequent change of V8 would leave him 14th on the grid, one place ahead of Alonso and three behind Schumacher.

Far ahead, Raikkonen and Massa shared the front row, and the tyre balance in the wet race conditions was neatly summarised when Michelin-shod Raikkonen led away while Bridgestone runner Massa immediately disappeared into the midfield.

Nevertheless, Schumacher managed to rise to fourth on lap one, but Alonso was making even faster progress and drove around the outside of his title rival on lap four. Soon afterwards, Schumacher broke his front wing while trying too hard to fend off Fisichella.

The leading McLarens' pitstops put Alonso into the lead by lap 17, and he proceeded to lap up to four seconds faster than his rivals. The only man vaguely on the same pace was Button, who had been carving through the field just as assertively.

When Raikkonen was launched over Vitantonio Liuzzi while lapping the Toro Rosso, the consequent safety car brought Alonso and Button together. It looked like Alonso would be able to hold off the Honda, only for a wheel nut problem to send the Renault into the barriers after its final pitstop.

Button was handed a golden opportunity and duly cruised to a shock victory, the first for himself and the modern incarnation of the works Honda team.

The track came to the Bridgestones as it dried in the closing stages, allowing Schumacher up to second. But he stayed out too long on fading rain tyres, and came under massive pressure from the faster de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld, eventually retiring after banging wheels with the latter. Both Schumacher's combatants survived to take surprise podiums of their own.

The other major story of the weekend was Jacques Villeneuve's sudden departure from BMW. His replacement Robert Kubica, who had starred in the Friday testing role, drove a mildly wild race to seventh, only to be excluded for being underweight. This meant that Schumacher was classified eighth despite parking with three laps to go.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       100        1.  Renault              149
 2.  M.Schumacher  90        2.  Ferrari              142
 3.  Massa         52        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      85
 4.  Raikkonen     49        4.  Honda                 52
 5.  Fisichella    49        5.  BMW-Sauber            26
 6.  Button        31        6.  Toyota                26
 7.  Montoya       26        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Barrichello   21        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 14: Turkey     Ferrari deputy has his day

Winner: Massa
Pole time: Massa 1:26.907
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:28.005

Schumacher's slight error in qualifying and a surprise safety car interruption made the critical difference. Having just set an astounding lap time in Q2, Schumacher looked certain of pole position as again Ferrari/Bridgestone had a clear edge over Renault/Michelin, even if the latter package was notably more competitive than in Germany. Mistakes at the first corner left Schumacher second on the grid behind Massa, though, and he followed his teammate in the early laps as they pulled away from Alonso in the early laps.

When Liuzzi spun and stalled at Turn 1 on lap 13, the safety car was summoned, prompting the leaders to pit. Schumacher had to queue behind Massa at his stop, allowing Alonso to get between the Ferraris.

Despite Schumacher's continual attacks in the final stint (the German having struggled in the mid-stages with a poor set of tyres), that's exactly where Alonso stayed. The title rivals crossed the line virtually side by side, with Alonso celebrating his second place like a victory. Massa was even more euphoric after claiming his first win with a commanding drive.

Button was only fourth this time, while Fisichella recovered well to take sixth behind de la Rosa after spinning at the first corner in an effort to avoid Alonso, who had suddenly backed off when it appeared he would be pincered between the two Ferraris. Fisichella's rotation catalysed a messy multi-car accident behind, in which Heidfeld and Raikkonen suffered race-ruining damage.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       108        1.  Renault              160
 2.  M.Schumacher  96        2.  Ferrari              158
 3.  Massa         62        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      89
 4.  Fisichella    52        4.  Honda                 58
 5.  Raikkonen     49        5.  Toyota                28
 6.  Button        36        6.  BMW-Sauber            26
 7.  Montoya       26        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Barrichello   22        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 15: Italy     The perfect farewell

Winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: Raikkonen 1:21.484
Fastest lap: Raikkonen 1:22.559

Schumacher could not have dreamt of having such a perfect backdrop for his retirement announcement, though for many the controversial punishment that Alonso received following qualifying tainted the entire Grand Prix.

It all began with a deflated Michelin, as Alonso sustained a puncture early in Q3. He had to crawl back to the pits, sustaining significant aerodynamic damage along the way, and then rejoined with just enough time to make it around and set a fast lap - if he hurried. In doing so, the stewards felt that he had impeded Massa, a decision which baffled and infuriated everyone outside Ferrari. So having heroically earned fifth in a hobbled car, Alonso's best times were disallowed and he fell back to 10th, prompting justified fury from Renault.

A determined drive brought him through to third in the race only for the engine failure to strike 10 laps from the end.

That made Schumacher's already pleasing day absolutely perfect. He had followed surprise pole-sitter Raikkonen until the first pitstops, then controlled the race to the flag, moving to within two points of Alonso in the drivers' standings and putting Ferrari atop the constructors' table in the process. The fact that his 2007 replacement - Raikkonen - finished second was entirely appropriate.

The only disappointment for Ferrari was that Massa finished only ninth after flat-spotting his tyres while avoiding Alonso's engine smoke. He had not been destined for the podium in any case, for star rookie Kubica made third place his own with a superb and mature drive.

The Monza weekend also saw Alex Shnaider sell Midland to the Dutch consortium operating under the Spyker banner, the announcement of Mike Gascoyne as the renamed team's new technical director, the GPDA issue an ultimatum over Monza safety, and Red Bull sacking Christian Klien after he spurned their offer of a Champ Car future. Few noticed.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       108        1.  Ferrari              168
 2.  M.Schumacher 106        2.  Renault              165
 3.  Massa         62        3.  McLaren-Mercedes      97
 4.  Fisichella    57        4.  Honda                 65
 5.  Raikkonen     57        5.  BMW-Sauber            33
 6.  Button        40        6.  Toyota                30
 7.  Montoya       26        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Barrichello   25        8.  Williams-Cosworth     10

Round 16: China     Renault's missed opportunity

Winner: M Schumacher
Pole time: Alonso 1:44.360
Fastest lap: Alonso 1:37.586

Race day was not quite as wet, and that was all that Ferrari and Bridgestone needed to get back into the hunt. Alonso dominated initially, while Schumacher clung on in sixth place. But as the track dried, the Michelins began to wear fast, and Schumacher started marching forwards.

Alonso's problems were exacerbated by the decision to change only his front tyres at his first pitstop. The new combination proved disastrous, causing massive graining and understeer, and his commanding lead disappeared in an instance as Fisichella and Schumacher closed right in and then passed him.

Ferrari timed their switch to dry tyres perfectly, and when Fisichella pitted from the lead a lap later, there was nothing he could do to prevent Schumacher sweeping past him as he scrabbled for grip on his cold 'slicks'.

There would still be a grandstand finish as Alonso "tried for a miracle." He had been further delayed by a scruffy final pitstop, yet still mounted a last gasp charge in which he consistently lapped two seconds quicker than Schumacher. But it was not enough, and he had to settle for second behind the ecstatic Schumacher - a result that left them equal on points but with the Ferrari driver leading on countback.

The race could have had an intriguing extra element had Raikkonen not hit throttle problems on lap 16. Before his retirement, he had passed Fisichella for second and was closing quite rapidly on Alonso...

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  M.Schumacher 116        1.  Renault              179
 2.  Alonso       116        2.  Ferrari              178
 3.  Fisichella    63        3.  McLaren-Mercedes     101
 4.  Massa         62        4.  Honda                 73
 5.  Raikkonen     57        5.  BMW-Sauber            35
 6.  Button        45        6.  Toyota                30
 7.  Barrichello   28        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Montoya       26        8.  Williams-Cosworth     11

Round 17: Japan     The last twist favours Alonso

Winner: Alonso
Pole time: Massa 1:29.599
Fastest lap: Alonso 1:32.670

The Renault was the best Michelin runner in qualifying, but still fifth on the grid behind the Ferraris and Toyotas.

Massa had taken pole again, and to avoid any repeat of Turkey he allowed Schumacher to move ahead without drama on the second lap.

Alonso was still in fourth at this stage, having only managed to pass Trulli at the start. But he was losing far less ground to the Ferraris than he expected, as the rival tyre manufacturers proved equally matched in race conditions. Indeed Alonso overtook Ralf Schumacher before the Toyota pitted, and then benefited from Massa having to pit a little early with a slow puncture. Not only did Alonso find himself up to second after just 17 laps, but he had closed to within five seconds of Schumacher.

Victory remained a long shot for Renault until lap 36, when Schumacher's Ferrari suffered an uncharacteristic engine failure. With Massa unable to take the fight to Alonso, the Renault could just cruise to an ultimately easy and very important victory. The points gap was back up to 10, meaning that a single point would suffice for Alonso in Brazil regardless of what Schumacher achieved in his swansong.

With Fisichella taking third, Renault also reclaimed control of the constructors' battle, moving nine points clear.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       126        1.  Renault              195
 2.  M.Schumacher 116        2.  Ferrari              186
 3.  Massa         70        3.  McLaren-Mercedes     105
 4.  Fisichella    69        4.  Honda                 78
 5.  Raikkonen     61        5.  BMW-Sauber            36
 6.  Button        50        6.  Toyota                35
 7.  Barrichello   28        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Montoya       26        8.  Williams-Cosworth     11

Round 18: Brazil     Schumacher's final flourish, Massa's victory, Alonso's title

Winner: Massa
Pole time: Massa 1:10.680
Fastest lap: M Schumacher 1:12.162

Instead it was his teammate Massa who took the race glory on home ground, while second was just fine for Alonso as he completed a successful title defence.

Ferrari and Bridgestone were as dominant in Brazil as they had been at Indianapolis and Hockenheim. Massa made the most of this advantage to take pole, but the crowd never got to see if he could have fended off Schumacher, for a fuel pressure problem meant that the Ferrari number one sat out Q3 and started only 10th. Alonso qualified fourth behind Raikkonen and Trulli, which suited him just fine.

Massa ran away with the race, while Schumacher made dynamic early progress only to sustain a cut tyre following a brush with Fisichella. His recovery from this delay provided a final example of Ferrari's improvisational strategy and Schumacher's sheer speed and combativeness working in harmony, as he came back from 20th place - almost a lap down - to fourth, just 24 seconds from victory.

Alonso's second place was slightly fortunate, as Trulli might have beaten him to it but for a suspension problem and third place finisher Button would have been a stronger contender had traction control glitches not left him 14th on the grid. But no matter where Alonso had finished, the celebrations would have been the same, for with Schumacher failing to win, the Spaniard ended 2006 as a deserving double champion, and the undisputed benchmark for the post-Schumacher era.

Drivers:                    Constructors:
 1.  Alonso       134        1.  Renault              206
 2.  M.Schumacher 121        2.  Ferrari              201
 3.  Massa         80        3.  McLaren-Mercedes     110
 4.  Fisichella    72        4.  Honda                 86
 5.  Raikkonen     65        5.  BMW-Sauber            36
 6.  Button        56        6.  Toyota                35
 7.  Barrichello   30        7.  Red Bull-Ferrari      16
 8.  Montoya       26        8.  Williams-Cosworth     11
 9.  Heidfeld      23        9.  Toro Rosso-Cosworth    1
10.  R.Schumacher  20
11.  de la Rosa    19
12.  Trulli        15
13.  Coulthard     14
14.  Webber         7
15.  Villeneuve     7
16.  Kubica         6
17.  Rosberg        4
18.  Klien          2
19.  Liuzzi         1