The Complete 2006 United States GP Review

First the good news: this time, 22 cars took the start at Indianapolis. The fact that only 12 of them were still participating after eight laps was due to some spectacular but hardly unprecedented early mayhem rather than the sort of cataclysmic fiasco of one year earlier.

Yet it was still ironic that the main themes of the 2006 United States Grand Prix were Michelin tyres (and their shortcomings), and the lack of cars in the race...

Before the teams set off for North America, conventional wisdom suggested that the Montreal and Indianapolis races would function as a linked pair. Either Ferrari would win both and put the pressure back on Renault, or Renault would win both and snuff out Ferrari's challenge.

The thought that the competitive balance could turn inside out in just seven days never really occurred to anyone. After all, the teams had no time to make any technical developments. They were just travelling from one rarely used track with long straights and slow corners to another rarely used track with slow corners and long straights.

So the spotlight fell on the tyres - that remaining element of illogical 'black magic' that can always be relied upon to explain the unexpected in Formula One, until the end of 2006 at least.

Michelin and Bridgestone seemed evenly matched on Friday, but as the weekend progressed and the conditions changed (with overnight rain preceding Saturday's action, and then temperatures rising further for Sunday), the difference became more apparent.

Hence Fernando Alonso struggled to a distant fifth at Indy, a week after controlling the Canadian Grand Prix with consummate ease, while Jarno Trulli - whom the Spaniard had lapped at Montreal - surged from 22nd to fourth in the US. Ralf Schumacher's turnaround was even more dramatic. A week ago, a spin-free lap seemed beyond the capabilities of his Toyota/Bridgestone package. Now he was beating the world champion in a straight fight.

Was this all part of the Indygate 2005 hangover? To suggest that Michelin had been spooked into bringing durable but slow tyres to America to avoid another embarrassment seemed too simplistic an argument. But the company's leading representatives suggested it might be the explanation.

"I think we had to have integrity in how we approached the tyres here," said Renault's director of engineering Pat Symonds. "We couldn't afford even a hint of anything happening again."

Ron Dennis wasn't so sure.

"Well one would assume that Michelin has come with a degree of caution, but I don't think that's really the case," he said.

"It is inevitable that tyre companies are going to jockey for position. This is clearly a race that Bridgestone is going to be very strong at, but that is not a criticism of Michelin, it's just that is the nature of a tyre war."

The other big question was whether or not this result would prove to be anomalous.

Alonso was unequivocal.

"In ten races, we have had the better tyres for nine of them, so I am not worried for the next Grands Prix," he said.

With admirable honesty, Schumacher admitted that he hadn't got a clue what might happen when the championship reconvenes in France.

"I'm not really aware of why it didn't work out in Canada and it did work here," he said. "So I'm not able to be precise why it might or might not work out at the next race."

All will become clear in the next fortnight, and perhaps the coming weeks will also resolve the question mark hanging over the F1/Indianapolis marriage.

At the start of the weekend, the future looked bleak. Bernie Ecclestone had dismissed America as a 'hassle', and when asked how he felt he fitted in to the heritage of multiple Indianapolis winners (such as Al Unser, A.J. Foyt and Rick Mears), Schumacher's dismissive answer encapsulated why F1 leaves America largely cold.

"I'm not exactly sure of the history of Indianapolis," he said. "Formula One is there just for the years we are here, and I'm not sure if you should really put yourself into that history. I'm not considering it too much."

But after a very successful weekend, his mood was a little lighter, and he was wiling to ponder his place in the Indy pantheon after becoming the first man ever to take five victories - in any series - at IMS.

"It's difficult to find more words because it's special, fantastic. It's something extraordinary," he said. "It's very historic, this place.

"Winning here the first time was very special, and now I win it I think four times in a row, and then the fifth time (in total). It's obviously just great. One day, sitting at home, I will remember this."

That was more like it. Of course he would rather spend his dotage reflecting on having won eight (or more) F1 titles than having a better Indy record than Foyt, but in achieving the latter, Schumacher has made the former look a little more feasible.

Practice

Anthony Davidson's star performances in Friday haven't necessarily translated into successful race weekends for Honda in 2006, but there was genuine optimism in the squad after their test driver topped both first and second practice at Indianapolis.

"I feel much more at home in the car than I did in Canada," admitted Davidson.

Michael Schumacher had been his main challenger in the morning, immediately producing a 1:12.458 lap when he emerged right at the end of the session. The next lap looked potentially quicker, but it ended in the gravel - Schumacher joking that his mind had been on the football World Cup.

BMW's Robert Kubica was second in the afternoon, 0.8 seconds slower than Davidson, with Giancarlo Fisichella in third and notably happier with his Renault than teammate Fernando Alonso.

Normally Alex Wurz dices with Kubica and Davidson for Friday honours, but this time the Williams reserve was two seconds off the pace in both sessions while working on the team's race tyre choice in an effort to avoid repeating the embarrassment of Canada.

Showing the importance of Friday testers, Red Bull's weekend was severely hampered when Robert Doornbos pulled out of the session with gearbox problems, leaving the team uncertain about their tyre and set-up choices.

Midland were the sensation of Friday practice, as third driver Giorgio Mondini ended the afternoon fifth quickest, with race driver Tiago Monteiro seventh! Both were within 1.5 seconds of the lead pace. "It looks very good on the timesheet, doesn't it?" Monteiro grinned.

It wasn't a bad day for fellow backmarkers Super Aguri either, with Takuma Sato a respectable 2.4 seconds slower than Davidson and ahead of both Toyotas, two Red Bulls and Nico Rosberg. Sato's potential future teammate Sakon Yamamoto also showed well in the third car and already looks more assured than Yuji Ide ever did. But Franck Montagny spun into the gravel at Turn 4 at the start of the session and could only watch his possible replacement for the rest of the afternoon.

At this stage Ferrari and Renault looked evenly matched, but Ferrari uprooted the goalposts and moved them several metres down the pitch on Saturday morning. Schumacher led the way with a 1:10.760 lap, with Felipe Massa second and the best non-Ferrari (Fisichella's Renault) over a second adrift.

"I got quite a shock," Renault's Pat Symonds admitted. "I really didn't figure they were that quick, and I guess they were running more fuel than normal yesterday, and hiding it."

Practice round up

Sorted by total laps from all three sessions

Qualifying

Part one

With the Midlands and also Scott Speed having looked extremely promising in practice, there was clearly more potential for upsets in Q1 than usual.

This point was underlined halfway through the 15-minute session, when Christijan Albers went fastest briefly, a feat repeated by teammate Tiago Monteiro shortly afterwards. Speed jumped up to third at the same time.

But the pace of change was quick this afternoon, and just four minutes after topping the times Albers had been shuffled all the way back to 14th.

After eight changes of 'pole' in the opening ten minutes, Ferrari asserted their authority as first Michael Schumacher lapped in 1:11.588 - 0.9 seconds clear of the field at this stage - and then Felipe Massa beat his team leader by a further half second.

Ralf Schumacher would complete an all Bridgestone top three shortly afterwards, pulling the Toyota out of the elimination zone.

Jenson Button performed a similar 'save' to move from a vulnerable 16th to seventh with a minute to go, while both Midlands cemented their qualification with late improvements.

With a few seconds remaining, Christian Klien made it through to Q2 as well, but did so at the expense of teammate David Coulthard, whom he pushed down to 17th. This came as no surprise to Coulthard, who had struggled for grip and balance all weekend. "I was always a prime candidate not to make it through," he admitted.

A little piece of history was made on the outside of row nine, as a Super Aguri out-qualified rival teams in a straight fight for the first time. Takuma Sato beat Nico Rosberg to 18th purely because he drove faster than Williams's rookie, who complained that he "couldn't feel the car properly."

The other drivers embarrassed by Sato could plead mitigating circumstances. Jarno Trulli's Toyota had a rear suspension problem and only managed one compromised lap, ending up 20th. Vitantonio Liuzzi was caught out by understeer and damaged his Toro Rosso over a kerb, so could not better 21st.

Franck Montagny's miserable weekend continued in the second Super Aguri, as electronics faults left him 3.6 seconds slower than Sato, solidly last on the grid, and deeply unhappy.

"It has been a bad day, again," said Montagny. "We had another problem and this cannot keep happening every race weekend.

"It makes it extremely difficult to concentrate on what you are supposed to be doing because you have to focus on solving the problems and not on making progress. Right now I am very disappointed."

Part two

The clearest evidence of the title rivals' reversal in fortunes came in Q2, where Schumacher and Massa breezed to another Ferrari 1-2, while Alonso faced a battle just to make it through to the final session.

His first lap was only sufficient for seventh, and that quickly became 12th as others advanced.

Alonso came out with another set of tyres at the very last moment, and jumped back to seventh, only to slip to ninth within a few seconds.

Thankfully for the championship leader, there was no time for anyone else to improve, and his honour was safe.

Renault weren't the only leading Michelin team in trouble, though, for McLaren came within a few hundredths of seeing both cars eliminated.

In the event, Kimi Raikkonen ended up on the right side of the divide in 10th, while Juan Pablo Montoya found himself 11th. A big slide at Turn 7 spoiled one flying lap, and his last effort came slightly too late, since the clock stopped as he was exiting Turn 13. Until the final sector, this lap would have been good enough for the top 10 (albeit at Raikkonen's expense), but then he lost a few fractions behind Tiago Monteiro.

Mark Webber also came close to qualification, moving up to a safe 10th with two minutes to go before being edged back to 12th as Alonso and Jacques Villeneuve went quicker. The Australian rued a lack of grip, and pointed out that as the Ferraris were doing rather well, the fault probably did not lay with the Bridgestone tyres...

Speed was thrilled to take 13th - especially as that made him the best of the Red Bull quartet - while Midland were very satisfied with Albers and Monteiro's 14th and 15th positions, the team's best qualifying effort yet. Albers remained strangely pessimistic, though.

"The session may have looked good on paper, but we still have a lot of work to do for tomorrow, because tomorrow is the day that counts, not today," he warned.

Red Bull Racing could take some heart from that premise after their thoroughly disappointing weekend continued with Klien oversteering to 16th.

Part three

The fuel burning period got off to an unusually exciting start as Alonso out-sprinted Schumacher in the pitlane exit and then went wheel to wheel with his title rival into Turn 1. But after that flurry, it was back to the usual tedium of ten cars cruising around calculating percentages and fuel allowances.

The final shoot-out was also a little muted, perhaps because of Ferrari's overwhelming superiority.

Alonso had been the first man to set a meaningful lap time, but his 1:12.499 was quickly beaten by Fisichella's 1:12.135.

Then Schumacher made them all look tardy with a jaw-dropping 1:10.832, with Massa completing the rout by going second fastest (0.6 seconds slower) a few moments later.

Fisichella improved his time if not his position on his second run, but Alonso could not.

He was unable even to hold on to fourth, as Rubens Barrichello's late lap grabbed the outside row two spot for Honda. Jenson Button was 0.4 seconds slower in seventh, with both men expecting to carry this slightly improved form through to the race.

Perhaps the star of Q3 was Jacques Villeneuve, who took his best grid position since Melbourne 2005 by going sixth quickest. He felt that he could have beaten Alonso but for a few small errors, and the 0.03-second gap between the Renault and the BMW suggested his confidence was justified.

His teammate Nick Heidfeld never had a chance to emulate Villeneuve's achievement, as he pulled off with an electronic problem before he could attempt a fast lap.

Eighth was a little underwhelming for Ralf Schumacher, while McLaren boss Ron Dennis openly admitted that ninth-placed Raikkonen was carrying a large amount of fuel.

Pat Symonds hinted that his Renaults might be following a similar strategy.

"I don't like to say we gave up, we never give up, but we didn't compromise what we were doing to try to race Ferrari for pole," he said.

But whatever Renault had planned, Schumacher could not see Ferrari being beaten.

"With this much advantage, we have vast opportunities," he said.

Qualifying results

The grid

There were a few post-qualifying changes affecting drivers who had already suffered dismal afternoons.

First Rosberg was put to the back for failing to stop at the weighbridge when instructed.

Trulli was also demoted for a rules breach, as Toyota contravened parc ferme regulations by attending to his suspension problem after the session.

Finally, with Liuzzi already back in 21st, Toro Rosso decided they had nothing to lose by giving him a fresh engine for Sunday.

Final grid, after penalties:

Pos  Driver        Team
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari             (B)
 2.  Massa         Ferrari             (B)
 3.  Fisichella    Renault             (M)
 4.  Barrichello   Honda               (M)
 5.  Alonso        Renault             (M)
 6.  Villeneuve    BMW-Sauber          (M)
 7.  Button        Honda               (M)
 8.  R.Schumacher  Toyota              (B)
 9.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes    (M)
10.  Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber          (M)
11.  Montoya       McLaren-Mercedes    (M)
12.  Webber        Williams-Cosworth   (B)
13.  Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M)
14.  Albers        MF1-Toyota          (B)
15.  Monteiro      MF1-Toyota          (B)
16.  Klien         Red Bull-Ferrari    (M)
17.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari    (M)
18.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda   (B)
19.  Montagny      Super Aguri-Honda   (B)
20.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth (M)  
21.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth   (B)  
22.  Trulli        Toyota              (B) *

The Race

Although the US GP lasted a little over an hour and a half, about 80% of the race's action occurred during the event's frenetic first minute.

The start itself was dramatic enough, with pole-sitter Michael Schumacher making a middling getaway and losing his lead to teammate Felipe Massa.

Fernando Alonso had made a superb start, instantly dispatching Rubens Barrichello, and then braked late on the outside line at Turn 1 - a move that had worked rather well for him in the 2004 race. This time it took him past Giancarlo Fisichella and alongside Schumacher, but there wasn't quite room to demote his arch-rival before Turn 2, so Alonso settled for third.

The championship combatants had managed to race wheel to wheel through the first chicane without any contact. Others proved less tidy.

Christian Klien successfully out-braked both Midlands into Turn 1, but in doing so he reached the apex just as Mark Webber was claiming it. The Williams was briefly sent airborne, landing with terminal suspension damage, while the Red Bull rotated and was hit with some force by the helpless Franck Montagny.

In the scramble to avoid the mess, both Midlands, Vitantonio Liuzzi and Takuma Sato all banged wheels and took to the grass, with Christijan Albers sustaining wing damage.

The really dramatic incident happened a few seconds later. Juan Pablo Montoya was caught out by how hard Kimi Raikkonen braked at Turn 2 and shoved the back of his teammate's McLaren, sending both sideways.

Nick Heidfeld was on Raikkonen's outside and clipped the sliding McLaren, sending the BMW into a series of destructive rolls across the gravel trap.

Meanwhile Montoya veered into Button, spinning both, and also collecting Scott Speed, who was innocently trying to negotiate the madness but ended up having his left rear wheel wrenched off.

The stewards quickly announced that a post-race investigation would be held, but Ron Dennis felt that it would be inappropriate to apportion any blame.

"It's so easy to be critical of one's own drivers when they're involved in an accident that takes both of them out but you've got to be professional," he said.

"It was just a squeeze on the first corner and I don't think anyone can be too criticised, it was just one of those things."

On this occasion, the stewards eventually agreed.

A five-lap safety car period then followed while the debris from eight broken Formula One cars was mopped up, with all the casualties bar Button (who retired in the pits during the caution) stranded trackside.

Massa was much sharper on the restart than Schumacher, crossing the line already 1.5 seconds ahead. Behind them, Fisichella challenged Alonso without success, while Ralf Schumacher nipped inside Jacques Villeneuve to take sixth, behind Barrichello.

Nico Rosberg had chosen the perfect path around the first corner carnage and moved from 21st to eighth as a consequence. Tiago Monteiro and Takuma Sato had also profited from the accidents, progressing to ninth and 11th respectively, but their chances of a shock points finish ended in a tangle at the restart, as Sato's ambitious move down the inside caused contact. The Super Aguri was out instantly, while the Midland continued for a few laps but did little more than deposit bits of itself around the circuit.

"The drivers from the Aguri Suzuki team want to win the race on the first lap, and it never works," fumed Monteiro, who was generally felt to be the injured party.

"The race is long, so many laps to go. They always take too many risks. Now he's out, and I'm out as well, which is ridiculous."

Midland's once extremely promising US GP weekend finally fizzled out when Albers retired from last with transmission failure 28 laps later.

At the front, Massa's restart advantage did not last long, as Schumacher quickly cruised onto his number two's tail, where he seemed to content to sit for now.

Fisichella was far less relaxed behind Alonso, who was losing up to a second per lap to the Ferraris. By the time the Renaults swapped places on lap 14, they were already nearly eight seconds in arrears.

Even more ominously for the points leader, he couldn't shake off Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and Villeneuve either.

But perhaps the biggest source of danger was Jarno Trulli. A pit lane start proved to be the ideal way to survive Turn 1, and he quickly picked off Liuzzi, David Coulthard and Rosberg before settling down a few seconds behind Villeneuve. Given Trulli's qualifying tribulations, it seemed fairly likely that he was now carrying more fuel than those he was chasing...

Once free of his illustrious impediment, Fisichella quickly put daylight between himself and Alonso, but though he could sometimes match the Ferraris' times, consistently outpacing them proved impossible.

The stranglehold that Ferrari had taken on Saturday morning remained just as tight in the race. There wasn't even much of a question over which Ferrari would win, despite Massa looking very composed in the lead during the first 30 laps.

The only mystery was over how and when the exchange of positions might be achieved.

Schumacher pitted on lap 29, and then set fastest sector times on his out-lap. This burst of pace, combined with a slight clutch drag for Massa as he exited the pit box next time around, meant that Ferrari's number one was in front after both had taken tyres and fuel.

As expected, Schumacher then began strolling away, extending his lead by a few tenths each time.

Renault had no trick strategy to counter Ferrari's pace, with Fisichella pitting on the same lap as Schumacher, and Alonso coming in two laps later.

They rejoined six and thirteen seconds respectively behind Trulli, whose one stop plan had allowed him to move up to third.

Toyota were being flattered a little by the clear Bridgestone tyre advantage, and Trulli's cause had been helped by the safety car and the early elimination of 10 cars that he would otherwise have needed to try and pass.

But the main factor in the Italian's charge from last to a potential third place was that he was driving better than at any time since his podium spree in early 2005.

This was highlighted after his sole pit stop on lap 39, as Trulli kept the heavy Toyota lapping at the same pace as lighter rivals Alonso and Ralf Schumacher.

It would have been fascinating to see where McLaren fitted in, as Dennis later revealed that both his cars had also been one-stopping.

BMW Sauber thought they had a pretty canny strategy too, but their potential was hidden when Villeneuve's engine failed on lap 24. He was tagging onto the Alonso-Barrichello-Schumacher train at the time.

The same lap saw Barrichello become the first significant pit visitor, which rather undermined his qualifying achievement as it would be five more laps before any other frontrunner pitted.

The strategy also dropped Barrichello out of top five contention, as he never managed to get back on terms with the Alonso group after his stop.

While Fisichella found enough pace to pull out a sufficient gap to Trulli before his final stop (although there wasn't a great deal in it as the Renault rejoined the track), neither Alonso nor Ralf Schumacher looked like doing so.

Sure enough, both dropped behind Trulli when they pitted for the last time.

What came as more of a surprise was that Alonso and Schumacher swapped positions in the pits, with the Renault losing a crucial few seconds with a slow exit from its pit box.

Suddenly Alonso's 25 point championship lead looked less impregnable as he struggled around in sixth place, 40 seconds behind the Ferraris, with a few laps to go.

But proving that his champion's luck hadn't totally abandoned him, Alonso was boosted back up to fifth when Ralf Schumacher had to park with a failing wheel bearing on lap 62.

This final retirement meant that three drivers who hadn't got beyond Q1 were now fighting for the two remaining points positions.

Rosberg, David Coulthard and Liuzzi were all one stopping, and aside from Rosberg pulling away a little at first, there seemed to be little to choose between them in the opening stint.

But Coulthard's pace was deceptive, for he was actually eight laps heavier than Liuzzi, and four laps heavier than Rosberg.

He stayed out until lap 47 before finally pitting, and then emerged alongside Rosberg, who he fended off at Turn 1, and slightly ahead of Liuzzi.

The younger pair then lost more time than old hand Coulthard while being lapped by Fisichella. This - and the Red Bull's superior pace - allowed the Scot to make a break and secure seventh.

Liuzzi hassled Rosberg until drafting ahead at the start of lap 56. Rosberg retaliated with a dramatic but ultimately unproductive feint to the outside at Turn 1, and then could only watch as Liuzzi eased away to secure Toro Rosso's first ever point.

"We are on fire now!" he declared with characteristic exuberance.

Ferrari's performance really was positively pyrotechnic, as Schumacher extended his lead over Massa to 12 seconds, and the gap back to Fisichella to nearly half a minute before easing off. He even set fastest lap (a 1:12.719) on lap 56, at a time when there was no pressing need to push, hinting that the team had more performance in reserve should it ever have been required.

The result was Ferrari's first one-two since Indy 2005, and their first meaningful one-two since Monza 2004. Second place was also Massa's best ever result.

The Ferrari duo had celebrated their front row lock-out by riding down the pit lane (somewhat waywardly) on a shared kick-scooter, and now Massa's achievement was marked in similarly flamboyant fashion as Schumacher picked his number two up and threw him in the air a few times in parc ferme. The winner was at pains to point out that he would have done the same for Massa's Ferrari predecessor had he weighed a little less...

"He's really a special teammate, I have to say, for his speed, for his character and the way we work together in the team," said Schumacher. "Plus he's so light, it's easy. Last year, I would have struggled to pick up Rubens."

It is somehow hard to imagine Schumacher man-handling Raikkonen in such a fashion should the rumours about Ferrari's potential 2007 line-up prove correct...

Fisichella observed all this Ferrari frivolity with much the same detached frustration as Schumacher must feel when he watches Alonso's increasingly notorious victory dances. Just seven days earlier in Canada, it had been the Ferrari driver left glowering while Renault celebrated, and pundits proclaimed the end of the 2006 title battle. Now, suddenly everything seems tantalisingly uncertain again.

Race results

73 laps; 306.016km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari              (B)  1h34:35.199
 2.  Massa         Ferrari              (B)  +     7.984
 3.  Fisichella    Renault              (M)  +    16.595
 4.  Trulli        Toyota               (B)  +    23.604
 5.  Alonso        Renault              (M)  +    28.410
 6.  Barrichello   Honda                (M)  +    36.516
 7.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)  +     1 lap
 8.  Liuzzi        Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)  +     1 lap
 9.  Rosberg       Williams-Cosworth    (B)  +     1 lap

Fastest lap: M.Schumacher, 1:12.719

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
R.Schumacher  Toyota               (B)    65
Albers        MF1-Toyota           (B)    38
Villeneuve    BMW-Sauber           (M)    24
Monteiro      MF1-Toyota           (B)    10
Sato          Super Aguri-Honda    (B)    7
Button        Honda                (M)    4
Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes     (M)    1
Heidfeld      BMW-Sauber           (M)    1
Montoya       McLaren-Mercedes     (M)    1
Webber        Williams-Cosworth    (B)    1
Speed         Toro Rosso-Cosworth  (M)    1
Klien         Red Bull-Ferrari     (M)    1
Montagny      Super Aguri-Honda    (B)    1


World Championship standings, round 10:

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
 9.  Heidfeld      12        9.  Toro Rosso-Cosworth    1
10.  Coulthard     10
11.  R.Schumacher   8
12.  Trulli         8
13.  Villeneuve     7
14.  Webber         6
15.  Rosberg        4
16.  Klien          1
17.  Liuzzi         1

Team-by-Team

RENAULT

Fisichella has the upper hand within the team all weekend, but soon realises that Ferrari are in another league. The best he can be is their closest challenger, and he achieves just that with third on the grid and in the race. He loses ground to the leaders while trapped behind his unhappy teammate Alonso in the early laps. Blighted by understeer, the points leader qualifies fifth, leaps to third at the start then slips back, falling to sixth after the final pit stops. At least Ralf Schumacher's retirement allows Alonso back up to fifth.

Verdict: They can afford a one-off blip, but mustn't let this become a trend.

McLaren are slightly off the pace during practice and nearly see both their cars eliminated in Q2. Raikkonen just makes the cut, but Montoya does not and must start 11th. Carrying a one-stop fuel load, Raikkonen can only manage ninth on the grid. Their strategy bodes well for the race (tyre performance permitting), but they never get a chance to prove it, as Montoya hits Raikkonen at the first corner and starts a spectacular chain reaction shunt that eliminates both of them.

Verdict: At least this didn't happen at a race where they were fighting for victory...

Ferrari dominate the Indianapolis weekend, taking first and second in final practice, all three qualifying segments, and the race. Schumacher has the edge on Massa most of the time, but is beaten off the line by his teammate. He follows him until the first pit stops, where a superb out-lap gets the former champion ahead. They then run flawlessly to the flag for a one-two finish.

Verdict: Outstanding.

Practice is disrupted by mechanical problems for both drivers, and then Trulli's suspension glitch early in qualifying leaves him 20th on the grid. This later becomes a pit lane start when Toyota are punished for breaking parc ferme rules by fixing the suspension failure too late. Schumacher is ambivalent about his eighth place on the grid. He races Alonso all afternoon and is set to beat the champion to fifth when he has a late wheel bearing failure and retires. Trulli drives superbly on a one-stop strategy to earn fourth place.

Verdict: Perhaps flattered but circumstances, but still genuinely encouraging.

Even Friday tester Wurz can't provide any morale boosting times this weekend. Rosberg just cannot get to grips with the car's handling and qualifies a thoroughly disappointing 19th, then gets dumped to last for missing the weighbridge. Benefits from early carnage to run eighth, but cannot maintain the pace. Eventually finishes ninth and last. Webber qualifies 12th and is taken out by Klien at Turn 1, ending his weekend.

Verdict: In desperate need of a straightforward race and some points.

Davidson tops both Friday sessions, giving the team hope for the weekend. Barrichello confirms this promise by qualifying fourth, with Button seventh. Both make slow starts, and Button becomes entangled in the McLaren/Heidfeld shunt, forcing him to retire early. Barrichello stays fifth for a while, chasing Alonso, but is running less fuel than his immediate peers and drops out of podium contention after his early first stop. Finishes seventh.

Verdict: Underwhelming, but better than Montreal at least.

Doornbos' gearbox failure in practice leaves the team with a few quandaries to resolve and less data to do it with. Unhappy with their cars, Klien and Coulthard qualify 16th and 17th. Klien then hits Webber at the start and retires, while Coulthard puts in a star drive in a very heavy car to progress to seventh.

Verdict: Salvaging unlikely points is becoming a speciality.

Kubica only third and second in practice, but Heidfeld and Villeneuve remain near the top of the timesheets all weekend. An electronics problem prevents Heidfeld from bettering 10th in final qualifying, while Villeneuve takes an excellent sixth. Heidfeld comes off worst of all in the first corner mess and is sent rolling through the gravel, escaping unscathed. Villeneuve misses all this and is running with the podium battle when his engine fails on lap 23.

Verdict: A missed opportunity for F1's emerging contenders.

Sensational practice performances see Mondini fifth overall on Friday afternoon, and Monteiro seventh. Confirming this potential, both Albers and Monteiro reach Q2, where they take 14th and 15th respectively. Albers' car is damaged in the first collision, and he runs last after receiving repairs. Eventually stops with a gearbox problem. Monteiro has to retire after contact with Sato at the restart.

Verdict: Could this have been their best chance for points in 2006?

Home hero Speed is on form all weekend, looking solid in practice and qualifying 13th, better than the other three Red Bull cars. Unfortunately he is taken out while trying to avoid the Heidfeld/McLarens/Button incident. Liuzzi damages his car on a kerb in qualifying and ends up 21st, so opts to take an engine change too. Progresses to eighth (STR's first point) in the race with a mixture of trouble avoidance, good strategy, and impressive overtaking.

Verdict: First point is an important milestone, but it could have been even better.

Sato's 18th place - ahead of the Toyotas and a Williams - is the equivalent of pole for a team in this situation. He has a smooth passage through practice and qualifying, whereas Montagny spins out on Friday afternoon, then has electrical problems in practice and ends up 22nd on the grid. Sato only lasts until the safety car restart on lap seven, when he collides with Monteiro and has to retire. Montagny is faced with a spinning Klien at Turn 1 and has not choice but to crash.

Verdict: A genuinely significant and praiseworthy showing in qualifying. Best to forget the race.

Lap-by-Lap

Lap 1: Starting from pole for the third time this season - and a record-extending 67th time in all - Michael Schumacher is beaten away by teammate Felipe Massa and the German also has to work hard to repel fast-starting world championship leader Fernando Alonso.

Giancarlo Fisichella and Rubens Barrichello grab fourth and fifth, but there's chaos in the middle of the pack. Juan Pablo Montoya tips teammate Kimi Raikkonen into a spin that starts a chain-reaction accident.

Mark Webber is tipped into the air following part 1 of a first lap incident © Reuters

Raikkonen slides into Jenson Button, who spins and clips Nick Heidfeld. The German is launched into a spectacular series of five barrel rolls. Mark Webber, Scott Speed, Christian Klien and Franck Montagny become entangled in the aftermath. All the drivers are swiftly out of their cars.

Christijan Albers also sustains damage, which he has repaired in the pits at the end of the lap. Button is the only driver involved who does not retire on the spot.

The safety car is deployed. Behind the top five, Jacques Villeneuve runs ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Nico Rosberg (sent to the back of the grid for failing to heed a mandatory weight check call during qualifying), Tiago Monteiro, David Coulthard, Takuma Sato, Vitantonio Liuzzi (who was given a theoretical 10 places on the grid after an unscheduled engine change), Jarno Trulli (who started from the pits after his car's rear suspension was repaired while his car was held under parc ferme conditions) and Button.

Lap 3: Button pits for repairs.

Lap 4: Button retires to the pits.

Lap 7: Restart. Massa pulls 0.3s clear of Michael Schumacher. Sato tries to pass Monteiro at the first turn and the two cars touch. Monteiro spins and rejoins at the back of the pack. Sato retires. Ralf Schumacher passes Villeneuve for sixth. Trulli moves ahead of Liuzzi.

Lap 8: Monteiro pits for repairs. Trulli passes Coulthard for ninth.

Lap 10: Massa leads by 0.7s. Alonso is 3.9s adrift of the Ferraris. Trulli moves up to eighth, ahead of Rosberg. Monteiro pits again - this time for good.

Lap 12: Massa leads by 0.9s. Fisichella continues to harass Alonso, as he has since the race restarted.

Lap 15: Fisichella passes Alonso on the approach to Turn One. Barrichello is about half a second behind the Spaniard.

Lap 18: Massa leads by 1.6s. Fisichella is edging closer to Michael Schumacher - but not by much.

Lap 21: Fisichella sets the race's fastest lap so far - 1:13.155. He trails Michael Schumacher by 7.9s. Alonso heads a chain stretching back to seventh-placed Villeneuve.

Jacques Villeneuve climbs the fence after retiring his BMW-Sauber © XPB/LAT

Lap 24: Villeneuve pulls off amid a plume of smoke to retire from seventh place. Barrichello pits and drops from fifth to seventh.

Lap 26: Massa laps in 1:12.961 - he leads by 1.0s. Third-placed Fisichella is 9.2s shy of Michael Schumacher. Coulthard and Liuzzi remain tied together - 0.3s apart - as they have been almost since the restart.

Lap 28: Albers makes a scheduled stop.

Lap 29: Massa laps in 1:12.954. Michael Schumacher and Fisichella pit.

Lap 30: Massa and Ralf Schumacher stop for fuel and tyres. The Brazilian rejoins behind his teammate. Alonso leads.

Lap 31: Alonso pits. Michael Schumacher leads.

Lap 32: Albers pits again.

Lap 33: Michael Schumacher leads by 2.2s from Massa, with the yet-to-stop Trulli third and the Renaults fourth and fifth, with Fisichella 7.1s clear of Alonso. Liuzzi remains trapped in 10th, 0.3s behind Coulthard.

Lap 37: Just past half-distance, Michael Schumacher leads Massa, Trulli, Fisichella, Alonso, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Rosberg, Coulthard, Liuzzi and the lapped Albers.

Lap 38: Albers makes his fourth stop and, this time, remains in the pits despite the crew's lengthy efforts to fix the problem.

Lap 39: Trulli pits and slips from third to seventh.

Lap 43: Michael Schumacher leads by 4.6s. Fisichella remains a distant third. There is little prospect of change elsewhere in the field. Rosberg makes his first stop.

Lap 47: Coulthard makes his only scheduled stop after the race's longest opening stint. He rejoins inches ahead of Rosberg and just holds the German off into the first series of turns. Liuzzi maintains a watching brief right behind.

Lap 49: Barrichello makes his second stop.

Lap 50: Michael Schumacher posts a 1:12.962 - a personal best. He leads by 7.1s.

Lap 51: Michael Schumacher ups his pace again: 1:12.895, the race's best lap to date. He stretches his lead to 8.5s.

Lap 52: Massa pits. He rejoins third, just in front of Alonso.

Lap 53: Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher pit.

Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa in parc ferme in a Ferrari 1-2 © LAT

Lap 54: Michael Schumacher makes his final fuel and tyre stop. He rejoins without losing his lead.

Lap 55: Alonso pits and rejoins sixth, behind the Toyotas. He trails Ralf Schumacher by more than four seconds.

Lap 56: Michael Schumacher laps in 1:12.719 and leads by 12.5s. Liuzzi passes Rosberg for ninth under braking for Turn One.

Lap 63: Fifth-placed Ralf Schumacher retires to the pits.

Lap 72: Alonso sets his quickest lap of the race: 1:13.316.

Lap 73: Michael Schumacher wins by 7.9s from Massa, Fisichella, Trulli, Alonso, Barrichello, Coulthard and Liuzzi, who scores Toro Rosso's first world championship point.