2006 Formula 1 season starts with GP of Bahrain

Sunday, March 12, 2006 

Bahrain International Circuit course, home of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Source: Michael Reeve

Fernando Alonso (of the Renault team) qualifying at the 2005 US Grand Prix.

The 2006 Formula One season has started with the 57 lap Grand Prix of Bahrain on the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir. It is the first time since Melbourne winning the Australian GP from Adelaide in 1996 that the opening race of the season has not been held in Australia. The date was changed to avoid conflicts with the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

It is the third grand prix that has been raced at Bahrain, since it was completed in 2004. Last year's race was won by Fernando Alonso of the Renault F1 Team, who went on to win the championship.

This year the results were as follows:

1.	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1.29.46.205
2.	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+1.246
3.	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren	+19.360
4.	Jenson Button	Honda	+19.992
5.	Juan Pablo Montoya	McLaren	+ 37.048
6.	Mark Webber	Williams	+ 41.932
7.	Nico Rosberg	Williams	+ 1.03.043
8.	Christian Klien	Red Bull	+ 1.06.771
9.	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+ 1.09.907
10.	David Coulthard	Red Bull	+ 1.15.541
11.	Vitantonio Liuzzi	Toro Rosso	+ 1.25.997
12.	Nick Heidfeld	BMW	+ 1 lap
13.	Scott Speed	Toro Rosso	+ 1 lap
14.	Ralf Schumacher	Toyota	+ 1 lap
15.	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	+ 1 lap
16.	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	+ 1 lap
17.	Tiago Monteiro	MF1	+ 2 laps
18.	Takuma Sato	Super Aguri	+ 4 lap

Sources

• "IMS Bahrain Grand Prix postscript" — Motorsport.com, March 14, 2006
• "2006 Bahrain Grand Prix" — Formula One Administration Ltd, March 12, 2006