***2006 Australian Grand Prix***

[Toronto]

Friday 31
11:00-12:00 Friday Practice 1
14:00-15:00 Friday Practice 2

Saturday 1
11:00-12:00 Saturday Practice
14:00 Qualifying

Sunday 2
14:00 Race

Race
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 57 1:34:27.870 3 10
2 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 57 +1.8 secs 4 8
3 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 57 +24.8 secs 6 6
4 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 57 +31.0 secs 8 5
5 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 57 +38.4 secs 2 4
6 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 57 +49.5 secs 19 3
7 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 57 +51.9 secs 16 2
8 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 57 +53.8 secs 18 1
9 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 57 +53.9 secs 11
10 12 Jenson Button Honda 56 +1 Lap 1
11 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 56 +1 Lap 17
12 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 55 +2 Lap 21
13 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 54 +3 Lap 22
Ret 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 46 +11 Lap 5
Ret 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 39 +18 Lap 20
Ret 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 37 Accident 12
Ret 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 32 Accident 10
Ret 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 22 Transmission 7
Ret 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 4 Accident 13
Ret 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 0 + secs 9
Ret 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 0 Accident damage 14
Ret 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 0 Accident 15
Fastest Lap: Kimi Räikkönen 1:26.045

Qual
Pos No Driver Team First Second Third

1 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:28.081 1:26.337 1:25.229
2 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:27.765 1:26.196 1:25.635
3 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:28.569 1:25.729 1:25.778
4 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.193 1:26.161 1:25.822
5 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.079 1:25.902 1:25.976
6 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:28.007 1:26.596 1:26.612
7 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:27.669 1:26.075 1:26.937
8 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:27.796 1:26.014 1:27.579
9 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:28.460 1:26.714 1:29.239
10 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:27.748 1:26.327
11 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:28.228 1:26.718
12 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:28.408 1:27.023
13 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:28.999 1:27.219
14 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:28.757 1:27.591
15 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:28.351 1:29.422
16 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:28.868
17 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:29.943
18 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:30.226
19 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:30.426
20 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:30.709
21 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:32.279
22 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.164

Albert Park 220 Albert Road South Melbourne Australia Tel: (+61) 392587100 Fax: (+61) 396993727 Web: http://www.grandprix.com.au When Formula One came to Australia in 1985 it set up home in Adelaide. However, ex-racer-turned-entrepreneur Bob Jane wanted a race in Melbourne. He created a huge "thunderdome" and invented the AUSCAR series, bringing NASCAR action to Australia. The desire to have a race in Melbourne did not wane. Despite the popular end of season slot for the Adelaide race, pressure was growing from the Melbourne motor sport community, and in 1992 Jeff Kennett was elected the new premier of the State of Victoria. He immediately set about improving Melbourne's profile. First on his list was the Australian Grand Prix. An agreement was reached with Formula One in 1993, but the contract with Adelaide did not expire until 1995, so Kennett had plenty of time to prepare. A track was developed in Melbourne's beautiful Albert Park, part of it using closed-off public roads, and in 1996 the city held the first round of the World Championship. Since then, the venue has become the home of Formula One's season opener. The race is very popular with drivers and fans alike, and the party atmosphere of Melbourne keeps them coming back year after year. The circuit is in central Melbourne. Frequent free trams operate from various pick-up points, the trip takes no more than a few minutes. There is a regular bus service to the circuit from Spencer Street Station and Olympic Park. There is no parking near the circuit. If you're based out of town and driving, the organisers advise you to park-and-ride. Train, tram and bus tickets into Melbourne must be pre-purchased. Melbourne is served by Tullamarine Airport, which lies approximately 21 km north-west of the city. There is a regular shuttle bus service to and from the airport.

[SFDMALEX]

I'm loving this, for once I do not have to wake up at 7 am or stay up till 4 in the morning for the race


Practice on speed at 10pm today btw

[5vz-fe]

Comeon Schumi!!!!

[sameerrao]

Practice 1 times:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 36 Anthony Davidson Honda 1:28.259
2 37 Robert Doornbos RBR-Ferrari 1:28.559
3 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:28.595
4 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.713
5 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:29.025
6 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:29.041
7 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:29.411
8 35 Alexander Wurz Williams-Cosworth 1:29.461
9 38 Robert Kubica Sauber-BMW 1:29.576
10 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:29.601
11 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:29.676
12 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:31.017
13 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:31.039
14 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:31.812
15 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:34.036
16 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:36.684
17 39 Markus Winkelhock MF1-Toyota 1:36.859
18 40 Neel Jani STR-Cosworth 1:40.818
19 1 Fernando Alonso Renault
20 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault
21 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota
22 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes
23 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW
24 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda
25 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth
26 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth
27 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth
28 12 Jenson Button Honda

Practice 2 times:
Pos No Driver Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 36 Anthony Davidson Honda 1:26.822
2 35 Alexander Wurz Williams-Cosworth 1:26.832
3 38 Robert Kubica Sauber-BMW 1:27.200
4 12 Jenson Button Honda 1:27.213
5 1 Fernando Alonso Renault 1:27.443
6 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:27.658
7 3 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.773
8 11 Rubens Barrichello Honda 1:28.075
9 4 Juan Pablo Montoya McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.200
10 6 Felipe Massa Ferrari 1:28.227
11 2 Giancarlo Fisichella Renault 1:28.280
12 17 Jacques Villeneuve Sauber-BMW 1:28.440
13 14 David Coulthard RBR-Ferrari 1:28.531
14 9 Mark Webber Williams-Cosworth 1:28.860
15 16 Nick Heidfeld Sauber-BMW 1:29.053
16 8 Jarno Trulli Toyota 1:29.138
17 21 Scott Speed STR-Cosworth 1:29.196
18 7 Ralf Schumacher Toyota 1:29.379
19 18 Tiago Monteiro MF1-Toyota 1:29.713
20 37 Robert Doornbos RBR-Ferrari 1:29.876
21 15 Christian Klien RBR-Ferrari 1:29.879
22 10 Nico Rosberg Williams-Cosworth 1:29.933
23 40 Neel Jani STR-Cosworth 1:30.686
24 20 Vitantonio Liuzzi STR-Cosworth 1:30.734
25 19 Christijan Albers MF1-Toyota 1:30.830
26 39 Markus Winkelhock MF1-Toyota 1:31.260
27 22 Takuma Sato Super Aguri-Honda 1:32.556
28 23 Yuji Ide Super Aguri-Honda 1:34.224

[sameerrao]

Toyota is still in the doldrums ... Mike Gascoigne better deliver - he is paid an astronomical sum - $8 MM p.a.

The Williams times are poor only because of very limited running.

The commentators were mentioning that the Ferraris are slightly detuned as they were not able to figure out what caused one the cylinder pistons to fail in Sepang. It was a random failure - different cylinders failed for DC, MS and FM.

Klien and Heidfeld barely put 9-10 laps. Heidfeld has a new engine this race but they still havent figured out.

Its sad to see very few cars running decent laps because of reliability concerns. It was good to see Schumacher, Raikonnen and Alonso put on fast laps from the get-go.

Looks like it will be rain tomorrow - should be fun - the track is very slippy as is and the rain is gonna make it worse

[bmagni]

so between the real 1-2-3 is 0.2 secs between each other... lets wait for tomorrow

[sameerrao]

The 2006 cars are approximately 1.5 secs of the 2005 cars comparing the Friday practice times (1:25.376 in '05)- not bad!!

Wait! Wasnt it last year when there was a downpour during the race weekend? Then perhaps the 2006 times arent that special

[bmagni]

Originally Posted by sameerrao The 2006 cars are approximately 1.5 secs of the 2005 cars comparing the Friday practice times (1:25.376 in '05)- not bad!! Wait! Wasnt it last year when there was a downpour during the race weekend? Then perhaps the 2006 times arent that special

but the 1st 3 places are not that restricted, they don't count

[sameerrao]

Originally Posted by bmagni Originally Posted by sameerrao The 2006 cars are approximately 1.5 secs of the 2005 cars comparing the Friday practice times (1:25.376 in '05)- not bad!! Wait! Wasnt it last year when there was a downpour during the race weekend? Then perhaps the 2006 times arent that special but the 1st 3 places are not that restricted, they don't count

But last year there were 3rd car drivers that did well also ... or did I misinterpret you?

[bmagni]

Originally Posted by sameerrao Originally Posted by bmagni Originally Posted by sameerrao The 2006 cars are approximately 1.5 secs of the 2005 cars comparing the Friday practice times (1:25.376 in '05)- not bad!! Wait! Wasnt it last year when there was a downpour during the race weekend? Then perhaps the 2006 times arent that special but the 1st 3 places are not that restricted, they don't count But last year there were 3rd car drivers that did well also ... or did I misinterpret you?

or did I ?
still its the same thing...

[McLaren4eVa]

Im just praying that Kimi and McLaren have a trouble free race and both cars come home in the points.

[5vz-fe]

Originally Posted by McLaren4eVa Im just praying that Kimi and McLaren have a trouble free race and both cars come home in the points.

Let me check on my 8 ball........<shaking sound>......duka old kid

[sameerrao]

Originally Posted by McLaren4eVa Im just praying that Kimi and McLaren have a trouble free race and both cars come home in the points.

Same here .. I want a three way fight with Schumi and Dani (Sorry, I meant Alonso - they look like twins)..

[blinkmeat]

Friday Prac: Disappointment For Jacques Despite his strong showing in Friday's practice sessions for the Australian GP, Jacques will have to face an uphill battle for the remainder of the weekend after it emerged that BMW would have to change his engine overnight. Although there didn't appear to be anything wrong during either of Friday's two practice sessions, which Jacques finished in third and 12th places respectively, the team is concerned that his BMW engine won't last Sunday's entire 58 lap race. They have therefore decided to swap it for a new power unit. Explaining the situation, BMW-Sauber team boss Mario Theissen said: "Our investigations into the breakages units after Bahrain and Malaysia revealed that some components have not met their required production tolerances. "Our short-term reaction has been to build new engines with hand-selected components that best meet these rigorous requirements." "We have two of these revised engines here. One is already installed in Nick’s car, and Jacques will get the second in time for qualifying after Saturday’s morning practice session. "As a result he will lose 10 positions on the grid." And that, Jacques admits, will make his performance in Saturday's qualifying session ever more important. "The car seems to be competitive," he said. "One issue so far has been warming up the tyres, which should not be a problem in qualifying now that we can run more than one lap, or in the race, but it will be critical to be competitive then because of the penalty I will get for needing an engine change. "That’s a pity, because the balance of the car is very good, and I’m really happy with its speed."

Poor Jacques - he looked quick too

[Everlasting]

just got home a bit drunk i'll stay awake for the qualifying since it's only a couple of hours till it starts then watch some saturday morning cartoons and maybe then get some sleep