Formula 1

About the season

At Monza, following his 90th career win, Schumacher announced his retirement in the post-race press conference, turning the Italian Grand Prix into the farewell stage for the first chapter of his career. Mid-season, the FIA banned Renault's "mass damper" suspension system, which had given Alonso a significant edge, and Schumacher and Ferrari surged after the ban took effect following the German Grand Prix. At the Japanese Grand Prix, Schumacher and Alonso arrived level on points, but Schumacher retired with an engine failure while leading, handing Alonso the win and effectively sealing his second consecutive title. Schumacher's 91st and final win of that career came at the Chinese Grand Prix, briefly putting him back atop the standings before Alonso closed out the season as champion. Fernando Alonso won the 2006 Drivers' Championship with 134 points (Renault), 13 points ahead of the runner-up. Renault won the Constructors' Championship with 206 points, 5 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 18 completed races this season, there were 128 retirements. 5 different drivers won a race this season. Fernando Alonso took the most race wins, 7 in total. Alonso won the season-opening race, the Bahrain Grand Prix. Räikkönen made the biggest gain of the season at the Bahrain Grand Prix, from grid position 22 to finishing 3 (up 19 places). The United States Grand Prix saw the most retirements of the season, with 12 drivers failing to finish. The closest finish of the season came at the German Grand Prix, with a gap of just 0.700 seconds. The season's biggest upset win came from Button at the Hungarian Grand Prix, starting from grid position 14. The most dominant win of the season came at the Hungarian Grand Prix, with a margin of 30.8 seconds. Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix, the final race of the season.