ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

**2006 Formula One World Championship**
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The 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 60th season of Formula One motor racing. It was held over 18 races from March 12 to October 22, 2006.

**Teams and Drivers**
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Seven constructors entered free practice only drivers over the course of the season. The following teams and drivers competed in the 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship:

* **Free Practice Drivers**
+ Minardi was taken over by Red Bull, becoming Toro Rosso.
+ Spyker purchased the team.
+ Honda completed their takeover of the BAR team and changed its name to Honda Racing F1 Team at the start of the season.
+ Super Aguri F1
* **Teams and Drivers**
+ Ferrari: Michael Schumacher (runner-up), Felipe Massa, Giancarlo Fisichella
+ Renault: Fernando Alonso (world champion), Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli
+ McLaren: Kimi Räikkönen (championship runner-up), Juan Pablo Montoya, Pedro de la Rosa
+ Williams: Mark Webber, Nico Rosberg, Alexander Wurz
+ Toyota: Jenson Button, Ralf Schumacher
+ Honda: Rubens Barrichello, Takuma Sato
+ Super Aguri F1: Yuji Ide, Franck Montagny

**Racetracks and Regulations**
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* The Australian Grand Prix was not the first race of the season, but took place as the third race in April due to an overlap with the Commonwealth Games.
* The Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps was removed from the racing calendar due to renovation work on the pit system.
* The races in China and Brazil changed positions after 2005, so that the 2006 season finale took place again in São Paulo.
* To make the qualification on Saturday more attractive for spectators, three elimination runs were carried out. Initially, all drivers with any amount of fuel had 15 minutes to achieve a good lap time. The 16 best drivers received another 15 minutes after the first round of elimination to qualify as one of 10 participants in the qualifying finals.
* The starting positions 1 to 10 were finally determined in a period of 20 minutes, but since the Grand Prix of Great Britain, there was an additional 15-minute period before the final lap.

**Notable Events**
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* Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One at the end of the season.
* Kimi Räikkönen was announced as Schumacher's replacement at Ferrari.
* Fernando Alonso defended his world championship title with Renault.
* The last season of the Bridgestone-Michelin tire war, which had started in 2001, came to an end with Michelin withdrawing from the sport at the end of this season.