San Marino GP 2006

APRIL 23, 2006

Race Incidents

During the recognition laps, Takuma Sato has a spin his Super Aguri but he lined up on the grid without a problem.

* Lap 1: At the start of the race Fernando Alonso makes a fast start as usual but he is squeezed by Rubens Barrichello and Felipe Massa and is not able to take full advantage of his speed. Michael Schumacher stays ahead up front with Jenson Button second and Massa third ahead of Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen. Mark Webber passes Raikkonen but then the race is put under control of a Safety Car as Christijan Albers and Yuji Ide tangle at Villeneuve Corner and the Dutchman rolls four and a half times. He emerges unscathed. Ide pits at the end of the lap for repairs

* Lap 2: Ide pits again and retires.

* Lap 3: The race restarts with Schumacher staying ahead of Button and the order remaining unchanged.

* Lap 5: Trulli heads for the pits and retires from eighth place. Further back Tonio Liuzzi has a spin and drops from 16th place, falling behind Christian Klien and Scott Speed.

* Lap 6: At the front Schumacher is edging away from Button but the gap is not huge, suggesting that the Honda probably has a lighter fuel load than the Ferrari.

* Lap 11: Schumacher sets a string of fastest laps but he is still only slightly quicker than Button and the gap is still only 2.8secs. There is then a 2.3secs gap back to Massa and Alonso is shadowing the second Ferrari.

* Lap 14: The first pit stops begin with Rubens Barrichello peeling into the pits. This means that he drops from fifth place to 13th

* Lap 15: Button follows his team mate into the pits and as a result he falls from second to eighth. Massa moves up to second place and slows down. This delays Alonso and allows Michael to increase his lead from 8.2secs to 11.2secs.

* Lap 16: Ralf Schumacher is the next man into the pitlane, indicating that Toyota also qualified with a light fuel load. This drops him from fourth place to 10th.

* Lap 17: Down at the back of the field Tiago Monteiro is also an early stopper. He falls behind Takuma Sato.

* Lap 19: Massa pits and so Alonso is released from behind the second Ferrari. He immediately speeds up.

* Lap 20: Michael pits and so Alonso goes into the lead. Schumacher rejoins in second place. Montoya is third five seconds behind. Mark Webber is up to fourth with Raikkonen fifth and Button sixth.

* Lap 22: Raikkonen heads for the pits and drops back to ninth position

* Lap 23: Montoya and Webber come into the pits. Juan-Pablo drops from third to fifth and Webber from fourth to seventh. At the back Sato has his first pit stop.

* Lap 24: Scott Speed pits and falls behind Klien and Liuzzi.

* Lap 25: Alonso's lead is up to nearly nine seconds before he goes into the pits. He rejoins in second place 11secs behind Schumacher.

* Lap 27: As Alonso begins cutting into Schumacher's lead, sixth placed Jacques Villeneuve finally stops and falls back to 15th place. Also stopping are Nico Rosberg and David Coulthard. The two men drop from 11th and 12th to 13th and 14th.

* Lap 28: Eleventh placed Nick Heidfeld pits and is followed into pitlane by Klien. The two rejoin in 14th and 16th.

* Lap 29: Fisichella has moved up to seventh place but pits and drops back to 10th.

* Lap 30: Alonso has halved Schumacher's lead, while third placed Button has maintained third place but is now seven seconds behind Alonso. Button goes into the pits. There is confusion and Button accelerates away when the fuel hose is still attached to the car. The hose breaks but the safety mechanisms work perfectly and there is no fire. The stop is a disaster with Button dropping back down to eighth place.

* Lap 32: Alonso is putting on the pressure and has closed the gap to 3.1secs. Ralf Schumacher has his second of three stops and falls from seventh to 10th.

* Lap 34: Alonso is four-tenths behind Schumacher. Barrichello has his second of three stops and falls from eighth to 13th.

* Lap 36: Michael Schumacher suddenly begins to lap much slower than previously. This holds up Alonso, allowing Massa and his pursuers to close up in the laps that follow. Monteiro stops again but stays in 18th place.

* Lap 39: Klien has his second stop after a short middle stint and drops behind Liuzzi in 16th place.

* Lap 40: Schumacher's slow pace has cost Alonso a lot of time and allowed Massa to close up by nine seconds in six laps.

* Lap 41: Alonso heads for the pits in an effort to stop losing time. He rejoins in third. Massa comes into the pits as well and falls back to sixth position.

* Lap 42: Schumacher stops, hoping to get his pit stop out of the way and stay ahead of Alonso. Schumacher is able to do it, but is less than a second ahead of Alonso. Montoya takes the lead. Fourth-placed Webber also stops and falls back to eighth, although he has completed all his stops while those ahead still have to stop again.

* Lap 44: Montoya stops and Michael goes back into the lead. Also stopping are Massa and Button. Massa remains fifth but Button falls back to ninth. Webber makes a mistake and loses eighth to Ralf Schumacher.

* Lap 46: Alonso pressures Michael Schumacher but the Ferrari is able to stay ahead. Seventh-placed Ralf Schumacher stops for the third time and falls behind Webber and Button. Further back David Coulthard stops. A lap later he returns to the pits and retires.

* Lap 47: Third-placed Raikkonen has to stop again but he is able to get out ahead of Webber in sixth place. At the back of the field Takuma Sato pulls off at Rivazza and retires.

* Lap 48: Fisichella is the last man to pit, completing his second stop and dropping from fifth to eighth. Further back Rosberg and Villeneuve both stop again. Rosberg falls from 10th to 11th and Villeneuve from 11th to 13th.

* Lap 51: The order is now set with Alonso hoping that Schumacher will make a mistake but unable to pass. Behind them there is a 14secs gap back to Montoya, which stays more or less the same. Massa is fourth with Raikkonen on his tail while Webber is sixth. Button is seventh and Fisichella eighth. Heidfeld has a late last stop and falls behind Villeneuve. The two BMWs are running 12th and 13th at the end.

* Lap 59: The order is the same but Alonso has a moment at Villeneuve Corner and the Spaniard then decides to back off and settle for second place, which is perfect for his World Championship ambitions.

* Lap 62: Michael Schumacher wins Ferrari's first proper victory since Japan 2004 after a clever strategic race. The Renault was clearly the faster car on race day but with overtaking so difficult at Imola track position was everything.