The season so far
After three rounds of the 2006 FIA World Championship, F1 Technical is looking back at the season so far. The Mild Seven Renault F1 Team has won three out of three and leads the Constructors' Championship.
The World Champion, Fernando Alonso, has already won 2 races, Bahrain and Australia. Team mate Giancarlo Fisichella was unfortunate in the season opener in Bahrain as he had to retire with hydraulic problems. In Malaysia, the Italian driver of Renault was more fortunate as he claimed victory just in front of Alonso. Last weekend in Melbourne, the Renault F1 Team could celebrate again as Alonso took his second win of the season.
Alonso now leads the standings with 28 points, followed by team mate Fisichella who has 14 points. In the Constructors' Championship, World Champion Renault is of course on top with 42 points.
Kimi Raikkonen, the runner-up in 2005, has had a lot of bad luck so far. During the qualifying in Bahrain, 'The Iceman' his suspension broke and he went of track. Raikkonen had to take the last place on the starting grid, but managed to finish 3rd after an solid race of the Finn.
In Malaysia, Raikkonen went off track after a collision with Klien in the first lap. In Australia, the Finn was able to climb back on the podium as he finished second after Fernando Alonso.
Team mate Juan Pablo Montoya has more problems to handle the car in the beginning of the season. In Bahrain, Monty finished 5th and took 4 World Championship points. In Malaysia, he finished 4th after a tough race and was the only McLaren driver to take points as Raikkonen went off in the first lap. Last weekend in Australia, JPM was less fortunate as he suffered a problem with only 11 laps to go.
Raikkonen has scored 14 World Championship points so far and team mate Juan Pablo Montoya 9 points. The McLaren Mercedes Team is second in the Constructors' Championship with 23 points.
The Scuderia Ferrari has a strange season again so far. We forget the whole wing saga for a while and focus on the results on track. In the first GP of the season, in Bahrain, Shumi and team mate Massa were really competitive as it was an all red front row on the starting grid. Massa, tough, made a mistake and only finished 9th. Schumi finished 2nd after World Champion Alonso.
In Malaysia, Massa had 2 new engines and Schumi also got a new engine in his 248 F1. Massa finished 5th and Schumi 6th. In Australia, none of the Ferrari cars were able to finish the incident filled race. Massa got sandwiched by Klien and Rosberg and hit the wall: exit Massa. Schumacher also hit the wall with 24 laps to go.
It appears that Ferrari still has a lot of work to do. Michael Schumacher scored 11 points so far and team mate Felipe Massa 4. Ferrari is third in the Constructors' Championship with 15 points.
The Honda RA106 has been described as one of the fastest and most reliable cars on the grid after pre-season testing. In Bahrain, only Jenson Button could prove what the car can do as he finished 4th. Barrichello qualified 6th but could only finish on a disappointing 15th place. At Sepang, Button took 3rd place and could spray the champagne together with the two Renault drivers. Barrichello finished 10th. The weekend in Australia started promising as Anthony Davidson again topped the sheets during friday practices and Jenson Button snatched pole. Barrichello, tough, was the only Honda driver to scored points as Button his engine blown just metres before the finish line.
Button scored 11 Championship points so far and team mate Rubens Barrichello only 2 meager points. Honda has 13 points in the Constructors' Championship.
The brand new BMW Sauber F1 Team already proved that they have a competitive car. In the first race of the season, in the desert of Bahrain, Villeneuve his engine blew up and so he wasn't able to score points, tough, he was driving a solid race. Team mate Nick Heidfeld finished 12th. In Malaysia it was Heidfeld who had an engine problem as he saw Villeneuve scored the first 2 World Championship points for the BMW Sauber F1 Team. In Australia this weekend, the German and Canadian
had there moment in the sun as they both scored points. Heidfeld finished 4th and Villeneuve 6th.
Jacques Villeneuve and Nick Heidfeld both scored 5 World Championship points and the BMW Sauber F1 Team 10 points so far.
The Williams F1 Team saw their both drivers finish in the points in Bahrain. The following races both Mark Webber and Nico Rosberg had to retire the race with engine problems and hydraulic problems.
Webber scored 3 points and Rosberg 2. It has been a disappointing start of the season for the team of Sir Frank Williams.
The Panasonic Toyota Racing Team has had a lot of problems in the beginning of the season and only now has found the pace as Ralf Schumacher finished 3rd in the Australian GP in Melbourne.
The Red Bull Racing Team also has had his problems in the beginning of the season. The team only scored 2 points so far.
The Midland F1 Racing Team, The Scuderia Toro Rosso and the Super Aguri Formula One team still haven't scored points as they are still looking for the right pace.
