| Type: | F1 |
| Country: | Japan |
| Grand Prix: | Japanese |
| Date: | 8 October |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Race No: | 17 |
| Season No: | 18 |
| Official Name: | 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix |
| Location: | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Mi: | 3.608 |
| Course Km: | 5.807 |
| Distance Laps: | 53 |
| Distance Mi: | 191.117 |
| Distance Km: | 307.573 |
| Weather: | Fine |
| Attendance: | 361,000[1] |
| Pole Driver: | Felipe Massa |
| Pole Team: | Ferrari |
| Pole Time: | 1:29.599 |
| Pole Country: | Brazil |
| Fast Driver: | Fernando Alonso |
| Fast Team: | Renault |
| Fast Time: | 1:32.676 |
| Fast Lap: | 14 |
| Fast Country: | Spain |
| First Driver: | Fernando Alonso |
| First Team: | Renault |
| First Country: | Spain |
| Second Driver: | Felipe Massa |
| Second Team: | Ferrari |
| Second Country: | Brazil |
| Third Driver: | Giancarlo Fisichella |
| Third Team: | Renault |
| Third Country: | Italy |
The 2006 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2006 Formula 1 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix)[2] was a Formula One race held on 8 October 2006 at the Suzuka Circuit, in Suzuka, Japan. It was the seventeenth and penultimate round of the 2006 Formula One World Championship, and marked the 32nd running of the Japanese Grand Prix. It was won by Fernando Alonso, his last win for the Renault team before he moved to McLaren the following season.
It was the 20th Grand Prix to be held at Suzuka. It was the first Formula One race to be filmed and broadcast in high-definition television. However the Fuji Television broadcast was only available in Japan.[3]
The bottom 6 teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.
Felipe Massa started the race from pole, but Michael Schumacher passed him on lap 3 to take the lead. Meanwhile, Alonso was struggling to get past the Toyotas of Trulli and Ralf Schumacher. By lap 10 Alonso was 5.4 seconds off the leader. On lap 15 Alonso managed to pass Massa in the pitstops and chased Schumacher. He succeeded in closing the gap from 5.4 seconds on lap 10 to 4.2 seconds by lap 27 only for it to open up to 5.9 seconds by lap 34 after the two drivers encountered backmarkers. The race was crucial in the fight for the World Championship, as whoever finished ahead of the two would take the championship lead into the final race. On lap 37, after the two rivals had made their final pitstops, Schumacher's engine failed, his first engine failure since the 2000 French Grand Prix, giving the lead to Alonso, who went on to win the race. As a result, he needed only one point from the final race to secure the title.
, Alonso's win remains the last victory for a car running on Michelin tyres, as the manufacturer pulled out of Formula One at the end of the season. Third place finisher Giancarlo Fisichella dedicated to his best friend, Tonino Visciani, who had died on 5 October 2006 after a heart attack.[4]
| Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Ferrari | 1:30.112 | 1:29.830 | 1:29.599 | 1 | ||
| 2 | 5 | Ferrari | 1:31.279 | 1:28.954 | 1:29.711 | 2 | ||
| 3 | 7 | Toyota | 1:30.595 | 1:30.299 | 1:29.989 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 8 | Toyota | 1:30.420 | 1:30.204 | 1:30.039 | 4 | ||
| 5 | 1 | Renault | 1:30.976 | 1:30.357 | 1:30.371 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 2 | Renault | 1:31.696 | 1:30.306 | 1:30.599 | 6 | ||
| 7 | 12 | Honda | 1:30.847 | 1:30.268 | 1:30.992 | 7 | ||
| 8 | 11 | Honda | 1:31.972 | 1:30.598 | 1:31.478 | 8 | ||
| 9 | 16 | BMW Sauber | 1:31.811 | 1:30.470 | 1:31.513 | 9 | ||
| 10 | 10 | Williams-Cosworth | 1:30.585 | 1:30.321 | 1:31.856 | 10 | ||
| 11 | 3 | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:32.080 | 1:30.827 | 11 | |||
| 12 | 17 | BMW Sauber | 1:31.204 | 1:31.094 | 12 | |||
| 13 | 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:31.581 | 1:31.254 | 13 | |||
| 14 | 9 | Williams-Cosworth | 1:31.647 | 1:31.276 | 14 | |||
| 15 | 20 | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 1:31.741 | 1:31.943 | 15 | |||
| 16 | 19 | Spyker MF1-Toyota | 1:32.221 | 1:33.750 | 16 | |||
| 17 | 14 | Red Bull-Ferrari | 1:32.252 | 17 | ||||
| 18 | 15 | Red Bull-Ferrari | 1:32.402 | 18 | ||||
| 19 | 21 | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 1:32.867 | 19 | ||||
| 20 | 22 | Super Aguri-Honda | 1:33.666 | 20 | ||||
| 21 | 18 | Spyker MF1-Toyota | 1:33.709 | 21 | ||||
| 22 | 23 | Super Aguri-Honda | No time | 22 | ||||
| Source:[5] | ||||||||
| Driver | Constructor | Lap | Time/Retired | Grid | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Fernando Alonso | Renault | 53 | 1:23:53.413 | 5 | 10 | |
| 2 | 6 |  Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 53 | +16.151 | 1 | 8 | |
| 3 | 2 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Renault | 53 | +23.953 | 6 | 6 | |
| 4 | 12 | Jenson Button | Honda | 53 | +34.101 | 7 | 5 | |
| 5 | 3 |  Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +43.596 | 11 | 4 | |
| 6 | 8 | Jarno Trulli | Toyota | 53 | +46.717 | 4 | 3 | |
| 7 | 7 |  Ralf Schumacher | Toyota | 53 | +48.869 | 3 | 2 | |
| 8 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | BMW Sauber | 53 | +1:16.095 | 9 | 1 | |
| 9 | 17 | BMW Sauber | 53 | +1:16.932 | 12 | |||
| 10 | 10 | Williams-Cosworth | 52 | +1 lap | 10 | |||
| 11 | 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 52 | +1 lap | 13 | |||
| 12 | 11 | Honda | 52 | +1 lap | 8 | |||
| 13 | 15 | Red Bull-Ferrari | 52 | +1 lap | 18 | |||
| 14 | 20 | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 52 | +1 lap | 15 | |||
| 15 | 22 | Super Aguri-Honda | 52 | +1 lap | 20 | |||
| 16 | 18 | Spyker MF1-Toyota | 51 | +2 laps | 21 | |||
| 17 | 23 | Super Aguri-Honda | 50 | +3 laps | 22 | |||
| 18 | 21 | Toro Rosso-Cosworth | 48 | Power steering | 19 | |||
| Ret | 9 | Williams-Cosworth | 39 | Accident | 14 | |||
| Ret | 5 | Ferrari | 36 | Engine | 2 | |||
| Ret | 14 | Red Bull-Ferrari | 35 | Gearbox | 17 | |||
| Ret | 19 | Spyker MF1-Toyota | 20 | Driveshaft | 16 | |||
| Source:[6] | ||||||||
| Driver | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Fernando Alonso* | 126 | |
| 1 | 2 | Michael Schumacher* | 116 | |
| 1 | 3 | Felipe Massa | 70 | |
| 1 | 4 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 69 | |
| 5 | Kimi Räikkönen | 61 | ||
| Source: [7] | ||||
| Constructor | Points | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Renault* | 195 | ||
| 2 | Ferrari* | 186 | ||
| 3 |  McLaren-Mercedes | 105 | ||
| 4 |  Honda | 78 | ||
| 5 | BMW Sauber | 36 | ||
| Source: | ||||
