2006 Monaco Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 7 of 18 in the 2006 Formula One season | |||
The Monaco circuit, last modified in 2003
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| Date | 28 May 2006 | ||
| Official name | LXIV Grand Prix de Monaco | ||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | ||
| Course | Street circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.34 km (2.08 mi) | ||
| Distance | 78 laps, 260.52 km (162.24 mi) | ||
| Weather | Fine | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Renault | ||
| Time | 1:13.962 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher
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Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:15.143 on lap 74 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Renault | ||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third | Red Bull-Ferrari | ||
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The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 May 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. The 78-lap race was the seventh round of the 2006 Formula One season. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of those races. His main championship rival, Michael Schumacher was looking to win the race as it would equal Ayrton Senna's record at Monaco for most wins (six).
The race was remembered by many people for Michael Schumacher's actions during the closing stages of the qualifying session for the race, where he stopped his car in the Rascasse corner, thus preventing his rival Fernando Alonso improving his time and most likely taking pole off Schumacher. Whether the move was deliberate is still a matter of debate. In the end, Schumacher's actions were deemed "deliberate" by the race stewards and he was demoted to the back of the grid as punishment for his actions, promoting Alonso from second to pole position.
Fernando Alonso went on to win the race, his first in Monaco. Juan Pablo Montoya came second and David Coulthard took full advantage of Jarno Trulli's late hydraulic failure to finish in third, scoring Red Bull Racing's first ever podium finish and also first ever Ferrari-powered non-factory team podium since 2003 United States Grand Prix (under Petronas badging).
During the break between the Spanish Grand Prix and the Monaco Grand Prix, a test session was held at the Circuit Paul Ricard. Fernando Alonso topped the times on the first day of testing, under a tenth of a second faster than the Ferrari of Felipe Massa who was second fastest. Toyota also had a promising day testing their new car, the Toyota TF106B, with Jarno Trulli coming in third place, who was also less than a tenth of a second behind Alonso. Heikki Kovalainen in the second Renault was fourth ahead of both the McLarens of Räikkönen and Montoya. Alonso was top on day two as well, with Kovalainen second in the other Renault. Jacques Villeneuve was third in his BMW Sauber, a second slower than the Renaults. Klien, Trulli and Massa completed the top six respectively. Villeneuve got the better of the two Renaults on day three, the Canadian was over four tenths faster than his nearest rival, Heikki Kovalainen. Toyota were fastest on day four, Olivier Panis was fastest ahead of Ricardo Zonta and the two McLarens of Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett.
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