As a consequence of the race, Alonso stretched his lead to fifteen points in the Drivers' Championship over Schumacher. Alonso's team, Renault, also increased their lead, but did so in the Constructors' Championship standings. This put them nineteen points ahead of Ferrari.
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race: two on Friday, both lasting 90 minutes, and one on Saturday for 60 minutes.[4] The first session was led by Ferrari's Felipe Massa, the second by Honda's third driver Anthony Davidson and the third by Massa's teammate Michael Schumacher.[5]
Friday drivers
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.
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. The first part ran for 15 minutes, and cars that finished the session 17th position or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of the qualifying session lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 16. The final part of the qualifying session ran for 20 minutes which determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions.[4]
^1 – Jacques Villeneuve received a ten-place grid penalty due to an engine change. The engine was damaged during transport to Barcelona.
^2 – David Coulthard did not get any time in the first part of Q1 as a mechanical failure caused him to spin into the tyre barriers at the third corner.
Race
The race was held on 14 May 2006 and was run for 66 laps.[7]
Race report
The Renault cars of Alonso and Fisichella occupied the front row of the grid.
At the start, the first four remained in formation, although Felipe Massa was pressured by Kimi Räikkönen, who had jumped up from ninth to fifth. Fernando Alonso managed to break away while teammate Giancarlo Fisichella held up the chasers. The first round of pit stops was initiated by Alonso on lap 17. Fisichella followed him on lap 18 and Massa on lap 19.[2]
Suddenly, Juan Pablo Montoya spun at high speed and beached his McLaren on a kerb. If the safety car was deployed, it would give Schumacher a big advantage, but Montoya's car was lifted away by a crane. Alonso lost time while passing one of the Midlands and Schumacher lost time when he made a rare mistake on his own. The German pitted on lap 23 and rejoined 10 seconds behind the race leader, but crucially just ahead of Fisichella.
The second round of pit stops did not lead to any changes in the leading pack and Alonso took his third win of the season, extending his championship lead to 15 points.
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