2006 Chinese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher is now just 2 points behind Alonso in the Drivers’ Championship. Ferrari have moved 3 points ahead of Renault in the Constructors’ Championship — the first time all season they have led. Shanghai is a circuit where Schumacher admits to having had poor recent results, but he says he expects “it to be better this time around.”

Previous race

Schumacher won the Italian Grand Prix for his 90th career victory, with Räikkönen second and Kubica third — his first career podium in only his third race. Alonso suffered an engine failure in the late stages while running inside the points. The result, combined with Fisichella’s fourth place for Renault, allowed Ferrari to lead the Constructors’ Championship for the first time in 2006. Immediately after the race, at the post-race press conference, Schumacher announced he will retire from Formula One at the end of this season. Ferrari confirmed the same day that Kimi Räikkönen will replace him in 2007.

Between-race developments

Red Bull Racing officially dismissed Christian Klien following a string of poor results. Robert Doornbos, previously Red Bull’s third driver, takes over Klien’s race seat for the final three Grands Prix. GP2 driver Michael Ammermüller replaces Doornbos as Red Bull’s third driver for China and Japan.

Midland F1 Racing has changed its name to Spyker MF1 Racing ahead of this weekend, adopting orange and silver colours in place of the previous red and white, following acquisition by the Dutch sports car manufacturer. The team has also announced Christijan Albers as one of their drivers for 2007.

During a September test at Silverstone, GP2 Series drivers Lewis Hamilton, Nelson Piquet Jr., and Adrián Vallés performed test duties for McLaren, Renault and MF1 respectively.

Entrants

Robert Doornbos makes his race début at Red Bull Racing. Spyker MF1 have nominated GP2 driver Alexandre Prémat as their Friday practice driver for this round.

Practice

Alexander Wurz was fastest in both Friday sessions in the Williams FW28A — a revised car featuring a new aerodynamic package developed by test drivers Wurz and Narain Karthikeyan. Vettel was second in FP1, just 0.004 seconds behind Wurz; Davidson (Honda) was second in FP2. Ferrari did not set competitive times in FP1 — Schumacher was fifth and sixth in the two sessions. Felipe Massa receives a ten-place grid penalty after his engine failed during FP2. Sato also drops ten places for an engine change required before the first session.