Vasanth Dharmaraj’s Blog

The 2006 Formula One season is starting this weekend. The season starts in Bahrain this year after Australia getting the honors for the past few years.

Here is the list of teams and drivers who will be lined up for the start:

1. Renault
Fernando Alonso
Giancarlo Fisichella

2. McLaren
Kimi Raikkonen
Juan Pablo Montoya

3. Ferrari
Michael Schumacher
Felipe Massa

4. Toyota
Ralf Schumacher
Jarno Trulli

5. Williams
Mark Webber
Nico Rosberg

6. Honda
Jenson Button
Rubens Barrichello

7. Red Bull
David Coulthard
Christian Klien

8. BMW-Sauber
Jacques Villeneuve
Nick Heidfeld

9. MF1
Christijan Albers
Tiago Monteiro

10. Toro Rosso
Scott Speed
Vitantanio Liuzzi

11. Super Aguri
Takuma Sato
Yuji Ide

There are 11 teams this season with one new team: Super Aguri. A few teams have new names. BAR is now Honda, Jordan is Midland F1 or MF1, Minardi is Toro Rosso and Sauber is BMW Sauber.

There are three drivers are debuting this year. Nico Rosberg for Williams, Scott Speed for Toro Rosso and Yuji Ide for Super Aguri.

A few drivers have changed teams. Felipe Massa moved to Ferrari from Sauber. Rubens Barrichello moved to Honda from Ferrari. Nick Heidfeld from Williams to BMW Sauber. Christijan Albers from Minardi to MF1. Finally Vitantanio Liuzzi from Red Bull to Toro Rosso.

There has been a lot of pre-season testing in Formula One. So far the champions Renault, runners up McLaren and Honda are looking very strong. Ferrari have been competitive but are said to have engine reliability problems.

The inaugural Baharin GP was won by Michael Schumacher. Last year it was Fernando Alonso. Incidentally both won the championship the respective year. This year I am naturally hoping Michael does some Schumi magic to win the season opener.

I can not wait for the season to start. It is going to be a lot of fun. This year I get to watch F1 on my new 43 inch TV! I wish I could get F1 in HD.

Related posts:

1. FIA release 2006 Formula One Championship Entry List
2. The Formula One season is Go!!
3. All teams confirm their drivers
4. Worst start to the Formula 1 season by Ferrari
5. 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship – Entry List