Canada: Michelin make it 100

By Michelin Sport
June 25 2006

Fernando Alonso dominated today's Canadian Grand Prix to score his sixth win of the season… and complete Michelin's landmark century of Formula One world championship successes.

The Spaniard led away from pole position, fended off an early challenge from Kimi Raikkonen and breezed to victory after the Finn lost time with clutch-related problems during his two scheduled refuelling stops.

Michelin F1 director Nick Shorrock said: "This 100th victory is an important milestone for everyone at Michelin, both here at the track and back at our factory in Clermont-Ferrand. The company has racked up its century during 14 seasons at this level – and all but a handful of those victories have been achieved against stiff opposition. That is the true essence of F1 and I'd like to thank everybody who has contributed to our success."

Alonso's victory – just one day before the 100th anniversary of the Renault/Michelin success in the 1906 GP de l'Automobile Club de l'Ouest, the first recognised grand prix motor race – extends his world championship lead to 25 points over Michael Schumacher. The German recovered from a bad start to finish second today – he usurped Raikkonen on the penultimate lap after the Finn ran wide at a hairpin.

Giancarlo Fisichella qualified his Renault on the front row, alongside Alonso, but was penalised for jumping the start and eventually had to settle for fourth, ahead of fellow Michelin drivers Nick Heidfeld and David Coulthard.

The event was twice interrupted by Safety Car periods. The first occurred on lap two, when Juan Pablo Montoya and Nico Rosberg collided while disputing fifth place. The German's car hit the circuit's concrete retaining wall and came to rest in a dangerous position. Montoya later retired after clipping a wall at the final chicane.

Local hero Jacques Villeneuve caused the second Safety Car intervention. With 10 laps to go he crashed heavily at Turn Seven after running wide slightly wide on the dirty track. He was unhurt but the incident cost him a likely points finish.

Teams now face a rush against time to prepare for next weekend's United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis, where free practice begins on Friday.