2006 Season Recap

According to ESPN, the Formula 1 calendar for next season is finally out.

For the first time since 1996, we aren't kicking things off in Australia; instead, they're heading to Bahrain.

March 12, 2006 - Bahrain Grand Prix, Sakhir
March 19, 2006 - Malaysian Grand Prix, Sepang
April 2, 2006 - Australian Grand Prix, Melbourne
April 23, 2006 - San Marino Grand Prix, Imola
May 7, 2006 - European Grand Prix, Nurburgring
May 14, 2006 - Spanish Grand Prix, Barcelona
May 28, 2006 - Monaco Grand Prix, Monte Carlo
June 11, 2006 - United Kingdom Grand Prix, Silverstone
June 25, 2006 - Canadian Grand Prix, Montreal
July 2, 2006 - United States Grand Prix, Indianapolis
July 16, 2006 - French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours
July 30, 2006 - German Grand Prix, Hockenheim
August 6, 2006 - Canadian Grand Prix, Hungaroring
August 27, 2006 - Turkish Grand Prix, Istanbul
September 10, 2006 - Italian Grand Prix, Monza
September 17, 2006 - Belgian Grand Prix, Spa-Francorchamps
October 1, 2006 - Japanese Grand Prix, Suzuka
October 8, 2006 - Chinese Grand Prix, Shanghai
October 22, 2006 - Brazilian Grand Prix, Interlagos

So, is Spa officially a lock then??? Like, are we actually 100% good to go? Does this mean all those headaches are finally behind us and we're just waiting to watch Sumi dominate when the rain starts pouring down at Spa👋 👋 🙂 🙂

rustystag7 said:So the issues are fixed and we're just going to watch Sumi dominate in the rain at Spa👋 👋 🙂 🙂

Sure. Just like we've seen all season long. 😛

Man, this is actually getting pretty interesting🙂

Elizabeth Hughes >>> PP?

Brandon Ramos4 said:The FIA >>> Parity?

I'm sending an email. 😉>

Just give the crew the right tires they need to work with

Bridgestone:
-Ferrari
-Toyota
-Williams-Cosworth
-Midland F1
-Scuderia Toro Rosso?

Michelin:
-Renault
-Honda
-Red Bull
-McLaren
-BMW

And what about the engine output once we actually get eyes on it?

Once we actually get our hands on the official data... you already know the deal—they're switching over to those 2.4L V8 engines, which are obviously going to be a step down in power compared to the old V10 beasts. But as for how much of a drop-off we're looking at? Man, I bet that's still being kept under wraps...😉

Brandon Ramos4 said:Goodyear:
-Ford
-General Motors
-Ford-Cosworth
-Haas F1 Team
-Red Bull Racing ?

Goodyear:
-General Motors
-Ford
-Coca-Cola
-McLaren
-Ford

Not bad at all—now I'm just sitting here hoping Goodyear actually steps up their game with the tire quality.

So, besides all those rule tweaks they're tossing out for next season, NASCAR has unveiled this specific rear spoiler design meant to make overtaking way easier. They actually teamed up with Intel to hammer out the details for this new wing design.

The wild thing about this Downforce setup is how it’s split into two distinct pieces. Because they’ve cut out that middle section, the cars won't be able to crank up massive amounts of downforce, which would just end up slowing them down and making them twitchy and unstable through the corners.
NASCAR thinks this is the best way to get more passing happening on track, and according to Max Mosley, the head of the racing organization over in Paris, we should see this hitting the asphalt by 2007.

All these ideas have been greenlit for now and are heading over to the NASCAR World Motor Sport Council meeting this Wednesday in Rome. That's where we'll likely get the final stamp of approval on everything.

I grabbed this from an F1 news site where they were breaking down why they want to bring in these dual-element wings!!

I mean, why don't they just ditch traction control or some of that electronic driver aids and call it a day!! They don't have to overhaul everything, but surely they could start there.

As for the qualifying format, I think it’s gonna be awesome, and thank god they're finally bringing back tire changes!! Honestly, that was probably the dumbest rule they pulled all season!!
I'm not even gonna go off on the engine changes because I know someone will jump in immediately to say I'm just being a Sumi fan!!

Sandra Turner22 said:Solid stuff. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that Goodyear steps up their game with the tires.

Either way, they’re gonna have a target on their backs. There's a whole pack of teams breathing down their necks ready to eat them alive if they don't perform.😁
I’m mainly looking at Ford, General Motors, and Williams... honestly, I'm expecting at least two of those Goodyear-shod teams to be right in the thick of the championship fight from day one.

SilentDriver said:So, when are we actually gonna see the horsepower numbers?

Word on the street is they're aiming for around 700 hp—which, if you think about it, is a massive drop since those old-school V10 engines were pushing way more than that.

Brandon Ramos4 said:The word on the street is they'll be pushing about 700 horsepower—which would be a massive drop of nearly 200 compared to what those current V10 engines are putting out.

I don't buy it; there's just no way they're going to be that underwhelming.

mistybear87 said:There is absolutely no way they'll be that underwhelming.

Why couldn't it happen? I still vividly remember back in '98 when the Mercedes was pushing somewhere around 780 horsepower; everyone thought it was going to change everything, yet there we were looking at a V10 engine...

urbanmoose3 said:Why not..? I still remember back in '98 when the Mercedes was pushing around 780 HP and everyone thought they had seen it all... and that was just the V10 engine.

We'll see about that,
they'll probably be hitting somewhere around 750-800 horsepower by the time we get to Australia.
And by the end of the year? We could easily be looking at 830-850. 😉

Sepa said:Just you wait,
we’re looking at about 750 to 800 horsepower in Australia here...
and by the end of the year, we'll probably hit 830 to 850.😉

Well, some of those engines were already pushing 850 by the end of this year...

crotomy said:I'm staying quiet about the engine changes because someone will inevitably claim I'm just sucking up to Sumija!!

And you aren't sucking up to Sumija by saying this?😁

Why don't they just strip out the traction control and some of the driver aids and call it a day? They don't need to cut everything, but at least give us something.

Are there going to be any aerodynamic rule changes coming in 2006?

It’s going to be pretty interesting to see how next year's cars actually turn out... Midland, Minardi 2, Williams without HP, and BMW.

urbanmoose3 said:They ended up having about 850 engines by the end of this year..

And?