Race and classic pictures

Schumacher's title #8 hopes go up in smoke

Having drawn level on points with Renault’s Fernando Alonso at the previous race in China, Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher was leading the 2006 Japanese Grand Prix on this date ten years ago when his engine hit troubles and the seven-time world champion had to retire.

Schumacher’s first engine failure since the 2000 French Grand Prix handed Alonso the win and put the Renault ace almost out of reach with a 10-point lead (which amounted to a race victory at that time) entering the final grand prix weekend of the season in Brazil two weeks later.

Julien Billiotte

Recent Posts

Antonelli: ‘Still a long way to reach Verstappen and Norris’ level’

Kimi Antonelli is sitting comfortably at the top of Formula 1’s 2026 Drivers’ Championship standings,…

17 hours ago

Szafnauer: Root cause of Aston Martin ‘mess’ planted five years ago

Former Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has delivered a stinging verdict on Team Silverstone's…

18 hours ago

Hadjar details how he unlocked his consistency at Red Bull

Isack Hadjar believes one of his biggest challenges during his first season with Red Bull…

20 hours ago

Four classic German GP winners at the Nürburgring on this day

Down the years, August 4th has seen several German Grand Prix races held at the…

21 hours ago

Gasly: Alpine’s Dutch GP upgrade ‘critical’ for F1 midfield fight

Pierre Gasly believes Alpine’s upcoming Dutch Grand Prix upgrade package will be “critical” to the…

22 hours ago

Piastri reveals hidden gains behind mixed first half of 2026

Oscar Piastri may not have the results to show for his efforts in 2026, but…

23 hours ago