Kimi Rikknen - The 2006 Season
出典: くみこみックス
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In Bahrain, Rikknen suffered electronic troubles during Friday practice and a rear suspension break in the course of the very first qualifying session, which forced him back to 22nd spot on the grid. Nonetheless he drove by way of the field, ending third behind Alonso and Michael Schumacher. In Malaysia, Rikknen was hit from behind by Red Bull Racing's Christian Klien on the extremely first lap. The impact triggered a left rear suspension failure resulting in Rikknen retiring from the race.
Having started out the year obviously behind Renault, McLaren improved in Australia, where Rikknen finished second right after flat spotting a tyre and losing a wing end-plate, causing him to fall off the pace somewhat about the midpoint of the race. Chasing down Alonso throughout the final stages of the race, he did however achieve the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, finishing only 1.8 seconds behind the Spaniard. At the San Marino Grand Prix a poor option of approach and a mistake from Rikknen in qualifying (8th) saw the McLarens get caught in traffic in the early part of the race permitting Michael Schumacher and Alonso to get away at the front. Rikknen eventually finished 5th, with team mate Montoya ahead in 3rd spot. McLaren group boss Ron Dennis blamed Kimi Rikknen's poor overall performance for the team's failure to finish in the leading two in the race.
At the Spanish Grand Prix Rikknen certified 9th. Nonetheless at the commence Rikknen managed to get up to 5th place on the initial lap. He retained this 2005 is300 performance part position for most of the race, finishing 5th place. A handful of days immediately after the Spanish Grand Prix, he admitted that he had no opportunity of winning the 2006 Championship.[8]In Monte Carlo Rikknen certified third. In the course of the race he would get read 97 sc300 performance part up to 2nd and hold pace with Alonso, even so he retired throughout a safety auto period right after a failed heat shield led to heat from the exhaust causing a wiring loom inside the vehicle to catch fire.
The British Grand Prix at Silverstone saw Rikknen qualify second behind Alonso and in front of Michael Schumacher. The running order was Alonso, Rikknen, Schumacher till the second set of pitstops where Rikknen was demoted to third by Schumacher, a position he held until the finish of the race. At Canada, Rikknen achieved an additional podium. In the United States Grand Prix, his teammate punted him out in an high-priced seven car accident. The 2006 French Grand Prix saw Rikknen qualify his automobile in sixth. His teammate was now former test driver Pedro de la Rosa in spot of Montoya. Rikknen ended the race in fifth. In Germany Rikknen certified on pole. Right after a battle with Button, he finished the race for the very first time in his career, ending in third location. An additional pole came in Hungary but he collided with Vitantonio Liuzzi immediately after 25 laps, causing his fourth retirement of the season.
A 1st turn incident with Scott Speed at the Turkish Grand Prix led to an exploded tyre and nissan 300zx body kits suspension damage. Following a tyre modify, Rikknen's race ended half way into the next lap when he ran into the barricade at turn 4. Rikknen qualified on pole for the Italian Grand Prix, snatching pole from Michael Schumacher by two thousandths of a second appropriate at the end of qualifying. He led the early portion of the race till the 1st pitstops exactly where he was passed by Michael Schumacher. He stayed in second spot for the rest of the race. Following the race Schumacher announced that he was retiring. Later Ferrari announced that he would be replaced in the 2007 season by Rikknen.
The Chinese Grand Prix saw yet another retirement for Rikknen due to engine issues. His final two Grands Prix, these of Japan and Brazil, did lead to 2 finishes, but twice missed the podium. He ended his McLaren-Mercedes era with a fifth place in the Planet Drivers' Championship, with McLaren placing third in the Globe Constructors' Championship.
