Fernando Alonso won today's race in Barcelona, becoming the first Spaniard to triumph at his home Grand Prix.
The 130,000 spectators, who filled the grandstands and grass verges around the Circuit de Catalunya, witnessed an incident-free and uncomplicated race, which also saw the Shell-powered Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa take second and fourth spot, respectively.
Renault had seized the front row of the grid on Saturday afternoon with Alonso securing his first-ever home pole and team mate Giancarlo Fisichella taking second. Following back-to-back victories at the two previous races, however, Ferrari's menacing third and fourth spot on the grid ensured that Renault's front-row lock out and home support might not mean a complacent sprint to the finish.
However, it soon became clear that Alonso's pace was not just reserved for Saturday's crowds, as he led from start to finish. It was a clean, textbook start to the Grand Prix with all drivers managing to pull away into the first corner smoothly without incident, although Raikkonen did raise eyebrows with a rocket-propelled start from ninth to fifth by Turn One.
Renault was able to make good headway early on in the race until the first round of pit stops dawned. Both Ferrari and Renault chose a two-stop strategy and once again the Renaults pitted first. The Ferrari team stayed out longer than Renault - six laps in Schumacher's case - and although the flexibility of the Shell V-Power fuel strategy allowed Schumacher to pass Fisichella in the stops, Alonso had already done enough in the first ten laps to protect his lead.
Fisichella was hot on the German's heels for the next few laps but this did not constitute a threat to Schumacher's position for very long. Fisichella's Renault suddenly went wide, taking him temporarily into the gravel and losing him significant time.
The leaders eventually crossed the line with Alonso taking the momentous win, followed by Schumacher, Fisichella and Massa. Following his impressive start, Kimi Raikkonen took fifth ahead of Button, Barrichello and Heidfeld.
After the race, Lisa Lilley, Shell's Formula One Project Manager commented; "The speculation before the race as to which strategy each team was running proved very interesting. We knew that with the blend of Shell V-Power we had provided the team, there was scope for some interesting variations during the race. Monaco in two weeks time is quite a different challenge - slower speeds, hotter temperatures and a real workout for the gearbox. I know that we are looking forward to it!"
Schumacher remains second in the 2006 Drivers' Championship with 39 points behind Alonso's 54. Ferrari is in second place in the Constructors' Championship with 59 points.
The seventh round in two weeks takes place in Monte Carlo for the Monaco Grand Prix.
