The Grand Prix was contested by eleven teams with two drivers each. The teams (also known as Constructors) were Renault, McLaren, Ferrari, Toyota, Williams, Honda, Red Bull, BMW, MF1, Toro Rosso and Super Aguri.
Before the race, Renault driver Fernando Alonso led the Drivers' Championship with 44 points; Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was second on 31 points. Behind Alonso and Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship, Kimi Räikkönen was third on 23 points in a McLaren, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Felipe Massa on 18 and 15 points respectively. In the Constructors' Championship, Renault were leading on 62 points and Ferrari were second on 46 points, with McLaren third on 42 points.
The bottom 6 teams in the 2005 Constructors' Championship and Super Aguri were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.
Three practice sessions were held before the Sunday race – two on Friday, and one on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon sessions each lasted 90 minutes; the third session, on Saturday morning, lasted for an hour.2
Saturday afternoon's qualifying session was divided into three parts. The first part ran for 15 minutes, and cars that finished the session 17th position or lower were eliminated from qualifying. The second part of the qualifying session lasted 15 minutes and eliminated cars that finished in positions 11 to 16. The final part of the qualifying session ran for 20 minutes which determined the positions from first to tenth, and decided pole position. Cars which failed to make the final session could refuel before the race, so ran lighter in those sessions.3
Alonso clinched his second pole position of the season with a time of 1:14.648, and was joined on the front row by teammate Fisichella. Michael Schumacher took third place on the grid, with a qualifying time more than one-tenth slower than Alonso's.
41°34′12″N 2°15′40″E / 41.57000°N 2.26111°E / 41.57000; 2.26111
"Spanish". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2006-10-20. Retrieved 2 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20061020084754/http://www.formula1.com/race/circuitdetail/756.html ↩
"2006 Formula One Sporting Regulations" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 15 December 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2006. Retrieved 28 June 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20060408104015/http://www.fia.com/resources/documents/548514743__2006_F1_SPORTING_REGULATIONS.pdf ↩
Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 116. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8. 978-2-84707-110-8 ↩
Domenjoz, Luc; et al. (February 2007). Formula One Yearbook 2006-2007. Chronosports S.A. p. 119. ISBN 978-2-84707-110-8. 978-2-84707-110-8 ↩
"Spain 2006 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019. https://www.statsf1.com/en/2006/espagne/championnat.aspx ↩