FERNANDO ALONSO/
Renault won the 2006
Formula 1 Foster's Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne, his tenth career victory. This makes it three out of three for the Renault team. Alonso leads the Drivers' standings with 28 points.
Rookie SCOTT SPEED/
Scuderia Toro Rosso finished eighth, but was later penalised and lost his first
F1 point. After the race, the F1 Stewards of the Meeting assessed a reprimand to Speed, a time penalty of 25 seconds to his race time, and a $5000 fine. The SOM's, now led by the permanently assigned TONY SCOTT ANDREWS, with PAUL GUTJAHR and GARTH WIGSTON, penalised Speed for ignoring waving yellow flags and fined him for abusive language to another competitor in the Steward's Hearing. Speed can appeal.
DAVID COULTHARD/
Red Bull Racing told the SOM's that Speed passed him under the yellow flags at the scene of TONIO LIUZZI's accident. Luizzi is Speed's teammate, and Coulthard races for the other Red Bull Team.
After the penalty was issued, Speed's team, sometimes called Red Bull Junior Team, said "So ladies and gentlemen of the media, you've only had to wait until Race 3 of the season to see that Red Bull Racing and Scuderia Toro Rosso are serious about being rivals on the track, as the former has now benefited from the misfortune of the latter."
