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I was watching the race…
Terrible weekend.
I remember the Ratzenberger accident on saturday.
On sunday i went to the beach with my parents. Whilst returning home we stopped at a pub and bought the newspaper and my mother overheard and misunderstood what i was saying to one of my cousins about the accident. And she said ” Senna died?!” and i looked at her, with the “you stupid woman” look and said “Don’t be silly. Senna can’t die”.
A few hours later he crashed. At first i saw his head move slightly when the car came to a stop and i thought he was ok. Then i remember all the medical crew, the blood, the silence of the commentators. The race restarted and half way through they gave the news that Senna had died, i just went outside and cried my eyes out. The next couple of days were grim, i remember watching his funeral with the waving flags when the coffin reached the grave, and all those people on the streets.

Going to the 2006 question:

Italy – I was sure coming in that Schumi was going to retire, so I really wanted him to win the title that year. And he delivered in style. Alonso’s engine blowup was a HUGE bonus, ensuring that the title would stay close to the end. During the presscon announcement, I just stayed quiet. Very quiet. I expected him to say what he did, but it still felt very odd when he actually did.

China – With the tough qualifying and Alonso’s mega first stint, I wasn’t expecting much for Schumi. But when Alonso messed up his tyre choice (by choice or by force, it doesn’t matter now), I started getting rather excited at Schumi slashed the gap to Alonso ahead. And that pass on Fisichella at Turn 1 after the final stops – two wheels on the grass! Wow. Just as well my girlfriend (now fiancee) was beside me to calm me down when I got too excited.

Japan – The total opposite of China. Expected much with Schumi romping away in the first stint, but the engine failure just gutted me. Even now, I find it rather hard to watch.

Brazil – Given the points gap, I was just hoping Schumi could win (or at least be on the podium). He came up short, but that comeback (20th to 4th, right?) was just stunning. And just like 2008, I woke up a few people in the house after Schumi passed Kimi (fresh from having a sh*t, as he told Martin Brundle) and I whooped it up.

So there! 2006 was quite a rollercoaster year. Slightly disappointing, but good overall nonetheless.