On a hot and sunny day the WilliamsF1 drivers would prepare for the start of the 70 lap 2006 French Grand Prix. With Mark starting from eleventh and Nico in nineteenth the grid would move away on their parade lap. Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa occupied the front row. Alonso and Trulli were on
row two. Michael would take up his position and the gir5d would form up. The start would see Michael lead into the first corner from team-mate Massa. Massa held off Alonso. Trulli and Ralf Schumacher were in fourth and fifth. Both WilliamsF1 drivers would make up positions with Mark now in eighth and
Nico seventeenth.

Button had passed Nico to move into sixteenth. Lap one and a fastest lap for Michael, 1m:18.190, and his lead was 1.7 seconds over Massa. Sato would retire his Super Aguri. Alonso was 0.7 seconds behind Massa as the Renault driver attacked the Ferrari. Lap three and Mark was still in eighth. Nico was
still in in seventeenth. Raikkonen was in sixth followed by Fisichella. Lap four and Michael's lead had grown to now be 2.0 seconds. Mark was 2.5 seconds behind seventh placed Fisichella. Giancarlo was looking to get past Kimi. Lap five and another fastest lap for Michael, 1m:17.913, and his lead was
out to 2.8 seconds.

De la Rosa was just 0.5 behind Mark and looking to pass. Mark was dropping away from Fisichella with the gap now 4.3 seconds on lap six. Lap seven and Michael's lead was out to 3.9 seconds. Trulli was now 3.1 seconds off Alonso as Michael puts in another fastest lap on lap eight, 1m:17.784. Mark was
now 5.5 seconds behind Fisichella.

The big question would be what strategy everyone was one. Lap ten and Michael's lead was now 5.0 seconds. Alonso was still challenging Massa but could not find a way past. Mark was now 8.2 seconds behind Fisichella but was able to hold off de la Rosa. Mark's lap times were in the 1m:20 seconds some 2 seconds off the quickest times. Pedro was really attacking Mark. Monteiro would pit with what looked liked a problem as he was running very slowly. Such was Mark's pace that on lap thirteen he would now be 11.7 seconds behind Fisichella. Nico was still in seventeenth.

Lap fourteen and another fastest lap for Michael, 1m:17.581. His lead was now 6.2 seconds. Monteiro would retire in his pit after it was shown that he had lost control of his car hitting the kerb which launched him into the air. Lap seventeen and Massa would be the first to pit from second. Massa would come out behind Fisichella. The next lap and Alonso would come in. He would be joined by Kimi who came in from fifth. Mark was still in eighth and Pedro still could not find a way past. Lap nineteen and both Michael and Fisichella would pit as Massa set a new fastest lap. 1m:17.141.

De la Rosa would also come in. We would now have Trulli leading the race from team-mate Ralf. Mark would pit on lap twenty. Trulli would make his first stop the next lap as Barrichello was seen to slow and stop out on the circuit. Ralf was now leading from Michael and Massa. As a result of the pit stops Mark was now following de la Rosa. Alonso was in fourth followed by Trulli. Lap twenty two and
both Button and Nico would pit. Ralf would finally pit on lap twenty three but would have problems with his left rear tyre losing a considerable amount of time.

Michael was now leading from Massa, 6.1 seconds, and Alonso. Ralf would drop to seventh. Heidfeld was now in eighth followed by Coulthard, Speed, and Villeneuve. De la Rosa was in twelfth followed by Mark. There was still a group of drivers who were most likely on a two stop strategy as they had yet to pit. Lap twenty six and Heidfeld would pit from eighth. Seventh placed Ralf was gaining on Fisichella with the gap now just 0.7. Mark was now 1.8 seconds behind eleventh placed de la Rosa. Lap twenty eight and Albers would pit. Villeneuve would pit on lap twenty eight. Michael was still leading from Massa, Alonso, Raikkonen, Trulli, Fisichella, Ralf, and Coulthard making up the top eight.

Speed would be the next to pit on lap twenty nine. Lap thirty and Coulthard would finally come in after a long first stint. Mark was now in ninth having lost one place to de la Rosa. Nico was now one lap behind still in seventeenth. Mark was losing more time to Pedro as the McLaren driver was some 1.2 seconds a lap faster. Lap thirty three and Klien and Liuzzi would pit from twelfth and thirteenth positions.

The next of the leaders to make his next stop would be Raikkonen on lap thirty three, pitting from fourth. His stop may have been forced on him due to a tyre problem. De la Rosa was now 7.0 seconds ahead of Mark. Lap thirty five and Massa was the next to pit. Ralf was challenging Fisichella for fifth. Michael was now 16.2 seconds ahead of Alonso. Massa had come out in third, just ahead of
Trulli. Lap thirty six and de la Rosa would pit from eighth. Mark was some 10 seconds behind the McLaren at the time of the stop. Ralf was now just 0.6 seconds behind Fisichella. Alonso was struggling to keep up with Michael and on lap thirty nine Michael would pit. Trulli would also come in.

Alonso was now in the lead but Michael was challenging the Renault. Mark would pit on lap forty for his second stop. Mark was to suffer a spin just prior to his stop seeing him take to the gravel. It appeared that he had a problem with his left rear tyre. Trulli would pit again this time to retire in his garage losing what would have a been a fourth place finish. Mark would also pit again with another
tyre failure. His mechanics were seen working on his rear wing. Alonso was till leading from Michael but on lap forty three he would pit. Mark would be pushed back into his garage with his race at an end.

This would leave just Nico running in a lowly fifteenth. Michael was again leading from Massa with Alonso third. Lap forty four and the order was Michael from Massa, Alonso, Fisichella, Ralf, Raikkonen, de la Rosa, and Heidfeld. Mark's race was not over as he was to leave his garage and return to the track. Lap forty six and Fisichella pitted from fifth. Nico would also pit from fifteenth. The next lap and Ralf would come in from fourth. Heidfeld would pit from eighth for what
should be his last stop. Michael would set another fastest lap seeing Massa drop back a further 1.1 seconds. Massa was just 10.3 seconds ahead of Alonso.

Michael continued to open his lead over Massa. Lap fifty eight and it was now 18.3 seconds. Mark was running in eighteenth and last, some two laps behind the leaders. Lap fifty and Albers would pit fro fifteenth. Everyone up to seventh placed de la Rosa had been lapped. Such were the gaps between the
front runners that no one was really challenging for a place. Lap fifty two and de la Rosa would pit from seventh for his last stop. Speed would make his final stop from tenth. Mark would pit again, as reports came in that said that Nico was also having tyre problems. Despite his problems Mark would take to the track again. Lap fifty three and Michael's lead was now 21.1 seconds.

Coulthard would pit from eighth while on lap fifty four Massa would make his last stop. He would be joined by fourth placed Raikkonen. The next lap and Villeneuve and Klien would pit from tenth and eleventh. Michael would make his last stop on lap fifty six and would come out in front of second placed Alonso. Would Alonso be making another stop? Michael would now have a lead of 18.7 seconds over Alonso and barring any problems looked to have the race won. Massa was just 6.9 seconds behind Alonso. Nico was till running in fifteenth. Mark's lap times were some five seconds off the quick times. Nico would pit on lap fifty eight. Mark would pit again on lap sixty. This was a race that had
become somewhat of a disaster for the WilliamsF1 team. Mark would finally retire his car ending a miserable day for him and the team.

Lap sixty and the order was Michael from Alonso, Massa, Ralf, Raikkonen, Fisichella, de la Rosa, and Heidfeld. The gaps again did not show any real battles on the track as the laps counted down to the finish. Button would pit only to be pushed into his garage to retire. WilliamsF1 was not alone with another team to have a poor race been Honda. Lap sixty four and Michael was still leading comfortably. Michael's lead would drop to be 14.4 seconds on lap sixty six but he was still in a commanding position with just a handful of laps remaining. With Button's retirement Nico was now in fourteenth.

Michael would complete the final laps to cross the line winner of the 2006 French Grand Prix. He would reduce Alonso's points lead by two but Fernando would still be 17 points ahead in the championship. As for the WilliamsF1 team the result does little to indicate that the team has turned their fortunes around and improved the performance of the FW28. Mark's frustrations with the performance of the car and the team may start to become more public. As for Nico he was not able to recover from having to drop ten grid positions, finishing two laps behind the leaders. It is hardly likely that the team will be able to change their fortunes for the next race in Germany.