1996 French Grand Prix

The 1996 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit de Nevers, Magny-Cours, France on 30 June 1996. It was the ninth race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.

1996 French Grand Prix
Race 9 of 16 in the 1996 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 30 June 1996
Official name LXXXII French Grand Prix
Location Circuit de Nevers, Magny-Cours, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.250[1] km (2.641 miles)
Distance 72 laps, 305.814[2] km (190.024 miles)
Weather Dry
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:15.989
Fastest lap
Driver Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault
Time 1:18.610 on lap 48
Podium
First Williams-Renault
Second Williams-Renault
Third Benetton-Renault
Lap leaders

The 72-lap race was won by Briton Damon Hill, driving a Williams-Renault, after he started from second position. German Michael Schumacher took pole position in his Ferrari but failed to start the race after his engine blew on the warm-up lap, leaving Hill to lead from start to finish except for the pit stops. Hill's teammate, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, who had crashed heavily at Estoril corner in qualifying, finished second, with local driver Jean Alesi third in a Benetton-Renault.

This was the last Grand Prix where a Forti car started the race as they would fail to qualify for the remaining Grand Prix they would enter, however both cars were forced to retire.[3]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 1   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:15.989
2 5   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:16.058 +0.069
3 3   Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 1:16.310 +0.321
4 4   Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 1:16.592 +0.603
5 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.634 +0.645
6 6   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 1:16.905 +0.916
7 8   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.007 +1.018
8 12   Martin Brundle Jordan-Peugeot 1:17.187 +1.198
9 9   Olivier Panis Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:17.390 +1.401
10 11   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Peugeot 1:17.665 +1.676
11 10   Pedro Diniz Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:17.676 +1.687
12 15   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Ford 1:17.739 +1.750
13 19   Mika Salo Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:18.021 +2.032
14 18   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:18.242 +2.253
15 17   Jos Verstappen Footwork-Hart 1:18.324 +2.335
16 14   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Ford 1:18.556 +2.567
17 21   Giancarlo Fisichella Minardi-Ford 1:18.604 +2.615
18 20   Pedro Lamy Minardi-Ford 1:19.210 +3.221
19 16   Ricardo Rosset Footwork-Hart 1:19.242 +3.253
20 22   Luca Badoer Forti-Ford 1:20.562 +4.573
21 23   Andrea Montermini Forti-Ford 1:20.647 +4.658
107% time: 1:21.308
22 2   Eddie Irvine1 Ferrari    
Source:[4][5]

^1 Eddie Irvine had qualified 10th, but had all his qualifying times deleted and was demoted to the back of the grid after one of the air deflectors on his Ferrari was found to be too tall.[6]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5   Damon Hill Williams-Renault 72 1:36:28.795 2 10
2 6   Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 72 + 8.127 6 6
3 3   Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 72 + 46.442 3 4
4 4   Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 72 + 46.859 4 3
5 7   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 72 + 1:02.774 5 2
6 8   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 71 + 1 lap 7 1
7 9   Olivier Panis Ligier-Mugen-Honda 71 + 1 lap 9  
8 12   Martin Brundle Jordan-Peugeot 71 + 1 lap 8  
9 11   Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Peugeot 71 + 1 lap 10  
10 19   Mika Salo Tyrrell-Yamaha 70 + 2 laps 13  
11 16   Ricardo Rosset Footwork-Hart 69 + 3 laps 19  
12 20   Pedro Lamy Minardi-Ford 69 + 3 laps 18  
DSQ 14   Johnny Herbert Sauber-Ford 70 Bodywork 16  
Ret 15   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Ford 56 Throttle 12  
Ret 18   Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 33 Engine 14  
Ret 22   Luca Badoer Forti-Ford 29 Fuel system 20  
Ret 10   Pedro Diniz Ligier-Mugen-Honda 28 Engine 11  
Ret 17   Jos Verstappen Footwork-Hart 10 Suspension 15  
Ret 2   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 5 Gearbox 22  
Ret 21   Giancarlo Fisichella Minardi-Ford 2 Fuel pump 17  
Ret 23   Andrea Montermini Forti-Ford 2 Electrical 21  
DNS 1   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 0 Engine  
Source:[7]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ Derived based on the identical race distance and number of laps in 1998 French Grand Prix
  2. ^ Calculated based on the race classification shown during TV broadcast
  3. ^ "Forti - Grands Prix started 1996 • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  4. ^ "France 1996 - Qualifications • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  5. ^ "France 1996 - Starting grid • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  6. ^ "Grand Prix Results: French GP, 1996". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  7. ^ "1996 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b "France 1996 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 February 2019.


Previous race:
1996 Canadian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1996 season
Next race:
1996 British Grand Prix
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1995 French Grand Prix
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1997 French Grand Prix