1996 Spanish Grand Prix

The 1996 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 June 1996 at the Circuit de Catalunya.

1996 Spanish Grand Prix
Race 7 of 16 in the 1996 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 2 June 1996
Official name Gran Premio Marlboro de España
Location Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.727 km (2.937 mi)
Distance 65 laps, 307.114 km (190.832 mi)
Weather Rain
Attendance 55,000
Pole position
Driver Williams-Renault
Time 1:20.650
Fastest lap
Driver Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:45.517 on lap 14
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Benetton-Renault
Third Williams-Renault

This race, Michael Schumacher's first Ferrari victory, is generally regarded as one of his finest.[1][2] In the torrential rain, he produced a stunning drive, and is a prime example of why he earned the nickname "Regenmeister" ("Rainmaster"), despite his early and unforced crash at a wet Monaco Grand Prix two weeks earlier.

At the start, Schumacher lost several positions due to a clutch problem, which indirectly resulted in several clashes in the main straight involving 5 cars. Giancarlo Fisichella emerged from the carnage with a blown left front and a missing rear wing, while Olivier Panis escaped with suspension damage. Both pulled into the pits and retired a lap later.

Mika Salo was disqualified for the second time this season, for changing cars after the field was under starter's orders.

Damon Hill had started the race from pole position, but dropped to 8th after spinning twice in the opening laps, before another spin into the pit wall on lap 12 ended his race. Schumacher recovered from a poor start to take the lead from Villeneuve on lap 13, and from then on he dominated the race, lapping over three seconds a lap faster than the remainder of the field.[2][3]

Rubens Barrichello was running a competitive race, getting as high as 2nd place after Jacques Villeneuve and Alesi made their pit stops. After his own scheduled (lengthy) pitstop he was sent back to the race but forced to retire from third place with 20 laps to go after a clutch problem caused his engine to fade out. On the previous lap, Gerhard Berger had spun his Benetton out of fourth place while trying to lap the Ligier of Pedro Diniz. Alesi and Villeneuve switched places on their own pitstops, Alesi taking his only one some 6 laps before Villeneuve.

After an uneventful race on his part, Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished in fourth, while Mika Häkkinen took fifth after surviving a spin off the track in the closing stages of the race. Jos Verstappen, running fifth after the retirements of Barrichello and Berger, crashed into the tyre barrier with 12 laps left, guaranteeing Diniz his first Formula One point as by this time only six drivers were left in the race. With no further retirements, Diniz brought his car home in sixth, after driving at a more cautious pace that saw him fall two laps adrift of the front runners by the end.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
1 5 Damon Hill Williams-Renault 1:20.650
2 6 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 1:21.084 +0.434
3 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:21.587 +0.937
4 3 Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 1:22.061 +1.411
5 4 Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 1:22.125 +1.475
6 2 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:22.333 +1.683
7 11 Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Peugeot 1:22.379 +1.729
8 9 Olivier Panis Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:22.685 +2.035
9 14 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Ford 1:23.027 +2.377
10 7 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.070 +2.420
11 15 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Ford 1:23.195 +2.545
12 19 Mika Salo Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:23.224 +2.574
13 17 Jos Verstappen Footwork-Hart 1:23.371 +2.721
14 8 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.416 +2.766
15 12 Martin Brundle Jordan-Peugeot 1:23.438 +2.788
16 18 Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:24.401 +3.751
17 10 Pedro Diniz Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:24.468 +3.818
18 20 Pedro Lamy Minardi-Ford 1:25.274 +4.624
19 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Minardi-Ford 1:25.531 +4.881
20 16 Ricardo Rosset Footwork-Hart 1:25.621 +4.971
107% time: 1:26.296
DNQ 22 Luca Badoer Forti-Ford 1:26.615 +5.965
DNQ 23 Andrea Montermini Forti-Ford 1:27.358 +6.708

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 1 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 65 1:59:49.307 3 10
2 3 Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 65 + 45.302 4 6
3 6 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 65 + 48.388 2 4
4 15 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Ford 64 + 1 Lap 11 3
5 7 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 64 + 1 Lap 10 2
6 10 Pedro Diniz Ligier-Mugen-Honda 63 + 2 Laps 17 1
Ret 17 Jos Verstappen Footwork-Hart 47 Spun off 13  
Ret 11 Rubens Barrichello Jordan-Peugeot 45 Clutch 7  
Ret 4 Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 44 Spun off 5  
Ret 14 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Ford 20 Spun off 9  
Ret 12 Martin Brundle Jordan-Peugeot 17 Differential 15  
Ret 5 Damon Hill Williams-Renault 10 Spun off 1  
Ret 18 Ukyo Katayama Tyrrell-Yamaha 8 Electrical 16  
Ret 2 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1 Spun off 6  
Ret 9 Olivier Panis Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1 Collision damage 8  
Ret 21 Giancarlo Fisichella Minardi-Ford 1 Collision damage 19  
Ret 8 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 0 Collision 14  
Ret 20 Pedro Lamy Minardi-Ford 0 Collision 18  
Ret 16 Ricardo Rosset Footwork-Hart 0 Collision 20  
DSQ 19 Mika Salo Tyrrell-Yamaha 16 Illegal car change 12  
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

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

References

  1. Benson, Andrew (14 May 2016). "Spanish Grand Prix: Why Michael Schumacher's epic 1996 win matters". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 February 2021.
  2. "Schumacher's first win for Ferrari - Spanish Grand Prix 1996". Formula1.com. 30 April 2003. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2009.
  3. "Classic F1 - Spanish Grand Prix 1996". BBC Sport. 5 May 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2010.
  4. "1996 Spanish Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. "Spain 1996 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 20 March 2019.
Previous race:
1996 Monaco Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1996 season
Next race:
1996 Canadian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1995 Spanish Grand Prix
Spanish Grand Prix Next race:
1997 Spanish Grand Prix
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