# 1996 British Grand Prix

The 1996 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1996. It was the tenth race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.
Williams' Jacques Villeneuve took his second win of the season from Benetton's Gerhard Berger, with McLaren's Mika Häkkinen coming home third for his first podium since his near-fatal crash at 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Jordan's Rubens Barrichello took fourth, equalling his best finish of the season, and it came after he had been involved in late collisions while racing for fourth place at the circuit in the previous two years. The final points went to David Coulthard in the second McLaren and Martin Brundle in the second Jordan.
Damon Hill took pole position for his home race, but made a slow start and retired shortly before half distance, after a wheel nut problem caused him to spin off at Copse Corner while he was trying to pass Häkkinen. For the third consecutive race, Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine were both forced to retire with technical issues in the first six laps – Schumacher with hydraulic problems and Irvine with a differential failure. Jean Alesi would become another notable retirement on lap 45 from 3rd place, just ahead of teammate Gerhard Berger when his rear brakes overheated.

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Diff. | Grid |
| 1 | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:26.875 | | 1 |
| 2 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 1:27.070 | +0.195 | 2 |
| 3 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:27.707 | +0.832 | 3 |
| 4 | 7 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:27.856 | +0.981 | 4 |
| 5 | 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1:28.307 | +1.432 | 5 |
| 6 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:28.409 | +1.534 | 6 |
| 7 | 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 1:28.653 | +1.778 | 7 |
| 8 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:28.946 | +2.071 | 8 |
| 9 | 8 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:28.966 | +2.091 | 9 |
| 10 | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 1:29.186 | +2.311 | 10 |
| 11 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 1:29.591 | +2.716 | 11 |
| 12 | 18 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:29.913 | +3.038 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 1:29.947 | +3.072 | 13 |
| 14 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:29.949 | +3.074 | 14 |
| 15 | 17 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 1:30.102 | +3.227 | 15 |
| 16 | 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:30.167 | +3.292 | 16 |
| 17 | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:31.076 | +4.201 | 17 |
| 18 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford | 1:31.365 | +4.490 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 1:31.454 | +4.579 | 19 |
| 107% time: 1:32.956 |||||||
| — | 23 | Andrea Montermini | Forti-Ford | 1:35.206 | +8.331 | DNQ |
| — | 22 | Luca Badoer | Forti-Ford | 1:35.304 | +8.429 | DNQ |
| EX | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | No time | | 20 |
| Sources: |||||||
* ^1 Rosset was excluded after missing an FIA weight check. He was allowed to start at the back of the grid.

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 61 | 1:33:00.874 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 61 | + 19.026 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 61 | + 50.830 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 61 | + 1:06.716 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 8 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 61 | + 1:22.507 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 60 | + 1 lap | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 60 | + 1 lap | 14 | |
| 8 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 60 | + 1 lap | 11 | |
| 9 | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 60 | + 1 lap | 13 | |
| 10 | 17 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 60 | + 1 lap | 15 | |
| 11 | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford | 59 | + 2 laps | 18 | |
| Ret | 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 44 | Wheel bearing | 5 | |
| Ret | 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 40 | Handling | 16 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 38 | Engine | 17 | |
| Ret | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 26 | Wheel nut | 1 | |
| Ret | 20 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 21 | Gearbox | 19 | |
| Ret | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 13 | Electrical | 20 | |
| Ret | 18 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 12 | Timing belt | 12 | |
| Ret | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 5 | Differential | 10 | |
| Ret | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 3 | Hydraulics | 3 | |
| Source: ||||||||