# 1996 German Grand Prix

The 1996 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheim on 28 July 1996. It was the eleventh race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.
The 45-lap race was won by British driver Damon Hill, driving a Williams-Renault, after he started from pole position. Austrian driver Gerhard Berger started alongside Hill on the front row in his Benetton-Renault and led for much of the race, until his engine failed with three laps remaining. Hill duly took his seventh victory of the season, with Berger's French teammate Jean Alesi second and Canadian Jacques Villeneuve third in the other Williams-Renault.
With the win, Hill extended his lead over Villeneuve in the Drivers' Championship to 21 points with five races remaining.

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Diff. |
| 1 | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:43.912 | |
| 2 | 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 1:44.299 | +0.387 |
| 3 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:44.477 | +0.565 |
| 4 | 7 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:44.644 | +0.732 |
| 5 | 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1:44.670 | +0.758 |
| 6 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 1:44.842 | +0.930 |
| 7 | 8 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:44.951 | +1.039 |
| 8 | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 1:45.389 | +1.477 |
| 9 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:45.452 | +1.540 |
| 10 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:45.876 | +1.964 |
| 11 | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:46.575 | +2.663 |
| 12 | 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:46.746 | +2.834 |
| 13 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 1:46.899 | +2.987 |
| 14 | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 1:47.711 | +3.799 |
| 15 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:48.139 | +4.227 |
| 16 | 18 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:48.381 | +4.469 |
| 17 | 17 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 1:48.512 | +4.600 |
| 18 | 20 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 1:49.461 | +5.549 |
| 19 | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 1:49.551 | +5.639 |
| 107% time: 1:51.186 ||||||
| DNQ | 21 | Giovanni Lavaggi | Minardi-Ford | 1:51.357 | +7.445 |
| Sources: ||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 45 | 1:21:43.417 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 45 | + 11.452 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 45 | + 33.926 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 45 | + 41.517 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 8 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 45 | + 42.196 | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 45 | + 1:42.099 | 9 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 45 | + 1:43.912 | 12 | |
| 8 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 44 | + 1 lap | 13 | |
| 9 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 44 | + 1 lap | 15 | |
| 10 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 44 | + 1 lap | 10 | |
| 11 | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 44 | + 1 lap | 19 | |
| 12 | 20 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 43 | + 2 laps | 18 | |
| 13 | 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 42 | Engine | 2 | |
| Ret | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 34 | Gearbox | 8 | |
| Ret | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 25 | Vibrations | 14 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 19 | Engine | 11 | |
| Ret | 18 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 19 | Spun off | 16 | |
| Ret | 7 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 13 | Gearbox | 4 | |
| Ret | 17 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 0 | Collision | 17 | |
| Source: ||||||||