1996 British Grand Prix

The 1996 British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XLIX RAC British Grand Prix, was the tenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 14 July 1996.'British GP, 1996', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr591.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019) The race would see Jacques Villeneuve sweep to his second victory of his rookie season for , as teammate and Championship leader Damon Hill retired mid-race.
It was Hill who had led the way after qualifying, securing pole position two tenths clear of Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher was, as ever, best of the rest for , while Mika Häkkinen secured fourth for .
However, Hill's hopes of victory were curtailed right at the start, as he made a poor getaway from the grid and tumbled down the order. Villeneuve and Häkkinen were marginally better, while Schumacher just managed to beat the Brit too. In contrast, Jean Alesi would be the man to watch, with the #3 streaking through to challenge Villeneuve into Stowe.
Villeneuve would, however, hold on and secure the lead, although both he and Alesi were able to escape up the road. Häkkinen was next ahead of Schumacher and Hill, although it was not long before Schumacher dropped out, a gearbox failure caused by an oil leak ending his race on lap six.
With Schumacher out of the way Hill was able to catch the back of Häkkinen, although the Finn placed his McLaren masterfully to prevent the Brit from making a move. Furthermore, Häkkinen had his own ambitions of making ground, finding himself stuck behind Alesi's second placed Benetton once the Frenchman had been dropped by Villeneuve.
Indeed, Villeneuve was really pushing before the first pitstop phase, trying to build as big a lead as possible in case Hill broke through into second. There would, however, be no change to the order after the first stops, with Alesi briefly leading before he made his stop.
Hill, however, would not get to make his stop, instead reporting an issue at the front of his car that was causing a lot of understeer. Eventually the mounting pegs on his front left wheel failed and sent the Brit skating off the circuit at Copse, leaving the British fans to cheer on David Coulthard at the lower end of the top ten.
Hill's disappearance left Häkkinen clear to attack Alesi, although after the stops the McLaren would be unable to match the pace of the Frenchman. He duly slipped back behind Gerhard Berger in the second Benetton after his second stop, with the Austrian racer going on to try and challenge his teammate Alesi for second.
Alesi's second stop would drop the #3 Benetton into Berger's sights, although a brake failure for the Frenchman ended their fight before it began. Berger was hence left in a lonely second behind Villeneuve, who was cruising to the chequered flag knowing that only mechanical strife would rob him of victory.
With that the race was over, with Villeneuve duly sweeping across the line to secure his second win in his rookie year. Berger and Häkkinen were separated by over half a minute as they completed the podium, while Rubens Barrichello, Coulthard and Martin Brundle secured the remaining points.
==Background==
A sixth victory in nine races left Damon Hill in complete command of the Championship, ending the weekend on 63 points. That equated to a 25 point advantage over Jacques Villeneuve in second, with the Canadian racer likely to be the only pretender to the Brit for the rest of the season. Indeed, Michael Schumacher had slipped 37 points behind after his pre-race engine failure, with Jean Alesi just a point behind the German racer in fourth.
In the Constructors Championship it was who once again ended a Grand Prix weekend as the best team, leaving France with 101 points. A huge 66 point gap followed before appeared in second, level on points with defending Champions in third, separated by Ferrari's lone victory. were nine points behind in fourth, with in fifth.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Michael Schumacher 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F310 	 	046 3.0 V10 	
2 	Eddie Irvine 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F310 	 	046 3.0 V10 	
3 	Jean Alesi 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	B196 	 	RS8 3.0 V10 	
4 	Gerhard Berger 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	B196 	 	RS8 3.0 V10 	
5 	Damon Hill 	Rothmans Williams Renault 	 	FW18 	 	RS8 3.0 V10 	
6 	Jacques Villeneuve 	Rothmans Williams Renault 	 	FW18 	 	RS8 3.0 V10 	
7 	Mika Häkkinen 	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4/11 	 	FO 110D 3.0 V10 	
8 	David Coulthard 	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4/11 	 	FO 110D 3.0 V10 	
9 	Olivier Panis 	Equipe Ligier Gauloises Blondes 	 	JS43 	 	MF301HA 3.0 V10 	
10 	Pedro Diniz 	Equipe Ligier Gauloises Blondes 	 	JS43 	 	MF301HA 3.0 V10 	
11 	Rubens Barrichello 	B&H Total Jordan Peugeot 	 	196 	 	A12 3.0 V10 	
12 	Martin Brundle 	B&H Total Jordan Peugeot 	 	196 	 	A12 3.0 V10 	
14 	Johnny Herbert 	Red Bull Sauber Ford 	 	C15 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V8 	
15 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	Red Bull Sauber Ford 	 	C15 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V8 	
16 	Ricardo Rosset 	Footwork Hart 	 	FA17 	 	830 3.0 V8 	
17 	Jos Verstappen 	Footwork Hart 	 	FA17 	 	830 3.0 V8 	
18 	Ukyo Katayama 	Tyrrell Yamaha 	 	024 	 	OX11A 3.0 V10 	
19 	Mika Salo 	Tyrrell Yamaha 	 	024 	 	OX11A 3.0 V10 	
20 	Pedro Lamy 	Minardi F1 Team 	 	M195B 	 	EDM 3.0 V8 	
21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Minardi F1 Team 	 	M195B 	 	EDM 3.0 V8 	
22 	Luca Badoer 	Forti Corse 	 	FG03 	 	EDD 3.0 V8 	
23 	Andrea Montermini 	Forti Corse 	 	FG03 	 	EDD 3.0 V8 	
Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Report===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap 	Ave. Speed
1 	5 	Damon Hill 	 	1:26.875 	— 	210.178 km/h
2 	6 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:27.070 	+0.195s 	209.707 km/h
3 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:27.707 	+0.832s 	208.184 km/h
4 	7 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	1:27.856 	+0.981s 	207.831 km/h
5 	3 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:28.307 	+1.432s 	206.770 km/h
6 	11 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:28.409 	+1.534s 	206.531 km/h
7 	4 	Gerhard Berger 	 	1:28.653 	+1.778s 	205.963 km/h
8 	12 	Martin Brundle 	 	1:28.946 	+2.071s 	205.284 km/h
9 	8 	David Coulthard 	 	1:28.966 	+2.091s 	205.238 km/h
10 	2 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:29.186 	+2.311s 	204.732 km/h
11 	15 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:29.591 	+2.716s 	203.806 km/h
12 	18 	Ukyo Katayama 	 	1:29.913 	+3.038s 	203.076 km/h
13 	14 	Johnny Herbert 	 	1:29.947 	+3.072s 	203.000 km/h
14 	19 	Mika Salo 	 	1:29.949 	+3.074s 	202.995 km/h
15 	17 	Jos Verstappen 	 	1:30.102 	+3.227s 	202.650 km/h
16 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:30.167 	+3.292s 	202.504 km/h
17 	10 	Pedro Diniz 	 	1:31.076 	+4.201s 	200.483 km/h
18 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:31.365 	+4.490s 	199.849 km/h
19 	20 	Pedro Lamy 	 	1:31.454 	+4.579s 	199.654 km/h
107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956 	107% Time: 1:32.956
NC 	23 	Andrea Montermini 	 	1:35.206 	+8.331s 	191.786 km/h
NC 	22 	Luca Badoer 	 	1:35.304 	+8.429s 	191.589 km/h
EXC* 	16 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	1:30.529 	1:30.529 	1:30.529
Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/647/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 15/08/2019)'Britain 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
** Rosset was excluded from the results of the session after missing an FIA weight-check. He would, however, be allowed to start at the back of the grid.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	6 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	61 	1:33:00.874 	2 	10
2 	4 	Gerhard Berger 	 	61 	+19.026s 	7 	6
3 	7 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	61 	+50.830s 	4 	4
4 	11 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	61 	+1:06.716 	6 	3
5 	8 	David Coulthard 	 	61 	+1:22.507 	9 	2
6 	12 	Martin Brundle 	 	60 	+1 Lap 	8 	1
7 	19 	Mika Salo 	 	60 	+1 Lap 	14 	
8 	15 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	60 	+1 Lap 	11 	
9 	14 	Johnny Herbert 	 	60 	+1 Lap 	13 	
10 	17 	Jos Verstappen 	 	60 	+1 Lap 	15 	
11 	21 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	59 	+2 Laps 	18 	
Ret 	3 	Jean Alesi 	 	44 	Brakes 	5 	
Ret 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	40 	Handling 	16 	
Ret 	10 	Pedro Diniz 	 	38 	Engine 	17 	
Ret 	5 	Damon Hill 	 	26 	Wheel 	1 	
Ret 	20 	Pedro Lamy 	 	21 	Gearbox 	19 	
Ret 	16 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	13 	Electrical 	20 	
Ret 	18 	Ukyo Katayama 	 	12 	Engine 	12 	
Ret 	2 	Eddie Irvine 	 	5 	Differential 	10 	
Ret 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	3 	Hydraulics 	3 	
DNQ 	23 	Andrea Montermini 	 	 	 	 	
DNQ 	22 	Luca Badoer 	 	 	 	 	
Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)	Source:'Britain 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* Jos Verstappen entered his 25th Grand Prix.'1996 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1996&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 15/08/2019)
* Tenth entry for Jacques Villeneuve and Ricardo Rosset.
* Villeneuve secured his second career victory.'10. Britain 1996', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 15/08/2019)
* scored their 91st victory as a constructor.
** 82nd win for as an engine supplier.
* Tenth podium for Mika Häkkinen.
==Standings==
Jacques Villeneuve had cut the gap to the top of the Championship after his second victory of the campaign, leaving Silverstone fifteen behind Damon Hill out front. Indeed, while it was still the Brit's Championship to lose, Villeneuve's win ensured that he was the man most likely to take the crown away from Hill in the remaining six rounds. Behind Michael Schumacher and Jean Alesi had held station in third and fourth, while Gerhard Berger had leapt up to fifth.
In the Constructors Championship had inched closer to the title, leaving Silverstone with 111 points to their name. had secured second, but had also slipped 70 points behind, with 96 points left to fight for across the rest of the campaign. , meanwhile, had slipped six behind the Benetton team, with closing in in fourth, leaving their home race just three behind the fabled Scuderia.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Damon Hill 	63 	
2 	Jacques Villeneuve 	48 	
3 	Michael Schumacher 	26 	
4 	Jean Alesi 	25 	
5 	Gerhard Berger 	16 	3
6 	David Coulthard 	16 	1
7 	Mika Häkkinen 	16 	1
8 	Olivier Panis 	11 	1
9 	Rubens Barrichello 	10 	1
10 	Eddie Irvine 	9 	1
11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	6 	
12 	Mika Salo 	5 	
13 	Johnny Herbert 	4 	
14 	Martin Brundle 	3 	
15 	Pedro Diniz 	1 	
16 	Jos Verstappen 	1 	
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	111 	
2 	 	41 	1
3 	 	35 	1
4 	 	32 	
5 	 	13 	2
6 	 	12 	1
7 	 	10 	1
8 	 	5 	
9 	 	1 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:British Grand Prix
Category:1996 Grands Prix
Category:Formula One races in the United Kingdom