1996 Australian Grand Prix
| Date | Sunday, 10 March 1996 |
|---|---|
| Winner |
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| Pole position |
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| Fastest lap |
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| Circuit | Melbourne, 58 laps |
| Round | 1 of 16 |
| Race numbers | The 1996 Australian Grand Prix was the
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| More 1996 season | |
| More Australian Grands Prix | |
| Previous race | 1995 Australian Grand Prix |
Race result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 |  Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 58 | 1hr 32m 50.491s | 10 |
| 2 | -1 |  Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 58 | +38.020s | 6 |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 58 | +1m 02.571s | 4 | |
| 4 | +3 |  Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 58 | +1m 17.037s | 3 |
| 5 |  Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 58 | +1m 35.071s | 2 | |
| 6 | +4 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 57 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +4 |  Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 57 | +1 lap | |
| 8 | +1 |  Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 57 | +1 lap | |
| 9 | +9 |  Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 56 | +2 laps | |
| 10 | +10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 56 | +2 laps | |
| 11 | +4 |  Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 55 | +3 laps | |
| R |  Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 42 | DNF | ||
| R | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 32 | DNF | ||
| R |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 32 | DNF | ||
| R | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 29 | DNF | ||
| R | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 24 | DNF | ||
| R |  Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 15 | DNF | ||
| R | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 9 | DNF | ||
| R | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1 | DNF | ||
| R | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 0 | DNF | ||
Starting grid
| Pos | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault |
| 2 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari |
| 4 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes |
| 6 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault |
| 7 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault |
| 8 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot |
| 9 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha |
| 11 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda |
| 12 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart |
| 13 | ||
| 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth |
| 15 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha |
| 16 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth |
| 17 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth |
| 18 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart |
| 19 | ||
| 20 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda |
| Started from the pit lane | ||
| David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | |
| Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | |
Qualifying result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 1:32.371 | |
| 2 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:32.509 | 0.138 |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 1:32.889 | 0.518 |
| 4 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:33.125 | 0.754 |
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:34.054 | 1.683 |
| 6 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1:34.257 | 1.886 |
| 7 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 1:34.344 | 1.973 |
| 8 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:34.474 | 2.103 |
| 9 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:34.494 | 2.123 |
| 10 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:34.832 | 2.461 |
| 11 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:35.330 | 2.959 |
| 12 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 1:35.338 | 2.967 |
| 13 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:35.351 | 2.980 |
| 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.453 | 3.082 |
| 15 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:35.715 | 3.344 |
| 16 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:35.898 | 3.527 |
| 17 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:36.109 | 3.738 |
| 18 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 1:36.198 | 3.827 |
| 19 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:36.286 | 3.915 |
| 20 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:36.298 | 3.927 |
| Did not qualify | ||||
| 21 | Luca Badoer | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:39.202 | 6.831 |
| 22 | Andrea Montermini | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:42.087 | 9.716 |
Championship standings
How the championship standings stood post-1996 Australian Grand Prix.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damon Hill | 10 |
| 2 | Jacques Villeneuve | 6 |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | 4 |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | 3 |
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen | 2 |
| 6 | Mika Salo | 1 |
Constructor
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Renault | 16 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 4 |
| 3 | Benetton-Renault | 3 |
| 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 2 |
| 5 | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1 |
Statistics & milestones
- Race debut
- Giancarlo Fisichella, Ricardo Rosset, Jacques Villeneuve (first Canadian driver to start a race since 1986)
- Wins
- 14th for Damon Hill
- 84th for Williams
- Race 1-2
- 25th for Williams
- Podiums
- 31st for Damon Hill, 2nd for Eddie Irvine (first for Ferrari), 1st for Jacques Villeneuve (175th different podium finisher, 2nd Canadian driver; first Canadian driver to finish on the podium since 1982)
- 379th for Ferrari, 207th & 208th for Williams
- Poles
- 1st for Jacques Villeneuve (77th different polesitter, 2nd Canadian driver; first Canadian polesitter since 1981)
- 86th for Williams
- Qualifying 1-2
- 42nd for Williams
- Fastest laps
- 1st for Jacques Villeneuve (95th different fastest lap setter, 2nd Canadian driver; first Canadian driver to set a fastest lap since 1981)
- 91st for Williams
- Front row starts
- 32nd for Damon Hill, 1st for Jacques Villeneuve (122nd different front row starter, 2nd Canadian driver; first Canadian front row starter since 1982)
- Points finishes
- 1st for Jacques Villeneuve (270th different point scorer, 2nd Canadian driver)