1996 French Grand Prix
590th World Championship race, 46th World Championship French Grand Prix, 6th World Championship race at Magny-Cours
Fact File
| Date: | Sunday, 30 June 1996 |
|---|---|
| Winner: |  Damon Hill Williams-Renault |
| Pole position: |  Michael Schumacher  Ferrari |
| Fastest lap: |  Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault |
| Circuit: | Magny-Cours, 72 laps |
| Round: | 9 of 16 |
Race Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | +1 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 72 | 1hr 36m 28.795s | 10 |
| 2 | +4 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 72 | +8.127s | 6 |
| 3 |  Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 72 | +46.442s | 4 | |
| 4 |  Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 72 | +46.859s | 3 | |
| 5 |  Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 72 | +1m 02.774s | 2 | |
| 6 | +1 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 71 | +1 lap | 1 |
| 7 | +2 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 71 | +1 lap | |
| 8 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 71 | +1 lap | ||
| 9 | +1 |  Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 71 | +1 lap | |
| 10 | +3 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 70 | +2 laps | |
| DQ | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 70 | +2 laps | ||
| 11 | +8 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 69 | +3 laps | |
| 12 | +6 |  Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 69 | +3 laps | |
| R | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 56 | DNF | ||
| R |  Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 33 | DNF | ||
| R | Luca Badoer | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 29 | DNF | ||
| R | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 28 | DNF | ||
| R |  Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 10 | DNF | ||
| R | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 5 | DNF | ||
| R | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 2 | DNF | ||
| R | Andrea Montermini | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 2 | DNF | ||
| Did not start | ||||||
| Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |||||
- Johnny Herbert was disqualified post-race due to bodywork irregularities.
Starting Grid
- Highlight: race winner
- Highlight: second place
- Highlight: third place
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:16.058 |
| 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1:16.310 |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 1:16.592 |
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:16.634 |
| 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 1:16.905 |
| 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:17.007 |
| 8 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:17.187 |
| 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:17.390 |
| 10 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:17.665 |
| 11 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:17.676 |
| 12 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.739 |
| 13 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:18.021 |
| 14 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:18.242 |
| 15 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 1:18.324 |
| 16 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.556 |
| 17 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.604 |
| 18 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.210 |
| 19 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 1:19.242 |
| 20 | Luca Badoer | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.562 |
| 21 | Andrea Montermini | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.647 |
| 22 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | – |
Qualifying Result
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:15.989 | |
| 2 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 1:16.058 | 0.069 |
| 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1:16.310 | 0.321 |
| 4 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 1:16.592 | 0.603 |
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:16.634 | 0.645 |
| 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 1:16.905 | 0.916 |
| 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:17.007 | 1.018 |
| 8 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:17.187 | 1.198 |
| 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:17.390 | 1.401 |
| 10 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | – | |
| 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 1:17.665 | 1.676 |
| 12 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 1:17.676 | 1.687 |
| 13 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:17.739 | 1.750 |
| 14 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:18.021 | 2.032 |
| 15 | Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 1:18.242 | 2.253 |
| 16 | Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 1:18.324 | 2.335 |
| 17 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.556 | 2.567 |
| 18 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:18.604 | 2.615 |
| 19 | Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | 1:19.210 | 3.221 |
| 20 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 1:19.242 | 3.253 |
| 21 | Luca Badoer | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.562 | 4.573 |
| 22 | Andrea Montermini | Forti-Ford Cosworth | 1:20.647 | 4.658 |
Championship Standings
How the championship standings stood post-race.
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damon Hill | 63 |
| 2 | Jacques Villeneuve | 38 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | 26 |
| 4 | Jean Alesi | 25 |
| 5 | David Coulthard | 14 |
| 6 | Mika Hakkinen | 12 |
| 7 | Olivier Panis | 11 |
| 8 | Gerhard Berger | 10 |
| 9 | Eddie Irvine | 9 |
| 10 | Rubens Barrichello | 7 |
| 11 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 6 |
| 12 | Mika Salo | 5 |
| 13 | Johnny Herbert | 4 |
| 14 | Martin Brundle | 2 |
| 15 | Jos Verstappen | 1 |
| = | Pedro Diniz | 1 |
Statistics & Milestones
- Last start
- Driver: Andrea Montermini
- Constructor: Forti
- Wins
- Driver: 19th for Damon Hill
- Constructor: 90th for Williams
- Race 1-2
- Constructor: 28th for Williams
- Podiums
- Driver: 36th for Damon Hill, 23rd for Jean Alesi, 6th for Jacques Villeneuve
- Constructor: 217th & 218th for Williams, 83rd for Benetton
- Poles
- Driver: 13th for Michael Schumacher
- Constructor: 117th for Ferrari
- Fastest laps
- Driver: 3rd for Jacques Villeneuve
- Constructor: 96th for Williams
- Front row starts
- Driver: 40th for Damon Hill