| 1996 European Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 4 of 16 in the1996 Formula One World Championship
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 The Nürburgring in its 1996 configuration | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 28 April 1996 | ||||
| Official name | XL Grand Prix of Europe | ||||
| Location | Nürburgring Nürburg,Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.556 km (2.842 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 67 laps, 305.252 km (190.425 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Cloudy, but dry | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Time | 1:18.941 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | |||
| Time | 1:21.363 on lap 55 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The1996 European Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held at theNürburgring in Germany on 28 April 1996. It was the fourth race of the1996 Formula One World Championship.
The 67-lap race was won byJacques Villeneuve, driving aWilliams-Renault. Villeneuve beat teammate and pole-sitterDamon Hill off the line and led all 67 laps, taking his first F1 victory in only his fourth race. Local driverMichael Schumacher finished second in aFerrari, withDavid Coulthard third in aMcLaren-Mercedes, just ahead of Hill.
Both Benetton cars made extremely slow starts, due to the brakes locking on. Berger was forced to pit for fresh tyres after a flat-spot was caused, while Alesi finished lap 1 in 13th place and spun while trying to recover.
The Tyrrells were disqualified for separate infringements - Salo finished 10th but his car was found post-race to be underweight, while Katayama finished 12th but was disqualified for receiving an illegal push-start on the parade lap.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |  Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 67 | 1:33:26.473 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 1 |  Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 67 | + 0.762 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 8 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 67 | + 32.834 | 6 | 4 |
| 4 | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 67 | + 33.511 | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 11 |  Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 67 | + 33.713 | 5 | 2 |
| 6 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 67 | + 55.567 | 11 | 1 |
| 7 | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 67 | + 1:18.027 | 12 | |
| 8 | 7 |  Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 67 | + 1:18.438 | 9 | |
| 9 | 4 |  Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 67 | + 1:21.061 | 8 | |
| 10 | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 66 | + 1 Lap | 17 | |
| 11 | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 65 | + 2 Laps | 20 | |
| 12 | 20 |  Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 65 | + 2 Laps | 19 | |
| 13 | 21 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford | 65 | + 2 Laps | 18 | |
| Ret | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 59 | Brakes | 10 | |
| Ret | 17 |  Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 38 | Engine | 13 | |
| Ret | 9 |  Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 6 | Collision | 15 | |
| Ret | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 6 | Collision | 7 | |
| Ret | 3 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 1 | Collision | 4 | |
| DSQ | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 66 | Underweight | 14 | |
| DSQ | 18 |  Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 65 | Push Start | 16 | |
| Source:[3] | |||||||
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| Previous race: 1996 Argentine Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1996 season | Next race: 1996 San Marino Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1995 European Grand Prix | European Grand Prix | Next race: 1997 European Grand Prix Next race at the Nürburgring:1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix |
