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The 1995 Brazilian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XXV Grande Prêmio do Brasil, was the second round of the 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on the 31 March 1996.[1] The race would see Damon Hill secure a dominant victory ahead of Jean Alesi, having lapped arch-rival Michael Schumacher late on.[1]

Hill would start the weekend as he meant to go on, sweeping to pole position in qualifying by almost a full second.[1] Local hero Rubens Barrichello was his closest challenger for Jordan-Peugeot, while Jacques Villeneuve, star of the Australian Grand Prix, claimed third ahead of Schumacher.[1]

It rained heavily on race morning, resulting in the entire field start on wet tyres, something which would play beautifully into Hill's hands.[1] The Brit would slither away from the grid expertly to claim an early lead, while teammate Villeneuve, as well as a fast starting Alesi, got the jump on Barrichello.[1]

Ultimately, it was Villeneuve's intervention that proved critical to Hill's bid for victory, for the Canadian simply could not match the Brit's pace.[1] Indeed, the Canadian was driving in what was only his second ever wet race, and would lose almost three seconds a lap in the early laps to Hill before he got used to the conditions.[1]

Behind, Barrichello threw everything he could at Alesi in a bid to regain third, and duly got ahead at the third attempt, only to slide wide and gift the position back to the Frenchman.[1] With that, Alesi would ease clear and wind the pressure on Villeneuve for second, although the Canadian was able to resist as the track began to dry.[1]

Indeed, come half distance there was a distinct dry line, which played a crucial role in the Villeneuve-Alesi fight for second.[1] Indeed, Villeneuve's lack of experience in the wet was shown when he tried to lap the Forti-Ford Cosworth of Luca Badoer, going off-line and hence allowed Alesi, who had stuck to the dry-line, to sweep past through turn three.[1]

Villenueve tried in vain to keep alongside the Frenchman, and hence spent himself spinning out of the race and into the gravel.[1] Alesi, meanwhile, would almost throw away his hard won second place by running onto the grass, allowing Barrichello to dive past before he stopped for new wets a few laps later.[1]

That, ultimately, proved to be the wrong call by the Jordan team, for the circuit was only getting drier and quicker as the race wore on.[1] Out front, Hill would briefly lose the lead when he stopped for slicks, one of the first to do so, with Alesi rejoining from his stop a couple of laps later in a comfortable second.[1]

Barrichello, meanwhile, would slump to fourth once he made his switch to slicks, harassing the back of Schumacher who had not enjoyed his Ferrari's handling in the wet.[1] Once again, Barrichello threw everything he could at the car ahead to try and get past, only to throw it all away with a spin into the wall at the final corner.[1]

Schumacher was hence left in a lonely third place, just in time to be lapped by rival Hill, who was setting lap record after lap record as the circuit continued to improve.[1] The only man close to the Brit's pace proved to be Alesi, although the Frenchman would lose a couple of tenths a second a lap to the #5 Williams-Renault.[1]

With that the race was over, with Hill easing his pace having lapped Schumacher to cruise across the line and claim victory, with Alesi a quarter of a minute back in second.[1] Schumacher completed the podium still a lap down, while Mika Häkkinen secured fourth after a race long defence from compatriot Mika Salo.[1]

Background[]

An opening day victory for Damon Hill left the Brit atop the Championship, with no controversial investigations to take away his points. Jacques Villeneuve, meanwhile, would open his maiden F1 campaign in second, with Eddie Irvine in third after his Ferrari debut. Gerhard Berger was next ahead of Mika Häkkinen, while Mika Salo completed the early top-six.

In the Constructors Championship it had been an ominously strong afternoon for Williams-Renault, who left Australia with sixteen points to their name. That left them twelve ahead of Ferrari in second after the opening race, with Benetton-Renault a point further back in third. McLaren-Mercedes and Tyrrell-Yamaha had also got on the board at the opening round.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F310 Ferrari 046 3.0 V10 G
2 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F310 Ferrari 046 3.0 V10 G
3 France Jean Alesi United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B196 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 G
4 Austria Gerhard Berger United Kingdom Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B196 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 G
5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW18 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 G
6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW18 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 G
7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/11 Mercedes FO 110D 3.0 V10 G
8 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/11 Mercedes FO 110D 3.0 V10 G
9 France Olivier Panis France Equipe Ligier Gauloises Blondes Ligier JS43 Mugen-Honda MF301HA 3.0 V10 G
10 Brazil Pedro Diniz France Equipe Ligier Gauloises Blondes Ligier JS43 Mugen-Honda MF301HA 3.0 V10 G
11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland B&H Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 196 Peugeot A12 3.0 V10 G
12 United Kingdom Martin Brundle Ireland B&H Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 196 Peugeot A12 3.0 V10 G
14 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber C15 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R 3.0 V8 G
15 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber C15 Ford Cosworth JD Zetec-R 3.0 V8 G
16 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Footwork Hart Footwork FA17 Hart 830 3.0 V8 G
17 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Footwork Hart Footwork FA17 Hart 830 3.0 V8 G
18 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell 024 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 G
19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell 024 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 G
20 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M195B Ford Cosworth EDM 3.0 V8 G
21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M195B Ford Cosworth EDM 3.0 V8 G
22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti Corse Forti FG01B Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti Corse Forti FG01B Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
Source:[2]


Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:18.111 199.332 km/h
2 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:19.092 +0.981s 196.859 km/h
3 6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:19.254 +1.143s 196.457 km/h
4 1 Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom Ferrari 1:19.474 +1.363s 195.913 km/h
5 3 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 1:19.484 +1.373s 195.888 km/h
6 12 United Kingdom Martin Brundle Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:19.519 +1.408s 195.802 km/h
7 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:19.607 +1.496s 195.586 km/h
8 4 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 1:19.762 +1.651s 195.206 km/h
9 15 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 1:19.799 +1.688s 195.115 km/h
10 2 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:19.951 +1.840s 194.744 km/h
11 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:20.000 +1.889s 194.625 km/h
12 14 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 1:20.144 +2.033s 194.275 km/h
13 17 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 1:20.157 +2.046s 194.244 km/h
14 8 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:20.167 +2.056s 194.220 km/h
15 9 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:20.426 +2.315s 193.594 km/h
16 18 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:20.427 +2.316s 193.592 km/h
17 16 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 1:20.440 +2.329s 193.560 km/h
18 20 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:21.491 +3.380s 191.064 km/h
19 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 1:23.174 +5.063s 187.198 km/h
20 23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 1:23.454 +5.343s 186.570 km/h
107% Time: 1:23.579[3]
EXC* 10 Brazil Pedro Diniz France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:20.873 +2.762s 192.524 km/h
EXC* 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:21.421 +3.310s 191.228 km/h
Source:[4][3]
  • 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.
  • * Diniz and Marques would have their times deleted for receiving outside assistance.[3]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Damon Hill
Rubens Barrichello ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Jacques Villeneuve
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Jean Alesi
Martin Brundle ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Mika Häkkinen
Gerhard Berger ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Eddie Irvine ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Mika Salo
Johnny Herbert* ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Jos Verstappen
David Coulthard ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Olivier Panis
Ukyo Katayama ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Ricardo Rosset
Pedro Lamy ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Luca Badoer
Andrea Montermini ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Tarso Marques
Pedro Diniz ______________
  • * Herbert would start the race from the pit lane after switching to his spare car.[3]
  • Diniz and Marques were allowed to start the race from the back of the grid.[3]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 71 1:49:52.976 1 10
2 3 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 71 +17.982s 5 6
3 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 4 4
4 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 70 +1 Lap 7 3
5 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 70 +1 Lap 11 2
6 9 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 70 +1 Lap 15 1
7 2 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 70 +1 Lap 10
8 10 Brazil Pedro Diniz France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 69 +2 laps 22
9 18 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 69 +2 Laps 16
10 20 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 68 +3 Laps 18
11 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 67 +4 Laps 19
12* 12 United Kingdom Martin Brundle Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 64 Spin 6
Ret 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 59 Spin 2
Ret 15 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 36 Engine 9
Ret 8 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 29 Spin 14
Ret 14T United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 28 Engine 12
Ret 6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 26 Spin 3
Ret 4 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 26 Hydraulics 8
Ret 23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 26 Spin 20
Ret 16 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 24 Spin 17
Ret 17 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 19 Engine 13
Ret 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 0 Spin 21
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Brundle was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Two races down and Damon Hill had continued his perfect start to the season, leaving Brazil with twenty points to his name and a handsome fourteen point lead. Jacques Villeneuve and Jean Alesi were his closest challengers, level on six points, while Mika Häkkinen was a point further back in fourth. Defending World Champion Michael Schumacher then completed the top five ahead of Eddie Irvine, with nine drivers on the board.

In the Constructors Championship Williams-Renault already had a daunting lead, leaving Brazil with seventeen points in hand. Indeed, that meant that Benetton-Renault, the team in second, already had to claim a one-two finish without Williams scoring just to get back on terms, and hence affirmed Williams' position as favourites. Ferrari, meanwhile, were sat in third ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, with Tyrrell-Yamaha and Ligier-Mugen-Honda completing the score sheet.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Damon Hill 20
2 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 6
3 France Jean Alesi 6 ▲10
4 Finland Mika Häkkinen 5 ▲1
5 Germany Michael Schumacher 4 ▲8
6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 4 ▼3
7 Austria Gerhard Berger 3 ▼3
8 Finland Mika Salo 3 ▼2
9 France Olivier Panis 1 ▼2
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 26
2 Italy Benetton-Renault 9 ▲1
3 Italy Ferrari 8 ▼1
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 5
5 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 3
6 France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 'Brazilian GP, 1996', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr583.html, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  2. 'Brazil 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 'Brazil 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  4. 'Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/639/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Brazil 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 '2. Brazil 1996', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 '1996 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1996&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 13/08/2019)
V T E Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix
Circuits Interlagos (1972–1977, 1979–1980, 1990–2019), Jacarepaguá (1978, 1981–1989)
Interlagos1990
Races (Brazilian GP) 197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020
Non-Championship Race 1972
See also São Paulo Grand Prix
V T E 1996 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • Benetton • Williams • McLaren • Ligier • Jordan • Sauber • Footwork • Tyrrell • Minardi • Forti
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Peugeot • Renault • Yamaha
Drivers M. Schumacher • 2 Irvine • 3 Alesi • 4 Berger • 5 Hill • 6 Villeneuve • 7 Häkkinen • 8 Coulthard • 9 Panis • 10 Diniz • 11 Barrichello • 12 Brundle • 14 Herbert • 15 Frentzen • 16 Rosset • 17 Verstappen • 18 Katayama • 19 Salo • 20 Lamy • 21 Fisichella • 21 Marques • 21 Lavaggi • 22 Badoer • 23 Montermini
Other Drivers Magnussen • Mansell • McNish • Prost • R. Schumacher • Tuero
Cars Ferrari F310 • Benetton B196 • Williams FW18 • McLaren MP4/11 • Ligier JS43 • Jordan 196 • Sauber C15 • Footwork FA17 • Tyrrell 024 • Minardi 195B • Forti FG01B • Forti FG03
Tyres Goodyear
Races Australia • Brazil • Argentina • Europe • San Marino • Monaco • Spain • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Portugal • Japan
Non-Championship Races F1 Indoor Trophy
See also 1995 Formula One Season • 1997 Formula One Season • Category
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