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The XXXIV Grand Prix Molson du Canada, otherwise known as the 1996 Canadian Grand Prix, was the eighth round of the 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on the 16 June 1996.[1] The race would see Williams-Renault teammates Damon Hill and Canada's newest hero Jacques Villeneuve duel for victory, with the Brit ultimately coming out on top.[1]

Hill would deliver the first blow of the weekend, securing pole position ahead of the Canadian racer in qualifying by just 0.020s.[1] Best of the rest proved to be defending Champion Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari, a tenth behind, before a gap back to fourth placed Jean Alesi.[1]

Williams would start the race as favourites, with the fans having an undoubted favourite of their own.[1] However, Hill had convinced the Williams team to put him on a different strategy, gambling on a low-fuel first stint in hopes of breaking away from the Canadian racer early on.[1]

Ultimately it was Villeneuve who made the better getaway, although Hill acted quickly to seize the inside line and prevent the Canadian racer front lunging past.[1] With that Hill was away, opening out a two second lead on the opening lap as Villeneuve was left to fend off the advances of Alesi.[1]

Villeneuve too would soon break away from the rest of the pack, with the gap between himself and Hill stabilising at eleven seconds.[1] Schumacher, meanwhile, had been forced to start from the back after stalling on the dummy grid, meaning he was fighting his way up from the back of the field.[1]

Hill made his first stop on lap 28, with Villeneuve inheriting a seven second lead which would remain until the Canadian made his first, and only stop, a few laps later.[1] Hill duly pushed on to build an advantage big enough to make his second stop without losing the lead, knowing that Villeneuve would have to nurse his tyres to make the finish.[1]

As their strategic duel worked itself out there were changes behind, albeit largely due to retirement rather than action.[1] Indeed, the latest Benetton-Renault battle would end in familiar fashion, Gerhard Berger once again spinning himself out, while Rubens Barrichello lost a promising fourth when his clutch failed.[1] Schumacher, meanwhile, would get as high as tenth before his race stalled, a driveshaft failing as he pulled out of the pits.[1]

Back with the leaders and Hill's push had worked beautifully, the Brit emerging from his second stop with ten seconds between himself and Villeneuve.[1] With that the fight for victory was effectively over, although the French-Canadian did his best to raise his supporter's hopes.[1]

Indeed, a thrilling series of fastest laps saw Villeneuve obliterate the gap between himself and Hill, with just a second separating them with a few laps to go.[1] However, Hill would react and keep his teammate at bay, and duly collected victory to deny Villeneuve a famous victory on the circuit named for his father.[1]

Behind them to complete the podium was a lonely Alesi, while David Coulthard was the last man on the lead lap for McLaren-Mercedes.[1] Mika Häkkinen and Martin Brundle then completed the points scorers, with Johnny Herbert and Giancarlo Fisichella the only other finishers.[1]

Background[]

Damon Hill had seen his Championship lead marginally eroded as a result of the rain in Spain, although he still held a daunting seventeen point advantage. Two drivers were now within that margin, with Michael Schumacher having moved level with Jacques Villeneuve in second, although was counted behind by virtue of the Canadian ace having one eleventh place finish. Behind, Jean Alesi was back up to fourth ahead of Olivier Panis, with sixteen drivers on the score sheet.

In the Constructors Championship it had been another neutral day for Williams-Renault, who ended the weekend on 69 points at the head of the field. Ferrari were still their closest challengers, and had reduced the gap to 34 points, still more that two entire weekend's worth of points. Benetton-Renault, meanwhile, had made a little ground in third ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, while Ligier-Mugen-Honda completed the top five.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1996 Canadian 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 Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B196 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 G
4 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy 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 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Minardi F1 Team Minardi M195B Ford Cosworth EDM 3.0 V8 G
22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti Corse Forti FG03 Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti Corse Forti FG03 Ford Cosworth EDD 3.0 V8 G
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:21.059 196.346 km/h
2 6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:21.079 +0.020s 196.297 km/h
3 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:21.198 +0.139s 196.010 km/h
4 3 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 1:21.529 +0.470s 195.214 km/h
5 2 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:21.657 +0.598s 194.908 km/h
6 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.807 +0.748s 194.551 km/h
7 4 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 1:21.926 +0.867s 194.268 km/h
8 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:21.982 +0.923s 194.135 km/h
9 12 United Kingdom Martin Brundle Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:22.321 +1.262s 193.336 km/h
10 8 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.332 +1.273s 193.310 km/h
11 9 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:22.481 +1.422s 192.961 km/h
12 15 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 1:22.875 +1.816s 192.043 km/h
13 17 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 1:23.067 +2.008s 191.600 km/h
14 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:23.118 +2.059s 191.482 km/h
15 14 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 1:23.201 +2.142s 191.291 km/h
16 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:23.519 +2.460s 190.563 km/h
17 18 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 1:23.599 +2.540s 190.380 km/h
18 10 Brazil Pedro Diniz France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 1:23.959 +2.900s 189.564 km/h
19 20 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:24.262 +3.203s 188.882 km/h
20 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 1:25.012 +3.953s 187.216 km/h
21 16 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 1:25.193 +4.134s 186.818 km/h
22 23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 1:26.109 +5.050s 184.831 km/h
107% Time: 1:26.733[3]
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.

Grid[]

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

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Williams-Renault 69 1:36.03.465 1 10
2 6 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 69 +4.183s 2 6
3 3 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 69 +54.656s 4 4
4 8 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 69 +1:03.673 10 3
5 7 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 68 +1 Lap 6 2
6 12 United Kingdom Martin Brundle Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 68 +1 Lap 9 1
7 14 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 68 +1 Lap 15
8 21 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 67 +2 Laps 16
Ret 20 Portugal Pedro Lamy Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 44 Collision 19
Ret 22 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 44 Gearbox 20
Ret 4 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 42 Spin 7
Ret 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 41 Halfshaft 3
Ret 9 France Olivier Panis France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 39 Engine 11
Ret 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 39 Engine 14
Ret 10 Brazil Pedro Diniz France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 38 Engine 18
Ret 11 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 22 Clutch 8
Ret 23 Italy Andrea Montermini Italy Forti-Ford Cosworth 22 Electrical 22
Ret 15 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 19 Gearbox 12
Ret 17 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 10 Engine 13
Ret 16 Brazil Ricardo Rosset United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 6 Collision 21
Ret 18 Japan Ukyo Katayama United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 6 Collision 17
Ret 2 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1 Suspension 5
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Damon Hill extended his Championship lead after his fifth win of the season, leaving Canada with a 21 point lead. Jacques Villeneuve left his home race as the main pretender to the Brit at the halfway point, having moved six clear of Michael Schumacher in third. The top five was then completed by Jean Alesi and David Coulthard, with sixteen drivers having scored in the first half of the season.

In the Constructors Championship it was Williams-Renault who headed into the second half of the season as favourites, having managed a stunning tally of 85 points across eight races. Ferrari were the closest thing to a challenger to the Anglo-French squad, although they headed into the second half of the season 50 points behind. The Scuderia were therefore expecting to fight with Benetton-Renault for second, with McLaren-Mercedes and Ligier-Mugen-Honda completing the top five.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Damon Hill 53
2 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 32
3 Germany Michael Schumacher 26
4 France Jean Alesi 21
5 United Kingdom David Coulthard 13 ▲1
6 France Olivier Panis 11 ▼1
7 Finland Mika Häkkinen 10 ▲1
8 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 9 ▼1
9 Austria Gerhard Berger 7
10 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 7
11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6
12 Finland Mika Salo 5
13 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 4
14 United Kingdom Martin Brundle 2 ▲1
15 Brazil Pedro Diniz 1 ▼1
16 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 85
2 Italy Ferrari 35
3 Italy Benetton-Renault 28
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 23
5 France Ligier-Mugen-Honda 12
6 Switzerland Sauber-Ford Cosworth 10
7 Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 9
8 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Yamaha 5
9 United Kingdom Footwork-Hart 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 'Canadian GP, 1996', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr589.html, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  2. 'Canada 1996: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/canada/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 '8. Canada 1996: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/canada.aspx, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  4. 'Grand Prix Molson du Canada - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1996/races/645/canada/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  5. 'Canada 1996: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/canada/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 '8. Canada 1996', statsf1.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1996/canada.aspx, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
  7. '1996 Canadian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1996&gp=Canadian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 14/08/2019)
V T E Canada Canadian Grand Prix
Circuits Mosport Park (1967, 1969, 1971–1974, 1976–1977), Mont-Tremblant (1968, 1970), Montreal (1978–1986, 1988–2008, 2010–present)
CircuitGillesVilleneuve
Races 196719681969197019711972197319741976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
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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