The 1996 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 14 July 1996. It was the tenth race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.
| 1996 British Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 10 of 16 in the 1996 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
 Silverstone Circuit (as modified in 1996) | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 14 July 1996 | ||||
| Official name | XLIX British Grand Prix | ||||
| Location | Silverstone Circuit Silverstone, Northamptonshire, England | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.072 km (3.152 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 61 laps, 309.392 km (192.247 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Warm and sunny with temperatures reaching up to 25 °C (77 °F)[1] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Time | 1:26.875 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | |||
| Time | 1:29.288 on lap 29 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Second | Benetton-Renault | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
Williams' Jacques Villeneuve took his second win of the season from Benetton's Gerhard Berger, with McLaren's Mika Häkkinen coming home third for his first podium since his near-fatal crash at 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Jordan's Rubens Barrichello took fourth, equalling his best finish of the season, and it came after he had been involved in late collisions while racing for fourth place at the circuit in the previous two years. The final points went to David Coulthard in the second McLaren and Martin Brundle in the second Jordan.
Damon Hill took pole position for his home race, but made a slow start and retired shortly before half distance, after a wheel nut problem caused him to spin off at Copse Corner while he was trying to pass Häkkinen.[2] For the third consecutive race, Ferrari drivers Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine were both forced to retire with technical issues in the first six laps – Schumacher with hydraulic problems and Irvine with a differential failure. Jean Alesi would become another notable retirement on lap 45 from 3rd place, just ahead of teammate Gerhard Berger when his rear brakes overheated.
Classification
Qualifying
- ^1 Rosset was excluded after missing an FIA weight-check. He was allowed to start at the back of the grid.
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 61 | 1:33:00.874 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 4 |  Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 61 | + 19.026 | 7 | 6 |
| 3 | 7 |  Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 61 | + 50.830 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 11 |  Rubens Barrichello | Jordan-Peugeot | 61 | + 1:06.716 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 8 |  David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 61 | + 1:22.507 | 9 | 2 |
| 6 | 12 | Martin Brundle | Jordan-Peugeot | 60 | + 1 Lap | 8 | 1 |
| 7 | 19 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 60 | + 1 Lap | 14 | |
| 8 | 15 |  Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Ford | 60 | + 1 Lap | 11 | |
| 9 | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber-Ford | 60 | + 1 Lap | 13 | |
| 10 | 17 |  Jos Verstappen | Footwork-Hart | 60 | + 1 Lap | 15 | |
| 11 | 21 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Minardi-Ford | 59 | + 2 Laps | 18 | |
| Ret | 3 |  Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 44 | Wheel bearing | 5 | |
| Ret | 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 40 | Handling | 16 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 38 | Engine | 17 | |
| Ret | 5 | Damon Hill | Williams-Renault | 26 | Wheel nut | 1 | |
| Ret | 20 |  Pedro Lamy | Minardi-Ford | 21 | Gearbox | 19 | |
| Ret | 16 | Ricardo Rosset | Footwork-Hart | 13 | Electrical | 20 | |
| Ret | 18 |  Ukyo Katayama | Tyrrell-Yamaha | 12 | Timing Belt | 12 | |
| Ret | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 5 | Differential | 10 | |
| Ret | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 3 | Hydraulics | 3 | |
Source:[6] | |||||||
Notes
- Last race: Forti
- Last race: Andrea Montermini
- Ricardo Rosset's qualifying times (best 1:30.529) were scratched after he missed the FIA weight check, dropping him from 17th to 20th on the grid.[2]
Championship standings after the race
- Constructors' Championship standings
| Pos | Constructor | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams-Renault | 111 | |
| 2 | Benetton-Renault | 41 | |
| 3 | Ferrari | 35 | |
| 4 | McLaren-Mercedes | 32 | |
| 5 |  Jordan-Peugeot | 13 | |
| Source: [7] | |||
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.