1996 European Grand Prix
The 1996 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring in Germany on 28 April 1996. It was the fourth race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship.
| 1996 European Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 4 of 16 in the 1996 Formula One World Championship | |||
 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 mi) | ||
| Distance | 67 laps, 305.252 km (190.425 mi) | ||
| 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 | ||
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Lap leaders
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The 67-lap race was won by Jacques Villeneuve, driving a Williams-Renault. Villeneuve beat teammate and pole-sitter Damon Hill off the line and led all 67 laps, taking his first F1 victory in only his fourth race. Local driver Michael Schumacher finished second in a Ferrari, with David Coulthard third in a McLaren-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.
Classification
Qualifying
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Race
Notes
- Mika Häkkinen gained two pit lane speeding penalties due to a problem with his pit speed limiter.
Championship standings after the race
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- "1996 European Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
- "Europe 1996 - Championship". Statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
| 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 |