1996
SEASON

Teams and drivers

The numbering system used since 1974 was dropped. Ferrari was given the numbers 1 and 2 after hiring the defending champion Michael Schumacher, despite finishing the previous year's Constructors' Championship in third, Benetton received numbers 3 and 4 for winning the Constructors' Championship, Williams got numbers 5 and 6 for finishing second, McLaren got 7 and 8 for finishing fourth, Ligier got 9 and 10 for finishing fifth, and so on, with the number 13 being skipped. [ 1...

Calendar

The 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship comprised the following races:

Season report

Damon Hill won the season opener in Australia from his Williams teammate Jacques Villeneuve , with Ferrari's Eddie Irvine finishing third. Villeneuve was leading but late on in the race the team found out that Villeneuve had an oil leak and ordered him to swap places with teammate Hill. The Brazilian Grand Prix took place in heavy rain, and was won from pole position by Damon Hill, with Jean Alesi second in a Benetton and Michael Schumacher third in a Ferrari. Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning, Damon Hill made it three wins out of three at the Argentine Grand Prix , with Jacques Villeneuve helping Williams to their second one-two of the season. Jos Verstappen scored his only point of the season, while Andrea Montermini registered his only finish of the season. Pedro Diniz was involved in two major incidents during the race. First he collided with Luca Badoer , whose Forti was flipped and landed upside down in the gravel, forcing the marshals ... The European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring [ b ] in Germany was won by Jacques Villeneuve for his first F1 victory in only his fourth race. Michael Schumacher finished second, with David Coulthard third in a McLaren , just ahead of Hill. The San Marino Grand Prix was won by Damon Hill after starting from second position. Michael Schumacher again finished second, despite his front-right brake seizing halfway around the final lap, while Gerhard Berger was third, driving for the Benetton team. Jacques Villeneuve retired near the end of the race after being hit by Jean Alesi.

Points scoring system

Points are awarded to the top six classified finishers in each race for the drivers and constructors championships.

Non-championship event results

The 1996 season also included a single event which did not count towards the World Championship, the Formula One Indoor Trophy at the Bologna Motor Show . This is to date the final competitive non-championship event in Formula One history, as the event would cater to Formula 3000 machinery from 1997 onwards.