1996 Portuguese Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Portugal
Grand Prix:Portuguese
Official Name:XXV Grande Prémio de Portugal
Date:22 September
Year:1996
Race No:15
Season No:16
Location:Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.725
Course Km:4.360
Distance Laps:71
Distance Mi:193.475
Distance Km:309.560
Weather:Mostly sunny with ambient temperatures reaching 25 °C during the day.
Pole Driver:Damon Hill
Pole Team:Williams-Renault
Pole Time:1:20.330
Pole Country:United Kingdom
Fast Driver:Jacques Villeneuve
Fast Team:Williams-Renault
Fast Time:1:22.873
Fast Lap:37
Fast Country:Canada
First Driver:Jacques Villeneuve
First Team:Williams-Renault
First Country:Canada
Second Driver:Damon Hill
Second Team:Williams-Renault
Second Country:United Kingdom
Third Driver:Michael Schumacher
Third Team:Ferrari
Third Country:Germany
Previous Round:1996 Italian Grand Prix
Next Round:1996 Japanese Grand Prix

The 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 September 1996 at Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. It was the 15th and penultimate race of the 1996 Formula One season.

Williams' Jacques Villeneuve won the race from team-mate Damon Hill and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, having overtaken the latter on the outside of the final corner while the two were lapping the slow-moving back-marking Minardi of Giovanni Lavaggi (who at the time was described by BBC TV commentator Jonathan Palmer as "desperately slow" and "there because of his money"). This victory, Villeneuve's fourth of the season, ensured that the Drivers' Championship battle between him and Hill went to the final round in Japan three weeks later.

Benetton's Jean Alesi finished fourth, just behind Schumacher, while Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari and Gerhard Berger in the second Benetton survived a last-lap collision to take fifth and sixth respectively.[1]

The Portuguese Grand Prix would not be held again until 2020 but this race was held at a new venue at the Algarve International Circuit as opposed to Estoril.[2]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Diff.
15data-sort-value="hil" Damon HillWilliams-Renault1:20.330
26data-sort-value="vil" Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Renault1:20.339+0.009
33data-sort-value="ale" Jean AlesiBenetton-Renault1:21.088+0.758
41data-sort-value="schm" Michael SchumacherFerrari1:21.236+0.906
54data-sort-value="ber" Gerhard BergerBenetton-Renault1:21.293+0.963
62data-sort-value="irv" Eddie IrvineFerrari1:21.362+1.032
77data-sort-value="hak" Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Mercedes1:21.640+1.310
88data-sort-value="cou" David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes1:22.066+1.736
911data-sort-value="bar" Rubens BarrichelloJordan-Peugeot1:22.205+1.875
1012data-sort-value="bru" Martin BrundleJordan-Peugeot1:22.324+1.994
1115data-sort-value="fre" Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber-Ford1:22.325+1.995
1214data-sort-value="her" Johnny HerbertSauber-Ford1:22.655+2.325
1319data-sort-value="sal" Mika SaloTyrrell-Yamaha1:22.765+2.435
1418data-sort-value="kat" Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell-Yamaha1:23.013+2.683
159data-sort-value="pan" Olivier PanisLigier-Mugen-Honda1:23.055+2.725
1617data-sort-value="ver" Jos VerstappenFootwork-Hart1:23.531+3.201
1716data-sort-value="ros" Ricardo RossetFootwork-Hart1:24.230+3.900
1810data-sort-value="din" Pedro DinizLigier-Mugen-Honda1:24.293+3.963
1920data-sort-value="lam" Pedro LamyMinardi-Ford1:24.510+4.180
2021data-sort-value="lav" Giovanni LavaggiMinardi-Ford1:25.612+5.282
107% time: 1:25.953
Sources:[3] [4]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
16 Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Renault701:40:22.915210
25 Damon HillWilliams-Renault70+ 19.96616
31 Michael SchumacherFerrari70+ 53.76544
43 Jean AlesiBenetton-Renault70+ 55.10933
52 Eddie IrvineFerrari70+ 1:27.38962
64 Gerhard BergerBenetton-Renault70+ 1:33.14151
715 Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber-Ford69+ 1 Lap11 
814 Johnny HerbertSauber-Ford69+ 1 Lap12 
912 Martin BrundleJordan-Peugeot69+ 1 Lap10 
109 Olivier PanisLigier-Mugen-Honda69+ 1 Lap15 
1119 Mika SaloTyrrell-Yamaha69+ 1 Lap13 
1218 Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell-Yamaha68+ 2 Laps14 
138 David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes68+ 2 Laps8 
1416 Ricardo RossetFootwork-Hart67+ 3 Laps17 
1521 Giovanni LavaggiMinardi-Ford65+ 5 Laps20 
1620 Pedro LamyMinardi-Ford65+ 5 Laps19 
Ret7 Mika HäkkinenMcLaren-Mercedes52Collision damage7 
Ret17 Jos VerstappenFootwork-Hart47Engine16 
Ret10 Pedro DinizLigier-Mugen-Honda46Collision18 
Ret11 Rubens BarrichelloJordan-Peugeot41Spun Off9 

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Damon Hill87
2 Jacques Villeneuve78
3 Michael Schumacher53
4 Jean Alesi47
5 Mika Häkkinen27
Source: [5]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Williams-Renault165
2 Benetton-Renault65
3 Ferrari64
4 McLaren-Mercedes45
5 Jordan-Peugeot20
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: F1 News – Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Races > Portuguese GP, 1996 . Grandprix.com . 2013-04-18.
  2. Web site: Formula 1 adds Portimao, Nurburgring and 2-day event in Imola to 2020 race calendar. 2020-07-24. formula1.com. en.
  3. Web site: Portugal 1996 – Qualifications. StatsF1. 29 December 2023.
  4. Web site: 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix Classification Qualifying. Motorsport Stats. 29 December 2023.
  5. Web site: Portugal 1996 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 20 March 2019.

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