The 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 50th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship commenced on 10 March and ended on 13 October after sixteen races. Two World Championship titles were awarded, one for Drivers and one for Constructors.
Damon Hill won the Drivers' Championship two years after being beaten by a point by Michael Schumacher, making him the first son of a World Champion (his father Graham having won the title in and ) to have won the title himself as well as the only until Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 champion Keke Rosberg, won the title 34 years later in 2016. Hill, who had finished runner-up for the past two seasons, was seriously threatened only by his teammate, newcomer Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion. Williams-Renault easily won the Constructors' title, as there was no other competitor strong enough to post a consistent challenge throughout the championship. This was also the beginning of the end of Williams's 1990s dominance, as it was announced that Hill and designer Adrian Newey would depart at the conclusion of the season, with engine manufacturer Renault also leaving after 1997.
Two-time defending world champion Michael Schumacher had moved to Ferrari and despite numerous reliability problems, they had gradually developed into a front-running team by the end of the season. Defending Constructors' Champion Benetton began their decline towards the middle of the grid, having lost key personnel due to Schumacher's departure, and failed to win a race. Olivier Panis took the only victory of his career at the Monaco Grand Prix.
For the first time since 1979, no Brazilian driver mounted the podium, and this also was the last championship for a British driver until Lewis Hamilton in 2008. This year also saw the introduction of new car numbering system predominately based on the finishing order of the constructors' championship from the previous year (an exception being made in cases where a reigning drivers' champion moving teams) replacing the previous system which had been in since 1974. The constructors' championship-based car numbering system would remain in place until the end of the 2013 season. This was also the last season in which Goodyear would act as the sole tyre supplier in the sport as Bridgestone would join F1 for 1997 - creating a tyre war.
Teams and drivers The numbering system used since the 1974 season 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.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Goodyear. Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Driver Rounds Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F310 Ferrari Tipo 046 3.0 V10 1 All 2 Eddie Irvine All Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton-Renault B196 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 3 Jean Alesi All 4 Gerhard Berger All Rothmans Williams Renault Williams-Renault FW18 Renault RS8 3.0 V10 5 Damon Hill All 6 Jacques Villeneuve All Marlboro McLaren Mercedes McLaren-Mercedes MP4/11MP4/11B Mercedes FO 110D 3.0 V10 7 Mika Häkkinen All 8 David Coulthard All Ligier Gauloises Blondes JS43 Mugen-Honda MF-301HA 3.0 V10 9 Olivier Panis All 10 Pedro Diniz All Benson & Hedges Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan-Peugeot 196 Peugeot A12 3.0 V10 11 Rubens Barrichello All 12 Martin Brundle All Red Bull Sauber Ford Sauber-Ford C15 Ford JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 14 Johnny Herbert All 15 Heinz-Harald Frentzen All Footwork Hart Footwork-Hart FA17 Hart 830 3.0 V8 16 Ricardo Rosset All 17 Jos Verstappen All Tyrrell Yamaha Tyrrell-Yamaha 024 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 18 Ukyo Katayama All 19 Mika Salo All Minardi Team Minardi-Ford M195B Ford-Cosworth EDM2 3.0 V8Ford-Cosworth EDM3 3.0 V8 20 Pedro Lamy All 21 Giancarlo Fisichella 1, 4–10 Tarso Marques 2–3 Giovanni Lavaggi 11–16 Forti Grand Prix Forti-Ford FG01BFG03 Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 22 Luca Badoer 1–10 23 Andrea Montermini 1–10Source:
Team changes
By receiving an Italian licence the defending Constructors' Champion Benetton officially became an Italian constructor, though it continued to operate from the same base in Britain. Jordan gained a new title sponsor in British cigarette brand Benson & Hedges, who joined oil supplier Total and engine company Peugeot in the team's official name. Meanwhile, Tyrrell lost their title sponsor, Finnish communications company Nokia, becoming officially known simply as Tyrrell Yamaha. Forti also lost the sponsorship of Italian dairy corporation Parmalat, as well as any official connection to Ford, although they continued to use Ford engines. Scuderia Italia decided to end their two-year working relationship with Minardi, so the team once again became known simply as Minardi Team. Two teams disappeared from the entry list entirely. Larrousse had missed the early races of 1995 before finally announcing their withdrawal before the San Marino Grand Prix. Gérard Larrousse claimed several times the team would reappear in 1996, but a combination of legal and financial difficulties meant this never materialised. Pacific withdrew from the sport at the end of 1995. Scuderia Ferrari decided to change from the V12 engine they competed with the previous season to the V-10 engine configuration which was used by most of the other teams. For the first time since , no Formula One entrants utilized a V12 engine in their car.
Driver changes
Defending double world champion Michael Schumacher left Benetton to join Ferrari, citing the need for a new challenge. He displaced Jean Alesi, who moved in the opposite direction. Gerhard Berger was offered the chance to stay as Schumacher's teammate, but eventually opted to join Alesi at Benetton. Ferrari filled the seat with Jordan's Eddie Irvine. Berger's decision to join Benetton ousted Johnny Herbert, who joined Sauber alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Sauber's other seat had been filled in 1995 by both Karl Wendlinger, who left F1 still struggling to recover fully from injuries sustained at the 1994 Monaco Grand Prix, and Jean-Christophe Boullion, who returned to his testing role at Williams. Williams dropped David Coulthard, instead recruiting Canadian rookie Jacques Villeneuve, who had won the 1995 CART Championship and the 1995 Indianapolis 500, to partner Damon Hill. Coulthard joined McLaren alongside Mika Häkkinen, replacing Mark Blundell, who moved into CART with PacWest Racing. Martin Brundle left Ligier in order to replace the Ferrari-bound Irvine at Jordan, where he would partner Rubens Barrichello. Ligier replaced him by bringing in Forti's Pedro Diniz alongside Olivier Panis. Aguri Suzuki, who had shared Brundle's seat in 1995, left F1 altogether. Footwork had an entirely new line-up in 1996, dispensing with all three of their 1995 drivers. Gianni Morbidelli became a test driver for Jordan, before returning to a race seat in 1997 with Sauber, while fellow Italian Max Papis moved to America to race in the CART Series. Taki Inoue was rumoured to have secured a drive with both Tyrrell and Minardi, but ultimately lost out on both seats and moved to sports cars. Footwork replaced them with Jos Verstappen from the now-defunct Simtek team, and 1995 International Formula 3000 runner-up Ricardo Rosset. Simtek's other driver, Domenico Schiattarella left F1 completely. Luca Badoer moved from Minardi to Forti, replacing Pedro Diniz, who had gone to Ligier. As his replacement, Minardi brought in Giancarlo Fisichella, who had been racing with Alfa Romeo in the International Touring Car Championship, to partner Pedro Lamy. Badoer's teammate at Forti would be Andrea Montermini, who had raced for the now-extinct Pacific team in 1995. He replaced Roberto Moreno, who moved into Champ Car. Tyrrell was the only team on the grid to have an unchanged driver line-up from 1995 with Ukyo Katayama and Mika Salo.
Mid-season changes
Due to his commitments with Alfa Romeo in the International Touring Car Championship, Giancarlo Fisichella missed several races for Minardi. European Formula 3000 driver Tarso Marques raced at the Brazilian and Argentine Grands Prix, while Giovanni Lavaggi, who had raced for Pacific in 1995, replaced the pair of them from the German Grand Prix onwards due to his superior financial backing. Forti were declared bankrupt after the British Grand Prix, leaving both their drivers out of a drive. Luca Badoer would eventually return to F1 in 1999 with Minardi, after a spell in the FIA GT Championship, while Andrea Montermini became a test driver for the short-lived Lola team in 1997.
Calendar The 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship comprised the following races: Round Grand Prix Circuit Date 1 Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne 10 March 2 Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo 31 March 3 Argentine Grand Prix Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires 7 April 4 European Grand Prix Nürburgring, Nürburg 28 April 5 San Marino Grand Prix Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola 5 May 6 Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo 19 May 7 Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló 2 June 8 Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal 16 June 9 French Grand Prix Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours 30 June 10 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone 14 July 11 German Grand Prix Hockenheimring, Hockenheim 28 July 12 Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring, Mogyoród 11 August 13 Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot 25 August 14 Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza 8 September 15 Portuguese Grand Prix Autodromo do Estoril, Estoril 22 September 16 Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka 13 OctoberSource:
Calendar changes The Australian Grand Prix was moved from the Adelaide Street Circuit to the Albert Park Circuit in Port Phillip near Melbourne. The change of venue also resulted in the grand prix becoming the season opener instead of its finale. The Indonesian Grand Prix (renamed from the Pacific Grand Prix) was due to be held in Indonesia at the Sentul International Circuit as the final round but the race did not make the calendar as the corners were unsuitable for Formula One cars. The European Grand Prix at Nürburgring was moved to an earlier April date for 1996 having been held in October near the end of the season in 1995.
Regulation changes
Technical regulations In 1995, the sides of the cockpit were raised in order to provide better head protection for the driver. These sides were raised even higher (to mid-helmet height) for 1996, along with a wraparound head restraint made of foam to prevent head injuries such as those suffered by Mika Häkkinen during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Also, the cockpit opening was made larger, with the front tip now extending to from the front wheel centre line instead of . Needle-like nosecone designs with a sharp point, such as the McLaren MP4/10, Forti FG01 and Tyrrell 023, were also banned in favour of more blunt nose sections. The minimum weight (with driver) was raised from to .Tanaka, Hiromasa. Transition of Regulation and Technology in Formula One. Honda R&D Technical Review 2009 - F1 Special (The Third Era Activities), 2009, p. 8. To prevent damage to other cars' tyres, front wing endplates had to be at least thick.
Sporting and event regulations