F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/1996

1996 F1 Season

16 races · Williams FW18

The 1996 season confirmed Williams' crushing superiority in the post-Senna era. The FW18, designed by Adrian Newey, was one of the most dominant cars in history, and the two blue machines had barely any rivals all year.

The title fight was an in-house affair between Damon Hill and rookie Jacques Villeneuve, the reigning IndyCar champion newly arrived in Europe. Hill, more experienced and consistent, prevailed with eight wins in sixteen races. Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher began his rebuild of Ferrari and moved the tifosi to tears with three memorable wins (Barcelona in the rain, Spa and Monza) in a clearly inferior car.

The ending had a bitter twist: despite winning the championship, Williams had already decided not to retain Hill for 1997, leaving the brand-new champion without a seat in the dominant team. It was the last title for a driver who carried his father Graham Hill's name.

Drivers’ Champion

Damon Hill

Williams FW18

Constructors’ Champion

Williams

16 races

See the 1996 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Hill clinched the title in Japan, closing a historic season for Williams.»

The 1996 grid, car by car

The 11 teams that raced in 1996, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Williams
98
Damon Hill · Jacques Villeneuve
2Benetton
91
Jean Alesi · Gerhard Berger
3Ferrari
89
Michael Schumacher · Eddie Irvine
4McLaren
89
Mika Häkkinen · David Coulthard
5Jordan
85
Rubens Barrichello · Martin Brundle
6Ligier
83
Olivier Panis · Pedro Diniz
7Sauber
83
Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Johnny Herbert
8Footwork
78
Jos Verstappen · Ricardo Rosset
9Tyrrell
76
Mika Salo · Ukyo Katayama
10Minardi
73
Pedro Lamy · Giovanni Lavaggi
11Forti
68
Luca Badoer · Andrea Montermini

How 1996 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Damon HillWilliams978109
2Jacques VilleneuveWilliams784113
3Michael SchumacherFerrari59384
4Jean AlesiBenetton47080
5Mika HäkkinenMcLaren31040
6Gerhard BergerBenetton21020
7David CoulthardMcLaren18020
8Rubens BarrichelloJordan14000

Hill took it by 19 points with 8 wins and 9 poles across 16 races. 4 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Damon Hill.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

1996, race by race

All 16 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

4different drivers won: Hill 8 · Villeneuve 4 · Schumacher 3 · Panis 1.

3different teams won: Williams 12 · Ferrari 3 · Ligier 1.

3different drivers took pole: Hill 9 · Schumacher 4 · Villeneuve 3.

10different drivers stood on the podium.

6one-twos for a single team: Williams 6.

4 of 16races were won from pole position.

2first-ever wins: Jacques Villeneuve (European Grand Prix), Olivier Panis (Monaco Grand Prix).

From 14ththe win from furthest back: Olivier Panis, Monaco Grand Prix.

25 years, 19 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Jacques Villeneuve, European Grand Prix.

50%of starts reached the flag (162 of 327).

3 of 22cars finished the Monaco Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams2nd
2Brazilian Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams1st
3Argentine Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams1st
4European Grand PrixJacques VilleneuveWilliams2nd
5San Marino Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams2nd
6Monaco Grand PrixOlivier PanisLigier14th
7Spanish Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
8Canadian Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams1st
9French Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams2nd
10British Grand PrixJacques VilleneuveWilliams2nd
11German Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams1st
12Hungarian Grand PrixJacques VilleneuveWilliams3rd
13Belgian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
14Italian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
15Portuguese Grand PrixJacques VilleneuveWilliams2nd
16Japanese Grand PrixDamon HillWilliams2nd

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.

What if 1996 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 1996 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 16-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Damon Hillreal championWilliamsP1.188%
Jacques VilleneuveWilliamsP2.210%
Michael SchumacherFerrariP2.72%
Jean AlesiBenettonP4.30%
Mika HäkkinenMcLarenP4.80%
Gerhard BergerBenettonP60%

Damon Hill wins 88% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Jacques Villeneuve manages 10%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 1996 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Hypotheses from 1996

What if Schumacher had gone to Williams in 1996 instead of Ferrari?

One driver

▶ Simulate now

Drivers of 1996

Damon Hill★ 1Michael Schumacher★ 7Jacques Villeneuve★ 1
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Keep reading

What we have measured about 1996 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

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