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
2Ferrari
93
Michael Schumacher · Eddie Irvine
3Benetton
91
Jean Alesi · Gerhard Berger
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 Australian Grand Prix to Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.

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).

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 championWilliamsP1.746%
Michael SchumacherFerrariP1.744%
Jacques VilleneuveWilliamsP2.610%
Jean AlesiBenettonP4.50%
Mika HäkkinenMcLarenP4.80%
Gerhard BergerBenettonP5.90%

Damon Hill takes the title 46% of the time: one in every 2 simulated championships goes to somebody else, almost always Michael Schumacher. It was not a dominated year, it was a won one.

Tags

#hill#schumacher#williams#ferrari#1996#FW18

Year

1996

Races

16

Winning car

Williams FW18

Navigation

← 1995: Michael Schumacher1997: Jacques Villeneuve →

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Drivers of 1996

Damon Hill

★ 1

Michael Schumacher

★ 7

Jacques Villeneuve

★ 1

Keep reading

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

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