The1996 Portuguese Grand Prixwas aFormula Onemotor race held on 22 September 1996 atAutódromo do Estorilin Estoril, Portugal. It was the 15th and penultimate race of the1996 Formula One season.
| 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 15 of 16 in the1996 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 22 September 1996 | ||||
| Official name | XXV Grande Prémio de Portugal | ||||
| Location | Autódromo do EstorilinEstoril,Portugal | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.360 km (2.725 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 71 laps, 309.560 km (193.475 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Mostly sunny with ambient temperatures reaching 25 °C during the day. | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Time | 1:20.330 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | |||
| Time | 1:22.873 on lap 37 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Second | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
Williams'Jacques Villeneuvewon the race from team-mateDamon HillandFerrari'sMichael Schumacher,having overtaken the latter on the outside of the final corner while the two were lapping the slow-moving back-markingMinardiofGiovanni Lavaggi(who at the time was described by BBC TV commentatorJonathan Palmeras "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 inJapanthree weeks later.
Benetton'sJean Alesifinished fourth, just behind Schumacher, whileEddie Irvinein the second Ferrari andGerhard Bergerin the second Benetton survived a last-lap collision to take fifth and sixth respectively.[1]
The Portuguese Grand Prix would not be held again until2020but this race was held at a new venue at theAlgarve International Circuitas opposed to Estoril.[2]
Classification
editQualifying
editRace
edit| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Williams-Renault | 70 | 1:40:22.915 | 2 | 10 |
| 2 | 5 |  Damon Hill
|
Williams-Renault | 70 | + 19.966 | 1 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 |  Michael Schumacher
|
Ferrari | 70 | + 53.765 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 |  Jean Alesi
|
Benetton-Renault | 70 | + 55.109 | 3 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Eddie Irvine
|
Ferrari | 70 | + 1:27.389 | 6 | 2 |
| 6 | 4 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Benetton-Renault | 70 | + 1:33.141 | 5 | 1 |
| 7 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Sauber-Ford | 69 | + 1 Lap | 11 | |
| 8 | 14 | Johnny Herbert
|
Sauber-Ford | 69 | + 1 Lap | 12 | |
| 9 | 12 | Martin Brundle
|
Jordan-Peugeot | 69 | + 1 Lap | 10 | |
| 10 | 9 | Olivier Panis
|
Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 69 | + 1 Lap | 15 | |
| 11 | 19 |  Mika Salo
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 69 | + 1 Lap | 13 | |
| 12 | 18 |  Ukyo Katayama
|
Tyrrell-Yamaha | 68 | + 2 Laps | 14 | |
| 13 | 8 | David Coulthard
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 68 | + 2 Laps | 8 | |
| 14 | 16 |  Ricardo Rosset
|
Footwork-Hart | 67 | + 3 Laps | 17 | |
| 15 | 21 |  Giovanni Lavaggi
|
Minardi-Ford | 65 | + 5 Laps | 20 | |
| 16 | 20 |  Pedro Lamy
|
Minardi-Ford | 65 | + 5 Laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 7 | Mika Häkkinen
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 52 | Collision damage | 7 | |
| Ret | 17 |  Jos Verstappen
|
Footwork-Hart | 47 | Engine | 16 | |
| Ret | 10 | Pedro Diniz
|
Ligier-Mugen-Honda | 46 | Collision | 18 | |
| Ret | 11 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Jordan-Peugeot | 41 | Spun Off | 9 | |
Source:[5]
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Championship standings after the race
edit- Bold textindicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
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- Note:Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
edit- ^"F1 News – Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Races > Portuguese GP, 1996".Grandprix.com.Retrieved2013-04-18.
- ^"Formula 1 adds Portimao, Nurburgring and 2-day event in Imola to 2020 race calendar".formula1.com.Retrieved2020-07-24.
- ^"Portugal 1996 – Qualifications".StatsF1.Retrieved29 December2023.
- ^"1996 Portuguese Grand Prix Classification Qualifying".Motorsport Stats.Retrieved29 December2023.
- ^"1996 Portuguese Grand Prix".formula1.com. Archived fromthe originalon 1 November 2014.Retrieved24 December2015.
- ^ab"Portugal 1996 - Championship • STATS F1".www.statsf1.com.Retrieved20 March2019.