1996 French Grand Prix

The 1996 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held at Magny-Cours on June 30, 1996.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Diff.
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:15.989
2	5	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	1:16.058	+0.069
3	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	1:16.310	+0.321
4	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	1:16.592	+0.603
5	7	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:16.634	+0.645
6	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	1:16.905	+0.916
7	8	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.007	+1.018
8	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan-Peugeot	1:17.187	+1.332
9	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	1:17.390	+1.401
10	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan-Peugeot	1:17.665	+1.676
11	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	1:17.676	+1.687
12	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Ford	1:17.739	+1.750
13	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Yamaha	1:18.021	+2.032
14	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell-Yamaha	1:18.242	+2.253
15	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork-Hart	1:18.324	+2.335
16	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Ford	1:18.556	+2.567
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Minardi-Ford	1:18.604	+2.615
18	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi-Ford	1:19.210	+3.221
19	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork-Hart	1:19.242	+3.253
20	22	Luca Badoer	Forti-Ford	1:20.562	+4.573
21	23	Andrea Montermini	Forti-Ford	1:20.647	+4.658
22	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Damon Hill	Williams-Renault	72	1:36:28.795	2	10
2	6	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	72	+8.127	6	6
3	3	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	72	+46.442	3	4
4	4	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	72	+46.859	4	3
5	7	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	72	+62.774	5	2
6	8	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	71	+1 Lap	7	1
7	9	Olivier Panis	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	71	+1 Lap	9
8	12	Martin Brundle	Jordan-Peugeot	71	+1 Lap	8
9	11	Rubens Barrichello	Jordan-Peugeot	71	+1 Lap	10
10	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Yamaha	70	+2 Laps	13
11	16	Ricardo Rosset	Footwork-Hart	69	+3 Laps	19
12	20	Pedro Lamy	Minardi-Ford	69	+3 Laps	18
DSQ	14	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Ford	70	Disqualified	16
Ret	15	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Ford	56	Throttle	12
Ret	18	Ukyo Katayama	Tyrrell-Yamaha	33	Engine	14
Ret	22	Luca Badoer	Forti-Ford	29	Fuel System	20
Ret	10	Pedro Diniz	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	28	Engine	11
Ret	17	Jos Verstappen	Footwork-Hart	10	Steering	15
Ret	2	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	5	Gearbox	22
Ret	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Minardi-Ford	2	Fuel Pump	17
Ret	23	Andrea Montermini	Forti-Ford	2	Electrical	21
DNS	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	0	Engine	1

Notes

• Fastest Lap: Jacques Villeneuve 1:18.610
• The engine of polesitter Schumacher's Ferrari failed on the formation lap. Schumacher did not take his place on the grid.
• Herbert was disqualified because of bodywork irregularities.
• Eddie Irvine had qualified 10th but was put to the back of the grid.

Standings after Grand Prix

• Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Damon Hill	63
2	Jacques Villeneuve	38
3	Michael Schumacher	26
4	Jean Alesi	25
5	David Coulthard	14

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Williams-Renault	101
2	Benetton-Renault	35
3	Ferrari	35
4	McLaren-Mercedes	26
5	Ligier-Mugen-Honda	12

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.