1996 German Grand Prix

Championship standings

Villeneuve closed the gap at Silverstone. Hill leads but has not finished in the top two in two of the last three rounds.

Previous race

At Silverstone, Villeneuve won for his second victory of the season. Berger was second for Benetton, with Häkkinen third in a McLaren — his first podium since his near-fatal crash at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. Hill took pole for his home race but spun off before half-distance after a wheel nut problem sent him into the wall at Copse corner while trying to pass Häkkinen. Both Ferraris retired with technical failures in the opening laps for the third consecutive race.

Between-race developments

Forti have been declared bankrupt following the British Grand Prix. The team arrived at Hockenheim but neither car was assembled — unable to obtain engines due to lack of funds, they could not participate and have since shut down.

Entrants

Giovanni Lavaggi replaces Giancarlo Fisichella at Minardi from this race onwards. Lavaggi, who raced for Pacific in 1995, takes the seat due to his superior financial backing.