1996 Japanese Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Hill leads the Drivers’ Championship. Villeneuve needs to win this race with Hill not scoring in order to take the championship himself.
Previous race
At Estoril, Villeneuve won his fourth victory of the season with Hill second and Schumacher third. Villeneuve overtook Schumacher for the lead on the outside of the final corner while both were lapping Lavaggi’s back-marking Minardi. The result sent the Drivers’ title fight to the final round. Irvine and Berger survived a last-lap collision to take fifth and sixth.
Championship permutations
Hill wins the title at this race unless Villeneuve wins and Hill fails to score any points.
Background
This is the first time since 1977 that Japan has hosted the championship-deciding final round. It is also the final Formula One race to be broadcast live in the United Kingdom by the BBC until the 2009 season; from 1997 ITV takes over the coverage. For BBC commentator Jonathan Palmer and anchor Steve Rider, this is their last race in those roles.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1996 Japanese Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 28 Jul | 🇩🇪 German Grand Prix | Hill | Hill | Alesi | Villeneuve |
| 12 | 11 Aug | 🇭🇺 Hungarian Grand Prix | Schumacher | Villeneuve | Hill | Alesi |
| 13 | 25 Aug | 🇧🇪 Belgian Grand Prix | Villeneuve | Schumacher | Villeneuve | Häkkinen |
| 14 | 8 Sept | 🇮🇹 Italian Grand Prix | Hill | Schumacher | Alesi | Häkkinen |
| 15 | 22 Sept | 🇵🇹 Portuguese Grand Prix | Hill | Villeneuve | Hill | Schumacher |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Damon Hill | Williams | 87 | 7 |
| 2 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams | 78 | 4 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 53 | 3 |
| 4 | Jean Alesi | Benetton | 47 | 0 |
| 5 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren | 27 | 0 |
| 6 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton | 18 | 0 |
| 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren | 18 | 0 |
| 8 | Rubens Barrichello | Jordan | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Olivier Panis | Ligier | 13 | 1 |
| 10 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 11 | 0 |