1996 Portuguese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hill still leads but Villeneuve cut the gap at Monza. With two rounds remaining, Villeneuve needs to close further to keep his title bid alive into the final round.

Previous race

At Monza, Schumacher won Ferrari’s first Italian Grand Prix victory since 1988. Hill took pole and led until he hit a tyre barrier at the first chicane on lap 6 and retired with broken suspension — the barriers had been newly erected ahead of the race. Alesi recovered from an opening-lap incident to finish second, with Häkkinen third. Villeneuve was delayed in a first-lap incident with the same barriers and could only manage seventh. Brundle and Barrichello fought throughout for fourth, Brundle taking it late after Barrichello accidentally switched off his engine trying to investigate a clutch problem.