Formula 1 historical archive

Damon Hill won the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix

Damon Hill won the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix for Williams, ahead of Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen at Suzuka Circuit.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Damon Hill
Team
Williams
Top listed
Damon Hill, Michael Schumacher, and Mika Häkkinen
Race date
October 13, 1996
Pole
Jacques Villeneuve
Fastest lap
Jacques Villeneuve
Classified drivers
20
Circuit
Suzuka Circuit

The decisive result

Damon Hill finished first for Williams. Michael Schumacher is listed 2 for Ferrari, with Mika Häkkinen 3 for McLaren.

Grid to finish

Jos Verstappen from P17 to P11 (+6), Pedro Lamy from P18 to P12 (+6), and Ricardo Rosset from P19 to P13 (+6) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Jacques Villeneuve started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 10 Finished, 2 +2 laps, 2 Engine, 2 Spun off, and 1 +1 lap. Jacques Villeneuve holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:44.043 on lap 34. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Damon HillWilliams1:32:33.79110
2Michael SchumacherFerrari1:32:35.6746
3Mika HäkkinenMcLaren1:32:37.0034
4Gerhard BergerBenetton1:33:00.3173
5Martin BrundleJordan1:33:40.9112
6Heinz-Harald FrentzenSauber1:33:54.9771
7Olivier PanisLigier1:33:58.3010
8David CoulthardMcLaren1:33:59.0240
9Rubens BarrichelloJordan1:34:14.8560
10Johnny HerbertSauber1:34:15.5900
11Jos VerstappenFootwork+1 lap0
12Pedro LamyMinardi+2 laps0
13Ricardo RossetFootwork+2 laps0
DNFEddie IrvineFerrariCollision0
DNFUkyo KatayamaTyrrellEngine0
DNFJacques VilleneuveWilliamsWheel0
DNFMika SaloTyrrellEngine0
DNFPedro DinizLigierSpun off0
DNFJean AlesiBenettonSpun off0
DNQGiovanni LavaggiMinardiDNQ0