Formula 1 historical archive

Damon Hill won the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix

Damon Hill won the 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix for Williams, ahead of Jean Alesi and Michael Schumacher at Autódromo José Carlos Pace.

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

Race recap

Winner
Damon Hill
Team
Williams
Top listed
Damon Hill, Jean Alesi, and Michael Schumacher
Race date
March 31, 1996
Pole
Damon Hill
Fastest lap
Damon Hill
Classified drivers
22
Circuit
Autódromo José Carlos Pace

The decisive result

Damon Hill finished first for Williams. Jean Alesi is listed 2 for Benetton, with Michael Schumacher 3 for Ferrari.

Grid to finish

Pedro Diniz from P22 to P8 (+14), Olivier Panis from P15 to P6 (+9), and Pedro Lamy from P18 to P10 (+8) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Damon Hill started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 7 Spun off, 5 +1 lap, 3 Engine, 2 +2 laps, and 2 Finished. Damon Hill holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:21.547 on lap 65. 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 HillWilliams1:49:52.97610
2Jean AlesiBenetton1:50:10.9586
3Michael SchumacherFerrari+1 lap4
4Mika HäkkinenMcLaren+1 lap3
5Mika SaloTyrrell+1 lap2
6Olivier PanisLigier+1 lap1
7Eddie IrvineFerrari+1 lap0
8Pedro DinizLigier+2 laps0
9Ukyo KatayamaTyrrell+2 laps0
10Pedro LamyMinardi+3 laps0
11Luca BadoerForti+4 laps0
12Martin BrundleJordanSpun off0
DNFRubens BarrichelloJordanSpun off0
DNFHeinz-Harald FrentzenSauberEngine0
DNFDavid CoulthardMcLarenSpun off0
DNFJohnny HerbertSauberEngine0
DNFJacques VilleneuveWilliamsSpun off0
DNFGerhard BergerBenettonHydraulics0
DNFAndrea MonterminiFortiSpun off0
DNFRicardo RossetFootworkSpun off0