Date 7 April 1996 Course length 4.259 km (2.657 mi) | Course Permanent race track | |
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Location Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires, Argentina Distance 72 laps, 306.648 km (191.296 mi) Weather Dry with temperatures reaching up to 21 °C (70 °F) | ||
The 1996 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 7 April 1996 at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires. Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning, Damon Hill made it three wins out of three, with Jacques Villeneuve helping Williams complete their second one-two of the season. Jos Verstappen scored his only point of the season, Andrea Montermini his only finish of the season.
Pedro Diniz was involved in two major incidents during the race. First he collided with Luca Badoer, whose Forti was flipped and landed upside down in the gravel, forcing the marshals to bring out the safety car. Trackside marshals were heavily criticized for their delay in aiding Badoer's escape from the car; ultimately the Italian was forced to crawl out from underneath the Forti (the explanation for which was later given by the marshals that an uncharacteristic delay in the safety car picking up the race leader had caused confusion on the trackside). Diniz managed to continue and made a pit stop as the safety car was preparing to pull in - only to retire when he came back onto the circuit and his Ligier burst into flames, because a safety-valve in the fuel tank had jammed open, with the safety car staying out for three extra laps as a result. The UK's The Sun newspaper used the memorable headline "Diniz in the oven" for their report on this incident.