Date 16 June 1996 Course length 4.421 km (2.747 mi) | Course Street circuit | |
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Official name XXXIV Grand Prix Molson du Canada Location Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Distance 69 laps, 305.049 km (189.549 mi) | ||
The 1996 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 16 June 1996. The race was won by Damon Hill ahead of home hero Jacques Villeneuve, Gilles' son.
Michael Schumacher started from the back of the grid, as his crew were still working on his car as the field set off on the warm-up lap. This started a run of mechanical problems for the reigning double World Champion.
For the second successive race, Gerhard Berger spun off while trying to pass teammate Jean Alesi on lap 43. Alesi continued to third place, while further behind Martin Brundle, running fourth following Berger's exit, had to pit for a new nose-cone following a collision with Pedro Lamy's Minardi when Lamy inadvertently hit Brundle's front wing as he attempted to rejoin the track after a spin on lap 45, dropping Brundle to seventh and handing fourth place to David Coulthard's McLaren. Brundle eventually recovered to sixth place behind Mika Häkkinen in the sister McLaren after getting past Johnny Herbert courtesy of a faster final pit stop.