Date 22 September 1996 | Course length 4.360 km (2.725 mi) | |
 | ||
Course Permanent racing facility Distance 71 laps, 309.560 km (193.475 mi) | ||
The 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 22 September 1996 at Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. It was the 15th and penultimate race of the 1996 Formula One season.
Williams' Jacques Villeneuve won the race from team-mate Damon Hill and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, having overtaken the latter on the outside of the final corner while the two were lapping the slow-moving back-marking Minardi of Giovanni Lavaggi (who at the time was described by BBC TV commentator Jonathan Palmer as "desperately slow" and "there because of his money"). This victory, Villeneuve's fourth of the season, ensured that the Drivers' Championship battle between him and Hill went to the final round in Japan three weeks later.
Benetton's Jean Alesi finished fourth, just behind Schumacher, while Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari and Gerhard Berger in the second Benetton survived a last-lap collision to take fifth and sixth respectively.
To date, this Portuguese Grand Prix was the last to be held. Though the event was on the 1997 calendar, it was cancelled as renovation work at Estoril could not be completed in time. This was also the last one-two finish for Williams until the 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix.