June 2 1996
All of the information in this section was obtained from a bloke down the pub, which means that while we believe all the following information to be true, we couldn't swear that it is.
What we will say however, is that usually, "there's no smoke without fire".....
Schumacher Shows His Class
Hill Takes Pole
Fast Eddie Sets The Pace
Coulthard Staying At McLaren
Barcelona Preview
Michelin Add To Tyre Possibilities
Benetton Go Back To Old Suspension
Hill Quickest At Silverstone
Ferrari Back On Titanium
Ligier Still After French Engine
Schumacher Shows His Class
Michael Schumacher won a rain soaked Spanish GP with a brilliant display of car control. The wet conditions saw six cars go out in the first two laps, as more cars went off the circuit stayed wetter leading to more experienced wet weather drivers leaving the race. Hill and Herbert two of the most experienced. Alesi continued to show his true form, finishing second, Villeneuve drove a perfect race to finish third. Heinz Harald Frentzen continued Sauber's recent run with a fourth place, Mika Hakkinen salvaged a dissapointing weekend for McLaren when he finished fifth and Pedro Diniz kept Ligier smiling when he finished sixth.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M. Schumacher | Ferrari | 1.59.49.307 | |
| 2 | J. Alesi | Benetton | +45.302 | |
| 3 | J. Villeneuve | Williams | +48.388 | |
| 4 | H. H. Frentzen | Sauber | +1 lap | |
| 5 | M. Hakkinen | McLaren | +1 lap | |
| 6 | P. Diniz | Ligier | +1 lap | |
| Retirements | ||||
| Driver | Team | Reason | Lap | |
| J. Verstappen | TWR Arrows | Spin | 47 | |
| R. Barrichello | Jordan | Clutch | 45 | |
| Driver | Team | Reason | Lap | |
| G. Berger | Benetton | Gearbox | 44 | |
| J. Herbert | Sauber | Spin | 20 | |
| M. Brundle | Jordan | Gearbox | 17 | |
| M. Salo | Tyrrell | Spin | 16 | |
| D. Hill | Williams | Spin | 10 | |
| U. Katayama | Tyrrell | Spin | 8 | |
| E. Irvine | Ferrari | Spin | 1 | |
| O. Panis | Ligier | Spin | 1 | |
| G. Fisichella | Minardi | Spin | 1 | |
| D. Coulthard | McLaren | Collision | 0 | |
| P. Lamy | Minardi | Collision | 0 | |
| R. Rosset | TWR Arrows | Spin | 0 | |
| DNQ | ||||
| L. Badoer | Forti | |||
| A. Montermini | Forti |
Hill and Villeneuve make it Williams one two. Ferrari and Benetton fill the other top six places and McLaren struggle with car set up.
Olivier Panis continues with his recent impressive form, qualifying eigth and Johnny Herbert out qualifies team mate Heinz Harald Frentzen.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | D. Hill | Williams | 1.20.650 |
| 2 | J. Villeneuve | Williams | 1.21.084 |
| 3 | M. Schumacher | Ferrari | 1.21.587 |
| 4 | J. Alesi | Benetton | 1.22.061 |
| 5 | G. Berger | Benetton | 1.22.125 |
| 6 | E. Irvine | Ferrari | 1.22.333 |
| 7 | R. Barrichello | Jordan | 1.22.379 |
| 8 | O. Panis | Ligier | 1.22.685 |
| 9 | J. Herbert | Sauber | 1.23.027 |
| 10 | M. Hakkinen | McLaren | 1.23.070 |
| 11 | H. H. Frentzen | Sauber | 1.23.195 |
| 12 | M. Salo | Tyrrell | 1.23.224 |
| 13 | J. Verstappen | TWR Arrows | 1.23.371 |
| 14 | D. Coulthard | McLaren | 1.23.416 |
| 15 | M. Brundle | Jordan | 1.23.438 |
| 16 | U. Katayama | Tyrrell | 1.24.401 |
| 17 | P. Diniz | Ligier | 1.24.468 |
| 18 | P. Lamy | Minardi | 1.25.274 |
| 19 | G. Fisichella | Minardi | 1.25.531 |
| 20 | R. Rosset | TWR Arrows | 1.25.621 |
| 107% Time | 1.26.295 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DNQ | |||
| 21 | L. Badoer | Forti | 1.26.615 |
| 22 | A. Montermini | Forti | 1.27.358 |
"Fast Eddie" Irvine has set the pace during the free practice session in Spain. He outpaced team mate Schumacher who was left trailing in fifth place. Olivier Panis continued his recent good form to set the third fastest time. Rubens Barrichello took advantage of his Peugeot engine to set the second fastest time.
The two McLaren drivers were struggling and Coulthard was outpaced by the two Minardis !!.
Benetton managed to get both cars round in reasonable times, with Berger outpacing Alesi.
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time |
| 1 | E.Irvine | Ferrari | 1.24.331 |
| 2 | R.Barrichello | Jordan | 1.24.367 |
| 3 | O.Panis | Ligier | 1.24.450 |
| 4 | D.Hill | Williams | 1.24.456 |
| 5 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1.24.457 |
| 6 | J.Villeneuve | Williams | 1.24.615 |
| 7 | G.Berger | Benetton | 1.24.704 |
| 8 | J.Alesi | Benetton | 1.24.839 |
| 9 | P.Diniz | Ligier | 1.25.192 |
| 10 | J.Verstappen | TWR Arrows | 1.25.225 |
| 11 | H.H. Frentzen | Sauber | 1.25.256 |
| 12 | J.Herbert | Sauber | 1.25.774 |
| 13 | M.Hakkinen | McLaren | 1.25.919 |
| 14 | M.Salo | Tyrrell | 1.25.945 |
| 15 | M.Brundle | Jordan | 1.26.343 |
| 16 | U.Katayama | Tyrrell | 1.27.183 |
| 17 | G.Fisichella | Minardi | 1.27.332 |
| 18 | P.Lamy | Minardi | 1.27.374 |
| 19 | D.Coulthard | McLaren | 1.27.522 |
| 20 | R.Rosset | TWR Arrows | 1.27.623 |
| 21 | L.Badoer | Forti | 1.28.868 |
| 22 | A.Montermini | Forti | 1.28.952 |
David Coulthard will not be moving to the new Stewart racing team, as had been rumoured. HIs manager said that he wanted to stay at McLaren for the next year as David believes that they are on the verge of great things again. He also denied that McLaren had offered the young scot another 3 million pounds to stay.
Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve will be hoping that Williams past record at the Catalunya circuit will continue, winning four out of the five races there in recent years.Being one of the faster circuits, it should suit the Jordan team with their impressive Peugeot engine. Michael Schumacher will be hoping to continue his recent run of pole positions and hope to convert this one into a win.Benetton and McLaren both seem to be progressing better now and points finishes for these two looks very likely. 15 cars finished last years race, making it a circuit where points have to be earned.
Michelin Add To Tyre Possibilities
Michelin are now looking likely to follow Bridgestone and go back into Formula1 as a tyre provider.
Benetton Go Back To Old Suspension
Benetton will be reverting back to their old suspension for the Spanish GP. They will continue testing their new suspension and it may be reintroduced later in the season. It was a suspension failure which caused Jean Alesi to retire from Monaco almost certainly costing him the race.
Damon Hill topped the Silverstone testing last week, followed by current team mate Villeneuve and former team mate Coulthard.
| Hill | Williams | 1.27.24 |
| Villeneuve | Williams | 1.27.90 |
| Coulthard | McLaren | 1.28.44 |
| Alesi | Benetton | 1.28.77 |
| Hakkinen | McLaren | 1.29.29 |
| Berger | Benetton | 1.29.62 |
| Barrichello | Jordan | 1.29.68 |
| Brundle | Jordan | 1.29.86 |
| Collard | Tyrrell | 1.29.97 |
| Verstappen | TWR Arrows | 1.30.93 |
| Sospiri | Benetton | 1.32.14 |
Ferrari will be back on their titanium gearboxes for Spain, though they are taking spare steel units along just in case.
Ligier Still After French Engine
Ligier are still trying to get a French engine deal so that an all French team will be in Formula1 again. They look set to continue with their Honda Mugen engines for next year.
