1996 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the LIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco) was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 19 May 1996. It was the sixth race of the 1996 Formula One season. The race was run in very wet weather, and set a record for the fewest cars to be running at the end of a Grand Prix race, with the three podium finishers being the only cars left.
| 1996 Monaco Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 6 of 16 in the 1996 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 19 May 1996 | ||||
| Official name | LIV Grand Prix Automobile de Monaco | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 3.328 km (2.068 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 75 laps, 249.600 km (155.094 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 78 laps, 259.584 km (161.298 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Overcast, mild, wet at first, drying later, light rain at finish | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:20.356 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | |||
| Time | 1:25.205 on lap 59 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ligier-Mugen-Honda | ||||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Sauber-Ford | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
Olivier Panis scored his first and only win of his Formula One career, earning the last Formula One victory for the Ligier team, and the first ever for engine manufacturer Mugen-Honda, after switching to slick tyres in a well-timed pitstop. Second place went to David Coulthard in a McLaren-Mercedes. Johnny Herbert was the last finisher in a Sauber, scoring his only points of the season.
This was the last win by a French Formula One driver until Pierre Gasly won the 2020 Italian Grand Prix.