The 1996 season

A Champion's Son Becomes Champion

Williams had the fastest car by far, and the title became a private contest between Damon Hill and his rookie teammate, Jacques Villeneuve.

The season began at what used to be the end. The Australian Grand Prix left Adelaide for Albert Park in Melbourne and moved from the last slot on the calendar to the first. Michael Schumacher, champion in both previous years, had swapped Benetton for Ferrari, and Williams replaced David Coulthard with Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 CART champion and winner of the Indianapolis 500. Races now started from five red lights, and every car had to qualify within 107 percent of the pole time, a rule that politely showed the slowest entries the door.

The calendar

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