Three decades before the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix, a race was taking place in the dwarf principality, and few people managed to get to the finish line. In 1966, almost every pilot had various technical problems, and due to the adoption of a new rule, according to which at least 90% of the distance must be passed for classification, only four pilots received points.
Among those to whom luck did not smile was the French debut guy Guy Ligier at the Cooper-Maserati, who came down 25 laps before the finish. Soon he ended his career as an athlete, founded the Ligier team and 30 years later won with her in Monaco, when only three cars reached the finish line.
1996 in the history of “Formula 1” has the right to be considered one of the most important for the “royal race”. This season, Michael Schumacher, after two champion titles with Benetton, began a new career stage in Ferrari, the young Jacques Villeneuve made his brilliant debut as a Williams pilot, and his partner Damon Hill continued the work of his father Graham Hill and won the championship title.
The British advantage over rivals was not in doubt from the very beginning of the championship, and for the Monaco Grand Prix, which was the sixth race of the season, he was already ahead of Villeneuve by 21 points. The most glamorous race of the calendar could well give Williams the third victory double in a year (after Australia and Argentina), although her favorite was still Schumacher, who won in Monte Carlo, while neither Hill nor even Villeneuve turned out to be there first.
Ferrari pilot confirmed his claims in qualification, having won against Hill for more than half a second. Schumacher was so sure that he won the pole position, that at the last minute he slowed down and began to wave his hand to the fans, while following the race track. At that time, his former partner Gerhard Berger was accelerating behind him, and the Austrian had to turn 180 degrees to avoid a collision. Schumacher was not punished for his eccentric behavior and remained at the head of the grid.
The whole weekend in Monaco, the weather was dry without a hint of precipitation, but suddenly after a warm-up on Sunday it started to rain heavily. The organizers allowed the riders to spend another 15 minutes on the track, and then it became clear that few would survive on the wet Monte Carlo track. Several pilots immediately lost control and suffered various injuries, and Andrea Montermini was not able to get to the start.
As soon as the race began, Hill was ahead of Schumacher. After this, one accident after another began to occur behind their backs. The first to come was Jos Verstappen, father of Max Verstappen, who overly confidently abandoned rain tires in favor of slicks. The Minardi team immediately left in full force due to a clash between Giancarlo Fisichella and Pedro Lamy.
It would seem that at least experienced riders who are well acquainted with the track should be lucky, but right there on the curb slipped and landed in the wall Schumacher. Following him, the race ended with the future partner of the “Red Baron” Rubens Barrichello. For one first round, the number of pilots decreased from 21 to 16.
After nine laps, the peloton lost four more pilots, including the third-coming Berger. He, unlike many colleagues, stopped not on the track, but in the boxes due to problems with the gearbox. At this time, Hill continued to lead confidently, pursued by Jean Alesi at Benetton and Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. The Briton did not give anyone his place on the podium and even broke the front wing of Heinz-Harald Frentzen from Sauber, when he carried out the attack. But it was not he who came out of the race, but Martin Brandl, who held out 30 laps before his accident.
After changing tires to slicks in the middle of the race, the Frenchman Olivier Panis on Ligier unexpectedly got to the top three. In the morning he was the best at the workout, and now he seriously claimed the podium, although in the first five races he scored only one point. With each round, he won back a few seconds from the leaders, and his team got a chance for the first victory in 15 years.
They grew even stronger when on the 40th lap Hill unexpectedly got out of its cockpit for many. For the first and only time in that season, the championship leader’s engine burned out. Alesi, who came out on top, had to restrain Panis with all his might, and the car failed him - on the 60th circle, the spring of the rear suspension burst. Almost simultaneously with this breakdown, Villeneuve clashed with Luca Badoer, the Formula 1 champion in races without points. But if the Italian got off right away, then the Williams pilot lasted four more laps.
Fans did not have time to move away from some gatherings, as others followed. The accident on the 70th lap reduced the number of remaining pilots by almost half. Irvine repeated the fate of his partner and crashed into the same wall into which Schumacher had previously landed. Only now, Mika Hakkinen and Mika Salo, who crashed into a stopped Ferrari, were driving right behind him. Finnish pilots were lucky that the race was already over, and they secured a place in the spectacle six. Irvine did not have enough just five minutes before the expiration of the two-hour limit.
Only four remained in the race - Olivier Panis, David Coulthard, Johnny Herbert and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. The German pilot was entitled to finish with everyone, but starred in the penultimate, 74th lap during a pit stop. Only those who eventually climbed the podium saw the checkered flag in front of them.
For Panis, it was a triumph of all life. He did not win other victories in Formula 1 races, although he won prizes next season, until he broke both legs in Canada. For the first time since 1930, the French pilot in a French car defeated the Monaco Grand Prix, and even started from 14th place. And the fact that Panis won his victory in the race with a record low number of participants who reached the finish line did not detract from his merits - he really managed to fly then through the wet narrow streets of Monte Carlo.