F1, Italian Grand Prix: Best Races of Ferrari at Monza

#2 1996 Italian Grand Prix

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher began the race on the second row behind the two Williams of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. Jean Alesi’s sublime start saw him climb up from sixth to first before running wide and rejoining in second behind pole-sitter, Hill.

FIA had decided to use tyre barriers at chicanes in order to dissuade drivers from taking advantage by running wide. The modification on the circuit resulted in a bunch of racers hitting the barriers and causing damage to their cars.

One of those was Villeneuve, who had to rejoin in sixteenth after his incident with the tyre stack required a pit stop for damage repair. Damon had to retire from the race because of his collision with the barriers resulting in a broken suspension.

After a flurry of pit stops, Schumacher snatched the lead from Alesi to win his career’s first Italian Grand Prix.