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Championship Watch

1996 Standings

Damon Hill won the 1996 Drivers' Championship for Williams. Final 1996 standings — every driver and constructor ranked by points and wins.

Driver Leader
Damon Hill
97 pts · Williams
Title Gap
19 pts
Damon Hill over Jacques Villeneuve
Constructors
Williams
175 pts · gap 105
Most Wins
8
Damon Hill
Control Tower
Drivers Championship
Season
1996 Season Report

Damon Hill won the 1996 Formula 1 World Drivers' Championship driving for Williams, finishing on 97 points, 19 clear of Jacques Villeneuve. Hill won 8 races that season.

Williams took the Constructors' Championship with 175 points, 105 ahead of Ferrari.

4 different drivers won a Grand Prix, and 16 drivers scored championship points.

Standings compiled from the Ergast/Jolpica Formula 1 results archive. Spotted an error? Tell us.

Live Table

1996 Driver Order

Pos
Driver
Form
Points
Wins
P1
Damon Hill
Williams
Championship Pace100%
Championship Leader
97
Points
8
Wins
P2
Jacques Villeneuve
Williams
Championship Pace80%
19 pts off the lead.
78
Points
4
Wins
P3
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Championship Pace61%
38 pts off the lead.
59
Points
3
Wins
P4
Jean Alesi
Benetton
Championship Pace48%
50 pts off the lead.
47
Points
0
Wins
P5
Mika Häkkinen
McLaren
Championship Pace32%
66 pts off the lead.
31
Points
0
Wins
P6
Gerhard Berger
Benetton
Championship Pace22%
76 pts off the lead.
21
Points
0
Wins
P7
David Coulthard
McLaren
Championship Pace19%
79 pts off the lead.
18
Points
0
Wins
P8
Rubens Barrichello
Jordan
Championship Pace14%
83 pts off the lead.
14
Points
0
Wins
P9
Olivier Panis
Ligier
Championship Pace13%
84 pts off the lead.
13
Points
1
Wins
P10
Eddie Irvine
Ferrari
Championship Pace11%
86 pts off the lead.
11
Points
0
Wins
P11
Martin Brundle
Jordan
Championship Pace8%
89 pts off the lead.
8
Points
0
Wins
P12
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Sauber
Championship Pace7%
90 pts off the lead.
7
Points
0
Wins
P13
Mika Salo
Tyrrell
Championship Pace5%
92 pts off the lead.
5
Points
0
Wins
P14
Johnny Herbert
Sauber
Championship Pace4%
93 pts off the lead.
4
Points
0
Wins
P15
Pedro Diniz
Ligier
Championship Pace2%
95 pts off the lead.
2
Points
0
Wins
P16
Jos Verstappen
Jos Verstappen
Footwork
Championship Pace1%
96 pts off the lead.
1
Points
0
Wins
P17
Ukyo Katayama
Tyrrell
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P18
Ricardo Rosset
Footwork
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P19
Giancarlo Fisichella
Minardi
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P20
Pedro Lamy
Minardi
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P21
Luca Badoer
Forti
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P22
Giovanni Lavaggi
Minardi
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P23
Andrea Montermini
Forti
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
P24
Tarso Marques
Minardi
Championship Pace0%
97 pts off the lead.
0
Points
0
Wins
About the 1996 championships · How F1 points work

Damon Hill leads the 1996 Drivers Championship with 97 points, holding a 19-point advantage over Jacques Villeneuve (Williams). A gap of fewer than 25 points — one race win — means the title race remains mathematically open every single weekend.

In the 1996 Constructors Championship, Williams leads with 175 points — a 105-point margin over Ferrari. The Constructors title is decided by the combined points haul of a team's two drivers from every race, making car reliability, pit stop execution, and strategic pairing as important as raw pace.

The current FIA points system awards points to the top ten finishers in every Grand Prix: 25–18–15–12–10–8–6–4–2–1. An additional point goes to the driver who sets the fastest lap of the race, provided they finish inside the top ten. Sprint events — held on Saturday at select rounds — offer a separate points structure: 8–7–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the top eight finishers, counting toward both championships independently of the main race result.

A driver must hold an FIA Super Licence and score at least one championship point to register on the standings. DNFs score zero, but a classified finish — completing at least 90% of the race distance — earns the driver’s finishing position even without a points reward.