A surprising race it was, the Grand ...

Published on 28 April 1996 by Verstappen Info Page

A surprising race it was, the Grand Prix of Europe, held at the Nurburgring. Jos Verstappen again had to give up due to technical problems. In lap 38 he heard an explosion just after braking for the chicane as his gearbox had blown up.

The race itself had a surprising outcome. After a bad start for Damon Hill, who had pole position, Jacques Villeneuve took the lead firmly in hand. He was followed by Coulthard, Barichello and Schumacher. In his second lap Jean Alesi was too eager to overtake Mika Salo. He damaged his left front wheel and was the first to drop out of the race.

In lap 6 Irvine and Panis touched and both drivers had to give up soon after. Meanwhile Hill had overtaken Schumacher in lap 4. After about 15 laps Jos occupied the tenth position chasing Herbert. After the pit stops and a 'fabulous' blocking action from Diniz at Hill, Damon occupied the eleventh position.

In lap 38 Jos Verstappen had to give up again due to technical problems. This time the gearbox had given up. The rest of the race Hill fought back from position 11 to position 4, battling Coulthard for the third position. Villeneuve and Schumacher had an exciting battle for positions 1 and 2. Villeneuve took his first well deserved win, Schumacher came in second and Coulthard was third. See European Grand Prix results 1996 for the race results.