1996 was the first full season without Ayrton Senna. The shadow of Imola 1994 still loomed. Safety had improved, but the sport was still lethal. At the (eerily, the same circuit), a freak accident during practice saw a wheel fly off Benetton’s Gerhard Berger’s car, hurtle over the fence, and kill a trackside marshal. It was a brutal reminder that F1’s danger had not been legislated away.
The FW18 was not flashy. It did not have the radical raised nose of the Ferrari or the clever hydraulics of the McLaren. What it had was balance. The car was so planted, so forgiving, and so fast in a straight line that it rendered the competition obsolete. f1 1996 season
Visually, the 1996 cars are iconic. This was the peak of the "Step Nose" design (most notably on the Ferrari F310). The cars were wide, sat high, and looked aggressive. 1996 was the first full season without Ayrton Senna
If you want to binge the highlights, watch these three specific Grands Prix: At the (eerily, the same circuit), a freak
It was the year the machine won, and the man driving it paid the price.
The season opened with a portent. Villeneuve, on his debut, snatched pole position. The paddock gasped. But the race was a demolition. Hill drove a flawless race, winning by four seconds, while Villeneuve retired with an oil leak. The message was clear: Williams had the pace, but experience mattered.