Hill takes pole for Canadian Grand Prix; Renault
(c) 1996 ATLAS TEAM
F1
Saturday June 15, 1996Summary
Damon Hill took the pole position for the Canadian Grand Prix in the breathtaking dying moments of
qualifying. He was consistently slower than Villeneuve all the way through the session, taking a
fourth best time, but he was right there at the end. Schumacher, who did not choose his laps accurate,
came in short because of a red flag situation at the end of the session.
Notes:
- Schumacher is using his T-car because his race car has electrical problems.
- Irvine is now also using the new high nose on his Ferrari, Schumacher already used it yesterday.
Irvine also had his engine replaced just before the session.
- Montermini suffered an engine problem or oil leak, but he continued to drive even with an
smoking car.
- The Tyrrell Team were using a new qualifying spec. Yamaha V10 engine.
- The session is stopped, code red, after 43 minutes because Alesi crashed when he braked into a
corner. The back Benetton was damaged because of the impact with a tyre wall, but Alesi could walk
away unhurt and continue in the T-car.
- Berger spins and hits a tyre wall when he brakes into the same corner where Alesi went off.
- Badoer parks his car on the grass after he had just seen Berger come by and hit the wall.
Quotes
Hill on pole: "When they stopped the session, I really had to get my head down to beat Jacques' time. He posted a very good time in his first run and I wasn't able to match that run. We were put under a little pressure, but the engineers made a few changes and the car was better in the second run."
Villeneuve: "Yeah, I'm disappointed. We really went out there to get it. It's a fine line, though. Two-hundredths of a second is not much in a race car."
Schumacher: "I am not very satisfied as I feel I could have done a better time. However I barely had a single trouble-free lap."
Hill on race:"There are quite a few places to pass here now, and it will be a much harder race"
Top six
- Hill 1:21.059
- Villeneuve 1:21.079
- Schumacher 1:21.198
- Alesi 1:21.529
- Irvine 1:21.657
- Hakkinen 1:21.807
Renault
Renault will decide before the next Grand Prix at Magny-Cours
if they will quit Formula One, because of the high costs, or not.
Renault have been criticised for some time now because the
development of the engines progresses too slow. Engines like Ferrari
and Peugeot are catching up, if they are not already at the same level.
The teams who are using Renault engines now, Williams and
Benetton, will then need to look for a new racing partner.
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