Minardi lodged a protest with the Stewards of the meeting against The number 5 Williams-Renault, claiming that Damon Hill had failed to stop for a routine weight check during the qualifying session. The stewards have declined to uphold the protest and Hill's time will stand. If Minardi had been successful, Giovanni Lavaggi would have fallen within the 107% rule, and Lavaggi would have been able to start.
Hakkinen sets Warmup pace
Mercedes impressed in front of their home crowd, when the McLaren cars they power, set the top two session times. Hakkinen was quickest, with his team mate David Coulthard second. Michael Schumacher and both Ligier drivers, Oliver Panis and Pedro Diniz, all had difficult at the first chicane, runnning on to the gravel. Jos Verstapphen retired with problems, and only managed to set 17th fastest time.
Top Ten of Warmup
Summary
After a bad start, in which both Benettons managed to overtake Damon Hill, Hill managed to come through to claim his 7th win of the season. In a stunning display in the closing laps, Gerhard Berger was finally displaced from first place when he suffered engine failure. Jean Alesi brought his Benetton-Renault home in second place, with Jacques Villeneuve third.
Notes
Hill:" I have had my share of bad luck here, I was leading the race by 30 seconds in 1993 and had a puncture on the last lap. These things happen, I'm afraid, in motor racing."
" It would have been an exciting last few laps if Gerhard had kept going, it is a shame for him."
Berger: ""I had no warning that anything was wrong until suddenly the engine blew, I am very sad about this as I wanted the victory so much, for myself, for the team, for everyone. I looked in good shape, and couldn't believe what happened."
A quick look at the standings
Constructors championship