STORY OF THE DAY: Schumacher restores Ferrari victory at Monza

Michael Schumacher won the 1996 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, round fourteen of the Formula One World Championship, in Ferrari number 1. Starting third, he finished ahead of Jean Alesi and Mika Häkkinen to secure his third victory of the season. It was Ferrari’s first Italian Grand Prix triumph since Gerhard Berger’s victory in 1988.

The temporary tyre stacks placed at the chicanes shaped a turbulent race. Damon Hill retired after striking one while leading, leaving Schumacher and Alesi to contest victory through their pit-stop strategies. Schumacher also clipped a tyre stack late in the race but escaped without serious damage, then controlled the closing laps before an ecstatic home crowd.

The F310/2 was the substantially revised form of Ferrari’s first V10 Formula One car. Its three-litre engine was installed in a carbon-fibre composite chassis whose aerodynamics had been reworked during the season, producing a more conventional and effective profile than the original F310. The development helped Ferrari become a more consistent threat in the second half of 1996.

Michael Schumacher was a German driver and the reigning double World Champion when he joined Ferrari in 1996. Already admired for his technical discipline and relentless race pace, he quickly assumed a leading role in the team’s reconstruction. His first Italian Grand Prix victory gave that project an emotionally important success at Ferrari’s home race.