However, the unexpected happened: Michael started badly, losing first position and, while chasing the Williams of David Coulthard, took a wet rubbing strip too confidently at the Portier corner to end up against the barriers: “I made a serious mistake, throwing an excellent opportunity to the wind,” he said, adding: “I thank the team for the work done. I owe Ferrari’s fans.” The chance to repay that debt came two weeks later in Spain. In qualifying, in the dry, the Williams called the shots as it did all season.. Damon Hill won pole position four tenths of a second ahead of Jacques Villeneuve and almost a second in front of Schumacher. However, on race day it was pouring. It looked like the race would start behind the Safety Car but at the last moment the race director decided that it could go ahead as normal. The cars set off gingerly over the soaking wet Catalan asphalt, and Schumacher had one of the worst starts, slipping to seventh place by the first corner, behind his team-mate Eddie Irvine. Meanwhile, the race director’s decision proved way off the mark with five cars retiring in the first lap alone. Irvine joined them on the second lap, going into a spin and his engine stalling. On lap 3 Schumacher was already in a battle with the Benetton of Gerhard Berger for fourth place, although the duel quickly became one for third place because, in the meantime, race leader Hill had spun. Indeed, Hill would spin again before ending his race against the pit wall. Thus Villeneuve took the lead ahead of the other Benetton of Jean Alesi. Schumacher was third having overtaken Berger on lap 4, before speeding off in pursuit of the Frenchman.

ean was a wizard in the rain but Michael had an excellent day. In less than no time he was in the slipstream of the Benetton and by the ninth lap was in second place. The number of laps Villeneuve would stay in the lead also appeared numbered. Just three laps passed before the Ferrari took the lead and, by lap 13, Schumacher had stretched the gap to four seconds ahead of the Canadian. Michael was the absolute master of the race: lap after fast lap, he built up a lead over everyone. His 14th lap was the fastest of the race in 1:45:571. The fastest of the others, Rubens Barrichello for Jordan, was 2.2 seconds slower. From the outside you might have thought that everything was going smoothly. But actually Schumacher’s incredible pace masked difficulties with his engine, the 046 V10, a type that the federation had imposed on all manufacturers. Indeed, on lap 18 one or two cylinders stopped working due to water infiltration to the point that anyone with an ear for these things began to fear a breakdown. On the 24th lap the engine was running well again but seven laps later the worrying sound returned. Michael’s lead over the first of his pursuers, Alesi, dropped from one minute to 45 seconds but the day was destined for a happy ending.The F310 crossed the finish line first and Schumacher notched up his first victory with the Scuderia to kick off a series that would only end 10 years and 71 wins later at the 2006 Chinese Grand Prix.

1996 Masterpieces