1996 Tough Season With Rays of Hope

And at first it looked like he was right in doing so: problems with the clutch at the start, Michael lost several positions. Then the red miracle of Montmelo: Michael got going and overtook one opponent after the other. He took his first win for Ferrari, with a 45 seconds lead.

Great Emotions and a problematic car

“It is unbelievable, an amazing feeling“, said Michael. “I can not find the right words to describe it.” Especially if you take into account that Michael heard a strange noise coming from the rear end of his car on lap 35. “From that time one the Ferrari drove with eight instead of ten cylinders. Because of that I lacked 10 kilometres per hour on the straight. I prayed that the car would hold.” It did – this time.

But before and after that race things looked completely different. Already at the season opener in Melbourne it became obvious that it was going to be a hard season for Ferrari. The start of the season was not very promising: because of a brake problem Michael did not finish the race. Things did not get better. The Ferrari was too slow and too unreliable. In Argentina the rear wing broke, the brake disc exploded at Imola, in Canada the drive shaft flew out of the car and in France Michael suffered an enginge failure on the race’s formation lap. At Silverstone he did not finish the race because of a failure of the hydraulic system. At Monaco he made one of his few mistakes. He slid over a wet kerb and crashed into a crash barrier. But Michael always stood up for team principal Jean Todt, even as the Italian press demanded Todt’s resignation.

In the following years Michael will not have to worry about technical problems any more but back then racing was an exhausting job. At the Nürburgring and at Imola Michael drove onto the podium and Ferrari found fresh hope. But things got even better at Michael’s favourite circuit Spa-Francorchamps and at Monza, the Ferrari-Mecca: Michael won both times; his second and third season victory.

Paternal feelings in Italian

The victory at Monza was the first one for Ferrari at the Italian GP since the one-two of Gerhard Berger and Michele Alboreto in 1988; shortly after Commendatore Enzo Ferrari had died. At Monza Michael also announced that Corinna was pregnant. In February their baby-girl called Gina-Maria was born. “To win in Monza with a Ferrari was great“, said Michael. “That I got the chance to tell the whole world that I have just become a father was an additional present.”

Michael finished third in the Drivers’ Championsip, behind Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve. He did not stand a chance. Miracles take their time. But Michael announced that the championship cup was only lent; but for how long was not certain.

Courtesy by motorsport-magazin.com