The 1996 Australian Grand Prix was Round 1 of the 1996 FIA Formula 1 World Championship. The event was held in Melbourne, Australia on Sunday, 10 March 1996. Jacques Villeneuve started on pole position in the Williams Renault and his team-mate Damon Hill was the race winner. Villeneuve made a memorable F1 debut at this Grand Prix and finished 2nd.
1996 Transurban Australian Grand Prix Race Result
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Nationality | Team | Chassis | Tyre | Laps | Race Time | Gap | Interval | Best Lap | Lap | Speed | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Damon Hill | Great Britain | Williams Renault | FW18 | Goodyear | 58 | 1:32:50.491 | – | – | 1:33.621 | 27 | 198.736 | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | Jacques Villeneuve | Canada | Williams Renault | FW18 | Goodyear | 58 | 1:33:28.511 | +38.020 | +38.020 | 1:33.421 | 27 | 197.388 | 6 |
| 3 | 2 | Eddie Irvine | Great Britain | Ferrari | F310 | Goodyear | 58 | 1:33:53.062 | +1:02.571 | +24.551 | 1:34.533 | 37 | 196.528 | 4 |
| 4 | 4 | Gerhard Berger | Austria | Benetton Renault | B196 | Goodyear | 58 | 1:34:07.528 | +1:17.037 | +14.466 | 1:34.757 | 26 | 196.025 | 3 |
| 5 | 7 | Mika Häkkinen | Finland | McLaren Mercedes | MP4/11 | Goodyear | 58 | 1:34:25.562 | +1:35.071 | +18.034 | 1:35.843 | 49 | 195.401 | 2 |
| 6 | 19 | Mika Salo | Finland | Tyrrell Yamaha | 024 | Goodyear | 57 | 1:33:03.181 | 1 lap | 1 lap | 1:35.280 | 39 | 194.865 | 1 |
| 7 | 9 | Olivier Panis | France | Ligier Mugen Honda | JS43 | Goodyear | 57 | 1:33:14.468 | 1 lap | +11.287 | 1:34.767 | 21 | 194.472 | |
| 8 | 15 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Germany | Sauber Ford | C15 | Goodyear | 57 | 1:33:29.436 | 1 lap | +14.968 | 1:35.596 | 43 | 193.953 | |
| 9 | 16 | Riccardo Rosset | Brazil | Footwork Hart | FA17 | Goodyear | 56 | 1:33:21.629 | 2 laps | 1 lap | 1:36.557 | 45 | 190.816 | |
| 10 | 10 | Pedro Diniz | Brazil | Ligier Mugen Honda | JS43 | Goodyear | 56 | 1:33:25.689 | 2 laps | +4.060 | 1:37.024 | 24 | 190.678 | |
| 11 | 18 | Ukyo Katayama | Japan | Tyrrell Yamaha | 024 | Goodyear | 55 | 1:32:51.827 | 3 laps | 1 lap | 1:36.377 | 44 | 188.411 | |
| DNF | 20 | Pedro Lamy | Portugal | Minardi Ford | M195B | Goodyear | 42 | 1:15:38.628 | 1:38.784 | 4 | 176.630 | |||
| DNF | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Germany | Ferrari | F310 | Goodyear | 32 | 53:01.667 | 1:33.651 | 18 | 191.971 | |||
| DNF | 21 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Italy | Minardi Ford | M195B | Goodyear | 32 | 54:09.621 | 1:38.077 | 5 | 187.957 | |||
| DNF | 11 | Rubens Barrichello | Brazil | Jordan Peugeot | 196 | Goodyear | 29 | 47:25.412 | 1:35.064 | 27 | 194.533 | |||
| DNF | 8 | David Coulthard | Great Britain | McLaren Mercedes | MP4/11 | Goodyear | 24 | 39:55.145 | 1:37.746 | 13 | 191.258 | |||
| DNF | 17 | Jos Verstappen | Netherlands | Footwork Hart | FA17 | Goodyear | 15 | 25:10.462 | 1:36.649 | 13 | 189.549 | |||
| DNF | 3 | Jean Alesi | France | Benetton Renault | B196 | Goodyear | 9 | 14:36.293 | 1:35.519 | 8 | 196.035 | |||
| DNF | 12 | Martin Brundle | Great Britain | Jordan Peugeot | 196 | Goodyear | 1 | 1:56.481 | 1:56.481 | 1 | 163.865 | |||
| DNS | 14 | Johnny Herbert | Great Britain | Sauber Ford | C15 | Goodyear | ||||||||
| DNQ | 22 | Luca Badoer | Italy | Forti Ford | FG01B | Goodyear | ||||||||
| DNQ | 23 | Andrea Montermini | Italy | Forti Ford | FG01B | Goodyear |