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Grand Prix Gold: 1996 British GP

It was meant to be Damon Hill's day, but a poor start and a loose wheel handed Jacques Villeneuve the advantage - even if post-race protests meant he had to wait for three hours to finally have his victory confirmed

The battle, if so it may be called, began only after the race. Jacques Villeneuve took the chequered flag at the end of the British Grand Prix, but it was not until three and a half hours later that he was confirmed as winner of the race, a Benetton protest having failed.

If Villeneuve drove a flawless race to victory, Damon Hill, of course, was the man the crowd wished to see win at home. Hill narrowly beat his Williams-Renault team-mate to the pole, but made a poor start, and was engulfed by several cars in the opening seconds, never getting higher than fourth before spinning into retirement, this precipitated by a loose front wheel.

No points for Damon at Silverstone, then, but joining Villeneuve on the podium were Gerhard Berger and Mika Hakkinen, two stars for whom success has been thin in 1996. In the meantime, Michael Schumacher, who found it hard to lose last year, is having a nightmare of a mid-season, his Ferrari again retiring early, this time with a hydraulic leak.

Both the Jordan-Peugeots scored points, which made a refreshing change, and David Coulthard made it two McLaren-Mercedes in the top six. Ferrari, though, have taken not a thing from the last three races. On the face of it, any challenge to Hill's world championship is coming from Villeneuve alone.

A hot and balmy day had been promised by the forecasters for Sunday, but it hardly looked that at nine o'clock. Already it was muggy in the extreme, but of the sun there was no sign, and shortly before the warm-up a fine mist of rain descended on Silverstone. It soon abated, however, and by the end of the half-hour times were getting down to those set in qualifying.

Hakkinen emerged fastest, and if that was a surprise, it was not a shock, for he has been markedly happier with the McLaren-Mercedes since its recent aerodynamic configuration, and was in especially fine spirits after Saturday qualifying. But you're supposed to hate the 'modern' Silverstone, Mika. "That was yesterday - today I love it!" David Coulthard by contrast, has been less confident in the McLaren following the changes, and was down in 16th, still dissatisfied with the balance of his car.

Both Williams-Renault drivers - Villeneuve second, Hill third - were quite satisfied with their cars, although Damon pointed out that the changing conditions had made for a pretty inconclusive session. Schumacher, immediately behind them on qualifying times, was fourth, content with his Ferrari, and ready for a good race, to wash away memories of the debacle at Magny-Cours. He was in for disappointment.

The crowd, of course, was rabidly behind Hill, but in the paddock there was a feeling - based on nothing more than a widespread hunch - that this might not be Damon's day, that Villeneuve would run him closer than usual, and might indeed have the beating of him. Jacques, at least, was on a circuit he knows intimately, and had been uncharacteristically upset after narrowly missing pole position. "I thought I was going to get it," he said "and I feel I should have got it."

The Williams drivers went for similar strategies at Silverstone, opting for two stops, although Hill went to the grid with a little more Elf than Villeneuve. Starting with a heavier fuel load, it was therefore crucial that Hill start well, and keep ahead of Villeneuve through the early laps, robbing him of the opportunity of running faster in a slightly lighter car.

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