1996 Formula One World Championship

Damon Hill won his only Formula One World Championship in his last year with Williams. He became the first son of a Formula One Drivers' Champion to win the title.

Hill's teammate Jacques Villeneuve (pictured in 2010) finished as runner-up in his debut season with four wins.

Defending double world champion Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2005) finished third in his first year with Scuderia Ferrari, taking three wins for the team.

Williams-Renault won the World Constructors' Championship with the Williams FW18.

Scuderia Ferrari finished second in the World Constructors' Championship with the Ferrari F310.

Benetton-Renault finished third in the World Constructors' Championship with the Benetton B196.

The 1996 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 50th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The championship commenced on 10 March and ended on 13 October after sixteen races. Two World Championship titles were awarded, one for Drivers and one for Constructors.

Damon Hill won the Drivers' Championship two years after being beaten by a point by Michael Schumacher, making him the first son of a World Champion (his father Graham having won the title in 1962 and 1968) to have won the title himself as well as the only until Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 champion Keke Rosberg, won the title 34 years later in 2016. Hill, who had finished runner-up for the past two seasons, was seriously threatened only by his teammate, newcomer Jacques Villeneuve, the 1995 IndyCar and Indianapolis 500 champion. Williams-Renault easily won the Constructors' title, as there was no other competitor strong enough to post a consistent challenge throughout the championship. This was also the beginning of the end of Williams's 1990s dominance, as it was announced that Hill and designer Adrian Newey would depart at the conclusion of the season, with engine manufacturer Renault also leaving after 1997.

Two-time defending world champion Michael Schumacher had moved to Ferrari and despite numerous reliability problems, they had gradually developed into a front-running team by the end of the season. Defending Constructors' Champion Benetton began their decline towards the middle of the grid, having lost key personnel due to Schumacher's departure, and failed to win a race. Olivier Panis took the only victory of his career at the Monaco Grand Prix.

For the first time since 1979, no Brazilian driver mounted the podium, and this also was the last championship for a British driver until Lewis Hamilton in 2008. This year also saw the introduction of new car numbering system predominately based on the finishing order of the constructors' championship from the previous year (an exception being made in cases where a reigning drivers' champion moving teams) replacing the previous system which had been in since 1974. The constructors' championship-based car numbering system would remain in place until the end of the 2013 season . This was also the last season in which Goodyear would act as the sole tyre supplier in the sport as Bridgestone would join F1 for 1997 - creating a tyre war.