Monaco 1996 – A legendary victory!
Twenty-five years ago on 19th May 1996 Ligier scored its first victory on the Monaco circuit. The French team was back in the winner's circle from which it had been absent for several years. Olivier Panis at the wheel of the Ligier JS43 Mugen also scored his first and only win in his Formula 1 career. The young French driver's stunning feat reconciled Les Bleus with an event in which they had not always met with success. In two hours Panis became part of motor racing legend and replaced in the hearts of the French public the podiums of Didier Pironi in 1980 and Jacques Laffite in 1981. While Maurice Trintignant was the first of five French drivers to win the Monaco Grand Prix, up to now Panis remains the last.
1996 – A year had elapsed since the Mugen Honda engine replaced the V10 Renault in the Ligiers. Flavio Briatore, Ligier's new majority share-holder, had reserved the powerful French engine for his state-of-the-art team and its two Benettons driven by Gerhard Berger and Jean Alesi. As always money was the crux of the matter, and as cash was short at Ligier the JS43 was an evolution of the previous year's JS41 although benefitting from improvements made by Frank Dernie and André de Cortanze. In the driver lineup Pedro Diniz joined Panis who was back for his third year with the team. While the newcomer's father was a rich industrialist, which had played a role in his choice, the young Brazilian showed promise. But the early part of the season hadn't been easy with only one point scored in five grands prix.
And the qualifying sessions for the race in the Principality didn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. The Frenchman ended up in 14th place on the time sheets in #9 after suffering electronic issues, while Diniz in #10 was in 17th spot. They were starting from far back on the grid on a twisty circuit where overtaking was very difficult. But it was in this domain that the French driver showed his daring and created a major upset in the race itself.
The grand prix got underway on a soaking wet slippery track in which even the slightest mistake could prove fatal. The drivers had to deploy the skills of a tightrope walker! At the finish only four cars crossed the finishing line and seven were classified. By the end of lap 1 five drivers had already come to grief on the Monegasque skating rink. And not just the back markers as Michael Schumacher topped the list! By lap 10 when the track was just beginning to dry out half of the starters had already retired! But Olivier didn't put a foot wrong and took the fight to his rivals. By lap 25 he was up into seventh place after passing Johnny Herbert in his Sauber in the Loews hairpin.
The JS43 had started the race on a full tank, a load of 100 kilos, which, in the rain or on a wet track wasn't much of a handicap. According to the calculations of the engineers, it wouldn't have to refuel if a tyre change wasn't necessary before the 26th lap as the Mugen Honda's fuel consumption was pretty economical in these circumstances. A risky bet but a winning one! By lap 28 it became obvious that slick tyres were the way to go and Panis made a lightning pit stop unlike his rivals who lost time refuelling. Damon Hill and Jean Alesi continued to lead the dance as the Ligier closed the gap to feisty Northern Irishman Eddie Irvine in his Ferrari. And it was again in the Loews hairpin that Panis made his move and got past his rival in a manoeuvre that was risky to say the least as the two cars banged wheels, which sent Irvine into the guardrail. Panis had just clinched his place on the podium. But Dame Fortune, or his rivals' bad luck, gave the Frenchman a helping hand. The Renault engine in Hill's Williams exploded and Alesi in his Benetton had to pit because of a suspension problem. The road to victory was now clear for Panis, but it wasn't done and dusted. It could still all go south. He had to keep an eagle eye on his fuel consumption, watch out as it had begun to rain again and fight off the attacks of David Coulthard in his McLaren-Mercedes.
After two hours of a race full of twists and turns Ligier, Panis and the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix became etched in the collective memory with a victory for Ligier and its 50th podium finish to end the French team's 21 years in Formula 1 in a blaze of glory. Because the time had come for the Magny-Cours-based squad and its founder to call it a day. Finding money to finance the team was becoming increasingly difficult and jobs were under threat. Alain Prost finally made up his mind and put his signature on a contract to buy the team at the start of 1997. He was now alone at the helm, and after nine victories and 326 Grands Prix Ligier bowed out of Formula 1 for good. But from Formula 1 only!
Photo credit: DPPI Images