On this day: Michael Schumacher records maiden Ferrari win in rain-soaked 1996 Spanish GP

Michael Schumacher recorded a grand total of 72 Formula 1 wins with Ferrari. The German driver won five world driver’s championships with the Scuderia, so it is only natural that so many of his 91 F1 wins came with the Italian team. However, there is nothing quite like that first win in the sport. And while Schumacher had won 19 races prior to this, the 1996 Spanish GP saw him notch up his maiden win for Ferrari. The race took place exactly 25 years ago on this day and is widely considered one of Schumi’s greatest Formula 1 race wins.

Let us take a look back at the first time Schumacher won a race in the iconic Ferrari car.

The background

It is worth remembering that the Ferrari of 1996 were not quite the dominant force of the early 2000s. The 1996 side had not won a world championship since 1979 and were barely in contention for race wins.

To make matters worse, the car for that year was poor. The high cockpit, a literal interpretation of the new safety rules, made it resemble a tub. It handled about as well as one too.

Yet Michael Schumacher managed to extract the best from what was, at best, a midfield car. He qualified in third place, behind the Williams’ of Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.

At that time, a podium finish for Ferrari would have been an overachievement. Little did people know what was in store for the Scuderia.

Michael Schumacher – Regenmeister

Schumacher’s ability in rainy conditions was well-known. Yet on the day of the race, it wasn’t just raining – it was pouring cats and dogs. In the modern era of the sport, such fierce rain would see the race called off.

Yet it went ahead on the day – although no one was under any impression that it was going to be easy. Hill, who started on pole, spun twice in the opening laps. A third spin on lap 12 into the pit walls ended his race.

Schumacher himself faced issues due to a malfunctioning clutch. He lost several positions and inadvertently led to an accident involving five cars. Thankfully, everyone escaped unscathed.

However, by lap 13 he had overtaken Villeneuve for the lead and he never looked back. After that point, Schumacher was lapping five seconds faster than anyone else on the grid.

Schumacher had been nicknamed Reigenmeister – German for “rain master” – due to his ability to perform well in rainy conditions. Similar to his idol Ayrton Senna, he too thrived when the track was wet.

By the time the race ended, Schumacher was 45 seconds ahead of second-placed Jean Alesi. Amazingly, only six cars finished the race – the sixth-placed driver Pedro Diniz was 2 laps behind Schumacher.

Schumacher would go on to win two more races that year. But none would have been as special as this one.