F1 TV ARCHIVE: The best ever wet-weather drive? Watch extended highlights of the classic 1996 Spanish GP

Was Michael Schumacher’s victory at the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix the greatest ever wet-weather drive? Quite possibly.

In a Ferrari that was, er, not quite on the level of their 2022-spec championship-leading F1-75 (Schumacher’s team mate Eddie Irvine would later unkindly call the car “a piece of junk”), in Schumacher’s hands, the F310 came alive in the dismal conditions at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

READ MORE: Find out where this race featured on our rundown of 10 moments of Michael Schumacher brilliance

Overcoming a poor start, Schumacher then metronomically worked his way up the order in the lashing rain, picking off early race leader Jacques Villeneuve on Lap 11 of 65 before slipping and sliding his way to victory. Only Jean Alesi and Villeneuve would finish on the same lap as the German (albeit both over 40s adrift), as Schumacher recorded his first ever win for Ferrari.

Watch extended highlights of the 1996 Spanish Grand Prix in the video above – and to explore our race archive, with coverage going all the way back to the 1970 season, tap here to head to F1 TV.