Summary

Damon Hill again has increased his lead by winning at Magny-Cours today. Hill had no trouble staying ahead at the start because pole-man Schumacher blew his engine on the formation lap, he also saw no threat to him winning in France for the first time after being second three times in a row.

Jacques Villeneuve displayed the Williams-Renault dominance by taking second place again.

The two Benetton's of Alesi and Berger gave Renault a one to four finish on their home ground. Alesi could defend his third place from his team-mate Berger in the last stages of the race. However the top three couldn't celebrate their podium because no champagne is allowed.

The McLaren-Mercedes's of Hakkinen and Coulthard completed the top six.

Notes

• Schumacher blew his Ferrari engine on the parade lap leaving a clear track for Hill at the start.
• Montermini quits because of technical problems on lap 2.
• Fisichella retires on lap 5.
• Irvine suffers some problems and retires in the pits on lap 6.
• The right-hand front suspension brakes on Verstappen's TWR and he retires in the gravel trap on lap 10.
• Badoer parks his Forti on the grass on lap 29.
• Diniz parks his Ligier at the end of the pitlane on lap 30.
• Katayama ends his race in the pits on lap 33.
• Frentzen has problems and ends in the gravel on lap 56.
• Coulthard's McLaren quits when he had already passed the finish, he gets a ride home on the TWR of Rosset.

Top Six

1. Hill 1:36:28.7695
2. Villeneuve + 8.127
3. Alesi + 46.442
4. Berger + 46.859
5. Hakkinen + 1:02.774
6. Coulthard 1 lap

• Fastest lap: Jacques Villeneuve 1:18.610

Quotes

Hill: "There were no problems. I want to dedicate this race to all the friends of ours at Renault-Sport. It is a very good result and I am delighted for the whole team. There is only one thing left for me to do and that is to win the British Grand Prix. Irrespective of the championship, a win at home would be fantastic."

Hill on Schumacher blowing his engine: "It was an unexpected sight, but it made the race a lot easier for me."

Villeneuve: "It was a good result especially after the big crash yesterday."

Alesi: "It was the first time for me on the podium of the French Grand Prix. It was a good result."

Schumacher. "Shit! (...) I was very angry at first but then you have to calm to and look at the problem. It's a pity because we had been reliable until Canada but now we are getting problems. But I always knew this would be a learning year with the team."

A quick look at the standings

1. Hill 63
2. Villeneuve 38
3. Schumacher 26
4. Alesi 25
5. Coulthard 14
6. Hakkinen 12
7. Panis 11
8. Berger 10
9. Irvine 9
10. Barrichello 7
11. Frentzen 6
12. Salo 5
13. Herbert 4
14. Brundle 2
15. Diniz 1
16. Verstappen 1

Constructors championship

1. Williams-Renault 101
2. Ferrari 35
3. Benetton-Renault 35
4. McLaren-Mercedes 26
5. Ligier-Mugen-Honda 12
6. Sauber-Ford 10
7. Jordan-Peugeot 89
8. Tyrrell-Yamaha 5
9. TWR 1

Johnny Herbert has been disqualified from the race when the stewards discovered that his Sauber-Ford was not conform the technical regulations.

Herbert lost his 11th place finish because the turning valves were too high. Irvine lost his grid position over the same regulation.