It was the first race of the 1996 Formula One World Championship, and the first Australian Grand Prix to be held at Melbourne, taking over from Adelaide.

The measure was introduced as excessively slow entrants presented potential safety hazards due to a high speed difference.

[6] Incidentally, the team had logged its best result of 7th one race earlier at the season-ending 1995 Australian Grand Prix.

[7] It was an all-Williams front row with Damon Hill and debutant Jacques Villeneuve in the blue and white Rothmans cars.

Behind Hill, Alesi sliced across in front of Hakkinen and Barrichello to claim the corner and began a chain reaction of heavy braking as drivers tried to avoid colliding with one another.

David Coulthard veered left under braking and his McLaren hit the side of Herbert's Sauber.

Towards the end of the race Villeneuve was slowed by an oil leak, which allowed Hill to catch and pass him.