As I said in the top 10, that was the season that was and, to be frank, what a season it was. Yes, there was less overtaking than we would like and yes, one team dominated again, but at least there were some exciting performances and a bit of continuity without teams chopping and changing drivers every race.

The race results are a matter of public record and the race reviews will provide the details of each, so there is no point in rehashing them here. Instead you can read any of the reviews by selecting the relevant race in the table below and I shall write a small piece about each of the teams and drivers.

Damon Hill has had a great season and kicked the doubters where it hurts. His early season dominance may not have been replicated throughout the season but you can put this down to the lack of support that was given to him by the team when he had a few problems. Frank Williams has always been less supportive of his drivers than almost any other team boss and was lucky that his second driver could take up the slack when Damon tripped. As usual Damon was superb while leading from the front but made mistakes in traffic. The final round was an emphatic return to form and finished the Championship in the best way possible.

Jacques Villeneuve had a lot to live up to this year and luckily for him he managed to. The first race saw him take pole position ahead of Hill and a win looked to be on the cards until an oil leak slowed him. Many, however, weren't convinced, saying that Hill looked to be staying with the Canadian with relative ease. More fuel was added to the fire when he spun off in Brazil but as his team mate stumbled, Jacques took over and became the only title challenger. It was always only an outside shot and, as brilliant as he was, the gap was too large to bridge and he will have to wait at least another year. His best moment was when he overtook Schumacher for the lead in Portugal in a ballsy Indycar style move at the Parabolica.

Micheal Schumacher is the best driver in the world at the moment, it's official! Anyone who doubted this must have been swayed by his 1996 performance. The F310 was no better than the 1995 car, yet Schumacher managed to make it into a contender. This man has to be one of the title contenders for 1997 if Ferrari and John Barnard (the designer) can get their act together.

Eddie Irvine had a hard job in 1996. He was signed to be a definite number 2 and took to role in his stride, supporting his team leader when required. In Melbourne Eddie out qualified Schumacher but gave way in the race when asked to by the team. This was also his best race for the Scuderia and he suffered more than any Ferrari driver since Alesi with retirements. His place is secure for 1997 but looks to be at risk from Mika Salo in 1998. If he is forced to move, he will be an asset to any team as he is extremely fast and consistent.

Jean Alesi was the man who made all the running in the early part of the season. A series of unforced errors dropped him out of contention long before the halfway point and even though he fought back hard he never looked like being any danger to the Williams pair or Schumacher. Rumours suggest that Flavio Briatore has lost faith with the French Sicilian and is looking to replace him but if the termination payment is as large as I've heard, he should hold onto him as he could deliver the goods next year.

Gerhard Berger was the second of the Ferrari drivers to be signed by Benetton to replace the departing Schumacher and, initially, the twitchy Benetton chassis (designed with the German Champion in mind) didn't suit the experienced Austrian and he lagged behind team mate Alesi in qualifying and races. A few races into the European season he seemed to find his feet and if it wasn't for a series of mechanical failures he would have certainly taken a win (probably in Germany). Berger is the only one of the two drivers who appears to be definitely staying for 1997 and now the team knows him (and the way he drives) he should be in for a good season.

Mika Hakkinen had a huge practice accident at Adelaide at the end of 1995 and many observers thought that he would not recover and be the same driver he was before. Mika proved them wrong. To my eyes the crash seemed to take away a little of his impetuousness and made him into a better all round driver. Generally, Mika has shown better overall form and I was surprised when Ron Dennis (the team boss) stalled before signing him for 1997.

David Coulthard moved to McLaren with great hopes for 1996 having been won in 1995 for Williams. It seemed, however that he only ran well when the car was suited to the track and he dropped back into the midfield when things went wrong. If things were running well, David could run with all but the Williams pair and the lead Ferrari (although if he was in front it was a different matter) and looked more like the man who won the Portuguese GP last season. Another winner in 1997 if the car is right.

Rubens Barrichello suffered at the hands of Eddie Irvine last season, going from "Next Big Thing" to "Also Ran". Hopes were high for 1996 and he spoke of a new attitude with regards to his driving. Indeed, the second race saw him feature strongly before spinning off in wet conditions and he was dominating Martin Brundle, his new team mate. By the mid-season the dream was over and he had to work hard to stay ahead. Lacklustre performances towards the end of the season ensured that his seat would be filled by Ralf Schumacher in 1997. Rubens has signed a 3 year deal with Stewart Grand Prix and seems to be bitter towards the team that gave him his F1 debut.

Martin Brundle started his season by writing off his new Jordan 196 in spectacular fashion at Melbourne. An accident triggered by Panis and Coulthard saw him flying upside-down into the gravel, breaking the chassis in two. Luckily he was unhurt and made the restart but the omens were bad and his whole season would prove to be worse than he would have liked. Although he has never won a race, Martin is one of the faster drivers in F1 today and having smashed Olivier Panis' reputation in 1995 he set about destroying Rubens Barrichello. When the car was good he could be relied upon to keep out of trouble, but collisions and mechanical failures ruined his chances of many points finishes.

Oliver Panis had a hard 1995 after being dominated by part-time team mate Martin Brundle and needed to re-establish himself as a force in F1. The new team mate Pedro Diniz would pose no threat so he could get it together at his own pace. The Monaco win will probably be a career highlight and unless he moves or the team does change hands he is destined for nothing better. Another driver who does well when the car does, Oliver was one of the drivers who could never be counted out until and was usually within a shout of the last point when the top cars dropped out.

Pedro Diniz has been much maligned over 1995 and 1996 but I have to admit that he's starting to look like an F1 driver at last. The season started with a poor showing in Brazil and a horrific looking fire in Argentina but slowly, the young Brazilian started to improve and towards then end of the season was matching his team mate for pace (if not over a race distance at least for short periods). Many people (including Jacques Villeneuve) still think that he has no place in F1, but he although he will never be a front runner, he isn't the problem he once was. A solid season that will allow him to build for the future.

Heinz Harald-Frentzen started the season with a Williams option in his pocket, knowing that only a disaster could stop him getting into the team for 1997. As usual, the German started the season dominating his team mate, but rarely proved more than a minor distraction for the bigger teams. The understeering C15 didn't suit him and he threw away a win at Monaco when he hit Eddie Irvine's Ferrari. He is fast, but how fast we'll only know next season.

Johnny Herbert leapt from one shadow to another and was expected to fail by many. In the first part of the season Johnny tested infrequently but (as with Irvine) once given the time he gave his team mate a run for his money. Herbert did as well as could be expected at Benetton but Sauber have helped him regain his reputation and if they can design a good chassis and get a good engine he should be up there.

Ukyo Katayama had a worse season than last year (if that was possible). Mika Salo had clearly unsettled him and he never looked like repeating his 1994 form. No points for the first time in many years (first time ever?) give testemony to the difficulties he suffered (his car was by far the more unreliable in the team).

Mika Salo stuck with Tyrrell for his second season and has very little to show for it. The fact that his reputation is still intact dispite the problems shows that he is a good driver. The first half of the season brought all of his points and at the very start Mika was upbeat about his chances. Salo also recieved his share of the reliability problems and has another season to face with Tyrrell before he can move on.

Ricardo Rosset has moved from F3 to F3000 and now to F1 in 3 seasons and has gained a good reputation along the way. A trying ear for the Brazilian, stilted by a lack of testing miles. Ricardo was slower than his team mate but finished more often dispite not feeling at ease in the Arrows. 1997 may see a move to Tyrrell where he hopes to do much better.

Jos Verstappen has usually impressed people with his speed, but his cars have a tendency to fly off the track or break along the way. This season was no exception and, while doing surprising things in the Arrows, he retired far too often from accidents of his own making. His manager was looking for around $5,000,000 for 1997 at the start of the season but now Jos looks like missing out completely (Jordan are his only real hope).

Pedro Lamy was back in an F1 car again and proving that he is a consistent driver, but not all that fast. Admittedly, compared to 2 of his team mates he can be forgiven for not setting the world alight. A steady season marred by a couple of dodgy drives (like crashing with team mate Fisichella in Monaco).

Giancarlo Fisichella was one of the revelations of 1996. Along with team mate Marques (sadly they never raced against each other) he was arguably one of the finds of the season. He invariably outqualified Lamy, but due to the car was never in a position to do anything with his grid positions

Tarso Marques, as mentioned before, was one of the surprises of the season. A stunning performance in Argentina was the highpoint, let down only when he rear-ended Brundle's Jordan (I won't apportion blame here). Tarso looks to be in line for a full time seat at Minardi in 1997 and will hopefully make a big enough impression to move up.

Giovanni Lavaggi is another driver who has been much maligned in certain sectors, but not here. Lavaggi is under no illusions that about his ability and he seems to take it all in his stride (as signing the Tifosi's programs whether they liked it or not at Monza goes to show). A nice bloke who seems to enjoy F1, it would be nice to see more people on the grid with a similar sense of humour.

Luca Badoer has managed little since winning the F3000 Championship, primarily due to him driving for the little teams. A string of non-qualifications and a roll at Argentina were indicitive of the way his season went.

Andrea Montermini drove for Pacific in 1995 and seems to be a bad omen for teams (Pacific collapsed as well). His season was no better than Luca Badoer's (mind you he didn't have a big crash I suppose) and I'd be surprised to see him again.

That's it as far as this piece goes don't forget to keep an eye on Atlas News for the latest team moves and information.