Twenty-seven years ago, Michael Schumacher won his first victory with Scuderia.

After winning two consecutive titles with Benetton, Michael Schumacher, one of Formula 1's most sought-after drivers, joined Ferrari at the start of the 1996 season. A look back at the Baron's first victory in the red team.

Leaving a team is never easy, and Michael Schumacher's years at Ferrari were no exception. The Ferrari F310 he drove in 1996 was far from a masterpiece; it lagged behind the Williams cars, forcing Schumacher to fight like a lion against Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve in faster cars. However, it was on a rainy Sunday in June 1996 that the German finally clinched his first victory for the Scuderia. Williams had swept the front row in Spain. Hill took pole position, 0.4 seconds ahead of Villeneuve and 0.9 seconds ahead of Schumacher. At the start of the weekend, the Ferrari driver's chances of winning the Spanish Grand Prix seemed virtually nil. A sudden downpour hit the Circuit de Catalunya a few hours before the start, causing officials to doubt whether the race could go ahead. After a short delay, the race finally got underway, but the track remained dangerously wet.

Schumacher found himself stuck at the back of the pack at the start, falling to sixth place at the end of the first lap, far behind the two Williams cars. The real surprise came when Hill crashed his FW18 into a wall, retiring for the second consecutive race after Monaco.

While the other drivers struggled with the wet surface, Schumacher found his rhythm, setting lap times around four seconds faster than Villeneuve. His advantage came from a car that had been set up for the rain. After crossing the finish line, he said: “On a dry track, we weren't competitive, but in the rain, we were dominant. I really didn't expect to win today. It's a fantastic day because we earned it together. ” He added that the car had experienced an engine problem midway through the race, running on only one or two cylinders, but that it had nevertheless performed admirably on the wet track. “There is still work to be done to understand the car's problems, but for now, I'm going to savor this victory and dedicate it to the whole team.”