Nigel Mansell had gone back to America after his outing for Williams at the French GP and so David Coulthard was back in the second Williams alongside Damon Hill. Things did not begin well with Hill leaving the pits on Friday morning only to have his suspension fall apart on the first lap out of the pits. Qualifying proved to be an extraordinary battle between Hill, Michael Schumacher's Benetton and Gerhard Berger's Ferrari. It ended with Berger glancing the barrier at the end of the pitlane as he hurried out to have a run. The three cars were covered by two-hundredths of a second with Hill on pole.

Before the start of the race Coulthard stalled and so had to start from the back. Eddie Irvine also disappeared when his engine overheated and Martin Brundle's McLaren blew up mightily as the race started.

Hill took the lead with Schumacher second and Berger third ahead of a fast-starting Rubens Barrichello (Jordan-Hart), Alési (Ferrari) and Jos Verstappen (Benetton). At the tail-end of the field Coulthard had a spin.

There was little drama until it was announced that Schumacher had been given a five-second stop/go penalty for twice overtaking Hill during the parade lap. The Benetton team refused to call Michael in, arguing that they had not been properly notified of the punishment. While this was happening the pit stops began and Schumacher emerged ahead of Hill. Alési was third with Mika Häkkinen (McLaren-Peugeot) fourth and Berger fifth ahead of Barrichello, Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Sauber), Ukyo Katayama (Tyrrell-Yamaha) and Coulthard ninth.

Schumacher was then black-flagged for failing to come in for his stop/go penalty after seven laps. The black flag informs the driver that he must stop at his pits on the next lap. Schumacher later said he did not see the black flag. In the pits the Benetton men argued with the FIA. On lap 27 - 14 laps after the penalty was given - Schumacher finally stopped but only after Race Director Roland Bruynseraede had been to the Benetton pit. The team later received a severe reprimand and a fine of $25,000.

Schumacher's stop/go penalty dropped him to fourth place, but only for a couple of laps before Alési and Häkkinen both went into the pits and so Michael was second again. He could not catch Hill and had to settle for second place. Berger ran third until he retired with engine trouble leaving Barrichello in third position. He later dropped behind Häkkinen and chased the Finn all the way to the flag. The pair collided at the last corner. Barrichello drove in on three wheels, crossing the finish line in the pitlane but Häkkinen was extricated from a sandtrap and managed to get to the line first to claim third.