The Ligier JS43 was the car with which the Ligier team competed in the Formula One

Formula One

Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 season. It was driven by Olivier Panis

Olivier Panis

Olivier Panis is a French racing driver. Panis is best known in F1 not only as a test driver for the McLaren team but for his win at the eventful Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 for the Ligier team after starting 14th...

, who was in his third season with the team, and Pedro Diniz

Pedro Diniz

Pedro Paulo Diniz is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 99 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 26, 1995...

, who moved from Forti

Forti

Forti Corse, commonly known as Forti, was an Italian motor racing team chiefly known for its brief, and unsuccessful, involvement in Formula One in the mid-1990s. It was established in the late 1970s and competed in lower formulae for two decades...

.

The JS43 was an evolution of 's relatively successful JS41

Ligier JS41

The Ligier JS41 was a Formula One car designed by former Lotus designer Frank Dernie for use by the Ligier team in the 1995 Formula One season. The number 26 seat was taken by Olivier Panis and the number 25 seat was shared by Martin Brundle and Aguri Suzuki. The teams test driver was Franck...

, designed by Frank Dernie

Frank Dernie

Frank Dernie is a veteran British engineer with extensive Formula One motorsport experience.-Career:Dernie was brought up in Lancashire and educated at Kirkham Grammar School before he studied engineering at the Imperial College London university...

. However, he, team manager Tony Dowe and majority owner Tom Walkinshaw

Tom Walkinshaw

Tom Walkinshaw was a Scottish racing car driver and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing...

 left the team after ownership problems with Ligier founder Guy Ligier

Guy Ligier

Guy Ligier is a French former rugby player and racing driver.He first made his name as a rugby player in the late 1940s when he was working as a butcher's assistant in his home town of Vichy. An orphan, he was determined to build up a successful business and saved all his money in order to buy a...

. This paved the way for Alain Prost

Alain Prost

Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...

 to buy the team for .

Despite these losses, the car performed respectably all season, with both chassis and engine the subject of steady development. Despite season-long complaints about the JS43's braking performance, Panis managed to win his first and only Grand Prix at the chaotic Monaco GP

1996 Monaco Grand Prix

The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 19, 1996. The race was run in wet weather, causing significant attrition and setting a record for the least number of cars to be running at the end of a Grand Prix race...

. It was also the team's first win since Canada

1981 Canadian Grand Prix

The 1981 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 27, 1981, at Montreal. Jacques Laffite won the race driving for Ligier. It would prove to be Ligier's last race win for fifteen years, until the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix...

 .

Panis also scored a fifth place at the Hungaroring

1996 Hungarian Grand Prix

The 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 11, 1996 at Hungaroring.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Michael Schumacher 1:17.129* Fastest lap: Damon Hill 1:20.093* Williams secured the Constructors Championship....

, and Diniz also finished in the points on two occasions. However, the Brazilian was lucky to escape a serious fire at the Argentine GP

1996 Argentine Grand Prix

The 1996 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 7, 1996 at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires. Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning, Damon Hill made it three wins out of three, with Jacques Villeneuve helping Williams complete their second one-two of the season...

.

The team eventually finished sixth in the Constructors' Championship, with 15 points.

Complete Formula One results

(results in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	Engine	Tyres	Drivers	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WCC
	Ligier	Mugen Honda V10 V10 engine A V10 engine is a V engine with 10 cylinders in two banks of five with a distinct exhaust note.- Mechanics :The V10 is essentially the result of mating two even-firing straight-5 engines together. The straight-5 engine shows first and second order rocking motion...			AUS 1996 Australian Grand Prix The 1996 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 10 March 1996 at Melbourne. It was the first time this race was held in Melbourne since 1984, taking over from Adelaide as the host of the Australian Grand Prix...	BRA 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix The 1996 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on March 31, 1996 at Interlagos, amidst heavy rain. Six different teams scored points, with Damon Hill following up his win at the first round of the season....	ARG 1996 Argentine Grand Prix The 1996 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 7, 1996 at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires. Despite suffering a bout of food poisoning, Damon Hill made it three wins out of three, with Jacques Villeneuve helping Williams complete their second one-two of the season...	EUR 1996 European Grand Prix The 1996 European Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on April 28, 1996 at Nürburgring. Jacques Villeneuve scored his first Formula One victory in his fourth Formula One start.Both Benetton cars made extremely slow starts, due to the brakes locking on...	SMR 1996 San Marino Grand Prix The 1996 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 5, 1996 at Imola.- Qualifying :- Race :-Standings after Grand Prix:*Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion....	MON 1996 Monaco Grand Prix The 1996 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on May 19, 1996. The race was run in wet weather, causing significant attrition and setting a record for the least number of cars to be running at the end of a Grand Prix race...	ESP 1996 Spanish Grand Prix The 1996 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on June 2, 1996 at the Circuit de Catalunya.This race, Michael Schumacher's first Ferrari victory, is generally regarded as one of his finest...	CAN 1996 Canadian Grand Prix The 1996 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 16, 1996. The race was won by Damon Hill ahead of home hero Jacques Villeneuve, Gilles' son....	FRA 1996 French Grand Prix The 1996 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held at Magny-Cours on June 30, 1996.-Qualifying:-Race:- Notes :*Fastest Lap: Jacques Villeneuve 1:18.610*The engine of polesitter Schumacher's Ferrari failed on the formation lap...	GBR 1996 British Grand Prix The 1996 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 14, 1996 at Silverstone. Jacques Villeneuve was the winner. After making a slow start from pole position, Damon Hill retired after a wheelnut problem caused him to spin off the circuit while he was trying to pass Mika Häkkinen...	GER 1996 German Grand Prix The 1996 German Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on July 28, 1996 at Hockenheimring. Damon Hill started the race on pole position, and won it after Gerhard Berger's engine failed with 4 laps to go.-Qualifying:- Race :- Notes :...	HUN 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix The 1996 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 11, 1996 at Hungaroring.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Michael Schumacher 1:17.129* Fastest lap: Damon Hill 1:20.093* Williams secured the Constructors Championship....	BEL 1996 Belgian Grand Prix The 1996 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on August 25, 1996 at Spa-Francorchamps.- Classification :- Notes :* Pole position: Jacques Villeneuve 1:50.574* Fastest lap: Gerhard Berger 1:53.067...	ITA 1996 Italian Grand Prix The 1996 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 8, 1996 at Monza.-Pre-race:To stop cars kerb-hopping at chicanes due to ongoing track modifications at the time of the race, tyre barriers were erected at each chicane.-Race:...	POR 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix The 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on September 22, 1996 at Autódromo do Estoril in Estoril, Portugal. Jacques Villeneuve won the race by overtaking Michael Schumacher on the outside while the latter was distracted by the slow moving back-marking Minardi of Giovanni Lavaggi,...	JPN 1996 Japanese Grand Prix The 1996 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 13, 1996 at Suzuka. Jacques Villeneuve's retirement ended his small chance of the title, handing it to Damon Hill...	15	6th
				Olivier Panis Olivier Panis Olivier Panis is a French racing driver. Panis is best known in F1 not only as a test driver for the McLaren team but for his win at the eventful Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 for the Ligier team after starting 14th...	7	6	8	Ret	Ret	1	Ret	Ret	7	Ret	7	5	Ret	Ret	10	7
				Pedro Diniz Pedro Diniz Pedro Paulo Diniz is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 99 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 26, 1995...	10	8	Ret	10	7	Ret	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	Ret	Ret