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1997 Formula One World Championship

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Jacques Villeneuve (pictured in 2008), won the championship in only his second year of F1 participation.
Villeneuve's team-mate, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, was runner-up following Michael Schumacher's disqualification from the standings at the end of the year.
David Coulthard (pictured in 2007), finished the season ranked third.

The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.

Season summary

The season started in Australia, with Canadian Jacques Villeneuve taking the fourth pole position of his F1 career. The moment was short-lived, however, as Villeneuve was out at the first corner after colliding with Johnny Herbert. McLaren's David Coulthard went on to win the race, the second of his career, with Michael Schumacher finishing second and Mika Häkkinen finishing in third place.

Villeneuve once again took pole position in Brazil, and once again he was off at the first corner. Luckily for him the race was restarted, and the Canadian took the lead on lap 49 from Gerhard Berger. The Austrian finished second and Olivier Panis continued his impressive form from 1996 with third place.

For the third time in a row, Jacques Villeneuve was again on pole position for Argentina. However, he was spared another first corner collision, and instead it was Michael Schumacher who collided with Rubens Barrichello. With Schumacher out, Eddie Irvine went on to challenge Villeneuve for the lead, and he made several attempts to pass the Canadian's Williams but failed on all his attempts and had to settle for second. Ralf Schumacher, in his first full season, managed to get onto the podium after he finished third.

Villeneuve continued his run of consecutive pole positions in San Marino. Villeneuve's German team-mate, Frentzen, won his first and only, Grand Prix for Williams after he finished just over a second ahead of Michael Schumacher, with Eddie Irvine coming third.

Frentzen managed to end Villeneuve's run of pole positions in Monaco. For the second time in successive seasons, the Monaco Grand Prix was raced under very wet conditions. Michael Schumacher won his first race of the season with his future Ferrari team-mate, Rubens Barrichello finishing in second and earning Stewart's not only their first podium finish, but their first points finish and their first finish of any kind. Irvine took the final step on the podium for the second time in a row.

In Spain, Williams continued to dominate the qualifying session, as Villeneuve, for the fifth time this season, took pole and Frentzen made sure Williams occupied both slots on the front row. Villeneuve went on to win the Grand Prix, with fellow French-speaking drivers, Olivier Panis and Jean Alesi, coming second and third respectively.

Williams' run of consecutive pole positions was broken in Canada where Michael Schumacher took pole; Rubens Barrichello's Stewart split the two Williams in third place. Schumacher went on to win the Grand Prix, with ex-Ferrari driver Jean Alesi finishing second and Giancarlo Fisichella coming in third. Schumacher earned his second pole of the season in France; he was accompanied by Frentzen on the front row. The two would stay in their respective positions at the end of the race, with Eddie Irvine in third.

Villeneuve earned his sixth pole of the season in Britain, with team-mate Frentzen partnering him on the front row. After Häkkinen retired from the lead, Villeneuve went on to win the race with Alesi and young Alexander Wurz coming third to make it an all Renault-powered podium. Michael Schumacher failed to complete the race after he retired with a wheel bearing problem.

Gerhard Berger, who hadn't competed at the previous Grand Prix because of the illness and the death of his father, managed to get pole position for the German Grand Prix. Fastest lap and race victory followed, which would ultimately be Berger's and Benetton's final win. Michael Schumacher came second and Mika Häkkinen came third.

The next race, in Hungary, was one of the most memorable races in the 1997 season. Michael Schumacher took pole with Villeneuve partnering him on the front row. Damon Hill, in an Arrows which hadn't qualified as high as ninth before the Hungarian Grand Prix, qualified up in third place. The start of the race saw Hill overtake Villeneuve's Williams and on lap ten, the Brit overtook Schumacher to take the lead. Hill kept the lead for the final rounds of pit stops, but coming into the finale of the race, Hill reported that his Arrows was having problems, and in the end, Jacques Villeneuve took the lead on the final lap of the race and went on to win the race, achieving the milestone 100th Grand Prix victory for Williams.

After two very exciting Grands Prix, fans were hoping that Belgium would prove to be an exciting one as well. Villeneuve took pole position with Alesi's Benetton completing the front row. The race was wet and Villeneuve dropped down to fifth place, while his championship rival, Michael Schumacher, won the race by starting an intermediate tyres (as opposed to full wet). Fisichella came second, followed by Frentzen in third.

Alesi got his first, and only, pole position of the season in Italy with Frentzen coming second. David Coulthard won the race; his second of the season, pole sitter Alesi came second and Frentzen came third.

In Austria, Villeneuve managed to get his seventh pole position of the 1997 season; the Canadian was partnered on the front row by Finnish driver, Mika Häkkinen. Villeneuve went onto win the Grand Prix with Coulthard and Frentzen joining him on the podium in second and third respectively. Michael Schumacher finished 6th after receiving a 10 second stop/go penalty.

The next race was the so-called "Luxembourg Grand Prix", actually staged at the Nürburgring in Germany. Mika Häkkinen, who had qualified second at the previous Grand Prix, managed to earn pole. McLaren looked set for a 1-2 finish until both cars broke down in quick succession. Villeneuve was therefore gifted a win, while title rival Michael Schumacher was taken out at the first corner. Alesi and Frentzen completed the podium, making it, for the second time in the 1997 season, an all Renault-powered podium.

Japan saw Villeneuve, for the eighth time that season, take pole position. Villeneuve was disqualified from the race, after failing to slow down under yellow flags during qualifying. He raced under appeal, but finished only fifth. Michael Schumacher won the race, while Frentzen came second and Irvine came third. Villeneuve's Williams team dropped his appeal after the race, leaving Schumacher one point ahead of Villeneuve in the Drivers' championship, meaning that the title would be decided at the season finale in Jerez.

File:Schumivilleneuve1997.jpg
The Schumacher-Villeneuve accident

Some commentators recalled the 1994 finale, which saw a title deciding collision between Schumacher and Damon Hill. At Jerez, the qualifying session was noteworthy, as three drivers, Villeneuve, Schumacher, and Frentzen, all registered the same fastest qualifying time; Villeneuve was awarded pole position since he had set the time first; this would be the final pole of his F1 career. At the start of the race, Schumacher had a good start, overtaking Villeneuve to take the lead. By lap 48 Villeneuve was catching up to Schumacher and attempted to overtake. Braking later than the German at the Dry Sac corner, Villeneuve had the inside line and was slightly ahead when Schumacher turned into him, his front right wheel connecting with the sidepod of the Williams car. Schumacher retired on the spot and Villeneuve went to take third place and earn four points, enough to take the 1997 title. Schumacher was later punished by the FIA for causing an avoidable accident and was disqualified from the Championship, although his race results (grid position, finishing position, points) still counted towards his official statistics. In the race itself, Mika Häkkinen went on to take his first ever career victory. If it was on the current points scoring system (10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1), Schumacher would have been champion even with one race to go. The same could be said of the 1994 championship, however, where under the current points system Damon Hill would have been champion.

Drivers and constructors

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre No Driver Test driver(s)
United Kingdom Danka Arrows Yamaha Arrows A18 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 B 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill Germany Jörg Müller
United Kingdom Martin Brundle
2 Brazil Pedro Diniz
United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW19 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve France Jean-Christophe Boullion
Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F310B Ferrari 046/2 3.0 V10 G 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Gianni Morbidelli
Italy Nicola Larini
6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine
Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B197 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G 7 France Jean Alesi Austria Alexander Wurz
8 Austria Gerhard Berger
Austria Alexander Wurz
United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/12 Mercedes FO110E 3.0 V10
Mercedes FO110F 3.0 V10
G 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen n/a
10 United Kingdom David Coulthard
Republic of Ireland B&H Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 197 Peugeot A14 3.0 V10 G 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Brazil Ricardo Zonta
12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella
France Prost Gauloises Blondes Prost JS45 Mugen-Honda MF-301HB 3.0 V10 B 14 France Olivier Panis France Emmanuel Collard
Italy Jarno Trulli
15 Japan Shinji Nakano
Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C16 Petronas SPE-01 3.0 V10 G 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Argentina Norberto Fontana
17 Italy Nicola Larini
Italy Gianni Morbidelli
Argentina Norberto Fontana
United Kingdom PIAA Tyrrell Tyrrell 025 Ford ED4 3.0 V8
Ford ED5 3.0 V8
G 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Japan Toranosuke Takagi
19 Finland Mika Salo
Italy Minardi Team SpA Minardi M197 Hart 830 AV7 3.0 V8 B 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Brazil Tarso Marques
21 Italy Jarno Trulli
Brazil Tarso Marques
United Kingdom HSBC Malaysia Stewart Ford Stewart SF01 Ford VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 B 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello n/a
23 Denmark Jan Magnussen
United Kingdom MasterCard Lola F1 Team Lola T97/30 Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8 B 24 Italy Vincenzo Sospiri Italy Andrea Montermini[1]
25 Brazil Ricardo Rosset

Team Changes

Three new teams came into Formula One in 1997: Prost, who replaced Ligier; Stewart and Lola, the latter of which only entered the 1997 Australian Grand Prix after the team's dismal performance in the Grand Prix which saw a lack of sponsorship for the next Grand Prix in Brazil. Footwork changed their name to "Arrows" and switched from the Hart engines used the previous year to Yamaha engines. Tyrrell changed their engines as well, swapping the Yamaha engines in preference to the Ford engines. Jordan-Peugeot signed up highly-rated British engineer, Dr. John Davis. He helped the team with its new windtunnel facility at Brackley, the tunnel itself was funded by Ferrari inexchange for Eddie Irvine who moved to Ferrari the previous year.

Driver Changes

Notable changes
Keep

Formula One 1997 race schedule

Rnd Race Date Location
1 Australian Grand Prix 9 March Australia Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne
2 Brazilian Grand Prix 30 March Brazil Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
3 Argentine Grand Prix 13 April Argentina Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires
4 San Marino Grand Prix 27 April Italy Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola
5 Monaco Grand Prix 11 May Monaco Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
6 Spanish Grand Prix 25 May Spain Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
7 Canadian Grand Prix 15 June Canada Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
8 French Grand Prix 29 June France Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
9 British Grand Prix 13 July United Kingdom Silverstone Circuit
10 German Grand Prix 27 July Germany Hockenheimring
11 Hungarian Grand Prix 10 August Hungary Hungaroring, Budapest
12 Belgian Grand Prix 24 August Belgium Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa
13 Italian Grand Prix 7 September Italy Autodromo Nazionale Monza
14 Austrian Grand Prix 21 September Austria A1-Ring, Spielberg
15 Luxembourg Grand Prix 28 September Germany Nürburgring
16 Japanese Grand Prix 12 October Japan Suzuka Circuit
17 European Grand Prix 26 October Spain Circuito Permanente de Jerez

Season review

Grands Prix

Round Grand Prix Pole Position Fastest Lap Winning Driver Winning Constructor Report
1 Australia Australian Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes Report
2 Brazil Brazilian Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Canada Jacques Villeneuve Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
3 Argentina Argentine Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Austria Gerhard Berger Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
4 San Marino San Marino Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
5 Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari Report
6 Spain Spanish Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
7 Canada Canadian Grand Prix Germany Michael Schumacher United Kingdom David Coulthard Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari Report
8 France French Grand Prix Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari Report
9 United Kingdom British Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Michael Schumacher Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
10 Germany German Grand Prix Austria Gerhard Berger Austria Gerhard Berger Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault Report
11 Hungary Hungarian Grand Prix Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
12 Belgium Belgian Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari Report
13 Italy Italian Grand Prix France Jean Alesi Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes Report
14 Austria Austrian Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Canada Jacques Villeneuve Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
15 Luxembourg Luxembourg Grand Prix Finland Mika Häkkinen Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault Report
16 Japan Japanese Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari Report
17 Europe European Grand Prix Canada Jacques Villeneuve Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes Report

1997 Constructors Championship final standings

Championship points were awarded on a 10-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six finishers at each round.

Pos Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Points Wins Podiums Poles
1 Williams FW19 Renault V10 G 123 8 15 11
2 Ferrari F310B Ferrari V10 G 102 5 13 3
3 Benetton B197 Renault V10 G 67 1 8 2
4 McLaren MP4-12 Mercedes V10 G 63 3 7 1
5 Jordan 197 Peugeot V10 G 33 3
6 Prost JS45 Mugen-Honda V10 B 21 2
7 Sauber C16 Petronas V10 G 16 1
8 Arrows A18 Yamaha V10 B 9 1
9 Stewart SF01 Ford V10 B 6 1
10 Tyrrell 025 Ford V8 G 2
11 Minardi M197 Hart V8 B
12 MasterCard Lola T97/30 Ford V8 B

1997 Drivers Championship final standings

Championship points were awarded on a 10-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six finishing drivers at each round.

Pos Driver AUS
Australia
BRA
Brazil
ARG
Argentina
SMR
San Marino
MON
Monaco
ESP
Spain
CAN
Canada
FRA
France
GBR
United Kingdom
GER
Germany
HUN
Hungary
BEL
Belgium
ITA
Italy
AUT
Austria
LUX
Luxembourg
JPN
Japan
EUR
Europe
Points
1 Canada Jacques Villeneuve Ret 1 1 Ret Ret 1 Ret 4 1 Ret 1 5 5 1 1 DSQ 3 81
DSQ Germany Michael Schumacher 2 5 Ret 2 1 4 1 1 Ret 2 4 1 6 6 Ret 1 Ret 78
2 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 8 9 Ret 1 Ret 8 4 2 Ret Ret Ret 3 3 3 3 2 6 42
3 United Kingdom David Coulthard 1 10 Ret Ret Ret 6 7 7 4 Ret Ret Ret 1 2 Ret 10 2 36
4 France Jean Alesi Ret 6 7 5 Ret 3 2 5 2 6 11 8 2 Ret 2 5 13 36
5 Austria Gerhard Berger 4 2 6 Ret 9 10 1 8 6 7 10 4 8 4 27
6 Finland Mika Häkkinen 3 4 5 6 Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 3 Ret DSQ 9 Ret Ret 4 1 27
7 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Ret 16 2 3 3 12 Ret 3 Ret Ret 9 10 8 Ret Ret 3 5 24
8 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 8 Ret 4 6 9 3 9 7 11 Ret 2 4 4 Ret 7 11 20
9 France Olivier Panis 5 3 Ret 8 4 2 11 6 Ret 7 16
10 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Ret 7 4 Ret Ret 5 5 8 Ret Ret 3 4 Ret 8 7 6 8 15
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ret Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 5 5 5 Ret Ret 5 Ret 9 Ret 13
12 United Kingdom Damon Hill DNS 17 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 12 6 8 2 13 Ret 7 8 11 Ret 7
13 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ret Ret Ret Ret 2 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 14 Ret Ret Ret 6
14 Austria Alexander Wurz Ret Ret 3 4
15 Italy Jarno Trulli 9 12 9 Ret Ret 15 Ret 10 8 4 7 15 10 Ret 3
16 Brazil Pedro Diniz 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 7 Ret 13 5 12 Ret 2
17 Finland Mika Salo Ret 13 8 9 5 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 13 11 Ret Ret 10 Ret 12 2
18 Japan Shinji Nakano 7 14 Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 Ret 11 7 6 Ret 11 Ret Ret Ret 10 2
19 Italy Nicola Larini 6 11 Ret 7 Ret 1
NC Denmark Jan Magnussen Ret Ret 10 Ret 7 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 0
NC Netherlands Jos Verstappen Ret 15 Ret 10 8 11 Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 13 16 0
NC Italy Gianni Morbidelli 14 10 Ret 9 12 9 9 Ret 0
NC Argentina Norberto Fontana Ret 9 9 14 0
NC Japan Ukyo Katayama Ret 18 Ret 11 10 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 10 14 Ret 11 Ret Ret 17 0
NC Brazil Tarso Marques Ret 10 Ret 12 Ret 14 EX Ret Ret 15 0
NC Brazil Ricardo Rosset DNQ DNP 0
NC Italy Vincenzo Sospiri DNQ DNP 0
Pos Driver AUS
Australia
BRA
Brazil
ARG
Argentina
SMR
San Marino
MON
Monaco
ESP
Spain
CAN
Canada
FRA
France
GBR
United Kingdom
GER
Germany
HUN
Hungary
BEL
Belgium
ITA
Italy
AUT
Austria
LUX
Luxembourg
JPN
Japan
EUR
Europe
Points
Key
Colour Result
Gold Winner
Silver Second place
Bronze Third place
Green Other points position
Blue Other classified position
Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red Did not qualify (DNQ)
Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black Disqualified (DSQ)
White Did not start (DNS)
Race cancelled (C)
Light blue Practiced only (PO)
Thursday/Friday test driver (TD)
(from 2003 onwards)
Blank Did not practice (DNP)
Excluded (EX)
Did not arrive (DNA)
Withdrawn (WD)
Text formatting Meaning
Bold Pole position
Italics Fastest lap
Superscript Sprint race result
Abbreviation Meaning
WDC World Drivers' Championship position
WCC World Constructors' Championship position
NC Not classified
  • Michael Schumacher was disqualified due to dangerous driving in the European GP, where he caused an avoidable collision with Villeneuve. Thus, he was excluded from the championship standings

References

  1. ^ Slater, Stephen. "F1 Rejects Interview with Andrea Montermini". F1Rejects.com. Retrieved 2008-12-20.