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The 1997 British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the L RAC British Grand Prix, was the ninth round of the 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 13 July 1997.[1] The race, which was the 50th British Grand Prix to be held to F1 rules, would see Jacques Villeneuve claim the 100th race victory for Williams as a constructor.[1]

Villeneuve would secure a comfortable pole position during qualifying, a return to his early season form.[1] His teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen was second ahead of a surprisingly strong Mika Häkkinen, while Championship leader Michael Schumacher completed the second row.[1]

The start of the race would, however, have to be aborted, for Frentzen stalled just as the lights came on.[1] He was duly sent to the back of the grid for the second start, and hence gifted Villeneuve the chance to claim an early lead unopposed.[1]

Villeneuve duly made a strong start to claim the lead, while Schumacher, with clear track in front of him secured second.[1] The German racer was, however, to be challenged by a fast starting David Coulthard, who shot from sixth to third in the short sprint to Copse.[1]

Further down a series of incidents further down would thin the field, with Ukyo Katayama managing to spin into the pitwall at the start, all on his own.[1] Frentzen, meanwhile, would be wiped out by Jos Verstappen as he tried to battle up from the back of the field, with the Safety Car required to clear the circuit.[1]

The race resumed on lap five, with Schumacher entertaining an early challenge on Villeneuve, only for the Canadian ace to establish himself in front.[1] The #3 Williams duly began to inch away, while both dropped Coulthard at a significant rate.[1]

Indeed, the Scot's lack of pace would be a major benefit, for Coulthard was keeping a large queue of traffic behind.[1] That became all the more crucial to Villeneuve's race when his pace suddenly collapsed, caused by a wheel nut coming lose on lap ten.[1]

Ironically, the lose wheel nut would play havoc on Villeneuve's stop when he came in for his first stop, sticking on to delay the Canadian long enough for Schumacher to sweep into the lead.[1] Villeneuve ultimately lost thirty seconds in the pits, although Coulthard's lack of pace meant that he rejoined in seventh, right at the back of the Scot's queue as it began to fracture.[1]

The Canadian ace quickly carved his way through the train, although Schumacher would hold a 40 second lead by the time Villeneuve found clear air.[1] Yet, a seeming nailed-on victory would escape the German soon after, with a wheel bearing failure resulting in Schumacher weaving his way into the pits to retire.[1]

Villeneuve was left with a fair lead, although a second stop put him back behind Mika Häkkinen, who was on a one-stop race.[1] Furthermore, while the Canadian racer was able to catch the Finn he seemed to lack the extra pace needed to overtake the McLaren-Mercedes, until Häkkinen's engine expired with six laps to go.[1]

Villeneuve duly cruised across the line to claim victory a few minutes later, with Jean Alesi ten seconds behind in second.[1] Alexander Wurz was an impressive third, claiming his maiden podium finish, with Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Damon Hill securing the remaining points.[1]

Background[]

Michael Schumacher moved fourteen points clear atop the Championship after his third win of the campaign, leaving France with 47 points to his name. Jacques Villeneuve remained his closest challenger, ending the day on 33 points, with both drivers having scored three wins. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, meanwhile, had climbed to third ahead of Eddie Irvine, while Olivier Panis slipped to fifth.

In the Constructors Championship it was a positive day for Ferrari, who moved thirteen points clear at the head of the hunt. Williams-Renault were their biggest threat, widely believed to have a superior car but poorer luck, with those two the favourites for the title heading into the second half of the season. Behind, Benetton-Renault had lost ground in third ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, with Prost-Mugen-Honda hanging onto their top-five status.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1997 British Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Danka Arrows Yamaha Arrows A18 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 B
2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Danka Arrows Yamaha Arrows A18 Yamaha OX11A 3.0 V10 B
3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW19 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G
4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Rothmans Williams Renault Williams FW19 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G
5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F310B Ferrari 046/2 3.0 V10 G
6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F310B Ferrari 046/2 3.0 V10 G
7 France Jean Alesi Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B197 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G
8 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B197 Renault RS9 3.0 V10 G
9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/12 Mercedes FO 110E 3.0 V10 G
10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/12 Mercedes FO 110E 3.0 V10 G
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland B&H Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 197 Peugeot A14 3.0 V10 G
12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland B&H Total Jordan Peugeot Jordan 197 Peugeot A14 3.0 V10 G
14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost Gauloises Blondes Prost JS45 Mugen-Honda MF-301HB 3.0 V10 B
15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost Gauloises Blondes Prost JS45 Mugen-Honda MF-301HB 3.0 V10 B
16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C16 Petronas SPE-01 3.0 V10 G
17 Argentina Norberto Fontana Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C16 Petronas SPE-01 3.0 V10 G
18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom PIAA Tyrrell Tyrrell 025 Ford Cosworth ED4 3.0 V10 G
19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom PIAA Tyrrell Tyrrell 025 Ford Cosworth ED4 3.0 V10 G
20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi Team Minardi M197 Hart 830 AV7 3.0 V10 B
21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi Team Minardi M197 Hart 830 AV7 3.0 V10 B
22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom HSBC Malaysia Stewart Ford Stewart SF01 Ford Cosworth VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 B
23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom HSBC Malaysia Stewart Ford Stewart SF01 Ford Cosworth VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 B
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1997 British Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:21.598 226.770 km/h
2 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:21.732 +0.134s 226.398 km/h
3 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.797 +0.199s 226.219 km/h
4 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:21.977 +0.379s 225.722 km/h
5 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:22.277 +0.679s 224.899 km/h
6 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.279 +0.681s 224.893 km/h
7 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:22.342 +0.744s 224.721 km/h
8 8 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Renault 1:22.344 +0.746s 224.716 km/h
9 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:22.368 +0.770s 224.650 km/h
10 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:22.371 +0.773s 224.642 km/h
11 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 1:22.392 +0.794s 224.585 km/h
12 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:23.271 +1.673s 222.214 km/h
13 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:23.366 +1.768s 221.961 km/h
14 17 Argentina Norberto Fontana Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:23.790 +2.192s 220.838 km/h
15 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:23.887 +2.289s 220.582 km/h
16 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:24.067 +2.469s 220.110 km/h
17 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:24.239 +2.641s 219.661 km/h
18 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:24.478 +2.880s 219.039 km/h
19 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 1:24.553 +2.955s 218.845 km/h
20 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:25.010 +3.412s 217.668 km/h
21 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Hart 1:25.154 +3.556s 217.300 km/h
22 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:25.525 +3.927s 216.358 km/h
107% Time: 1:27.310[3]
Source:[4][3]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Jacques Villeneuve 2
______________ Damon Hill*
Row 2 3 ______________
Mika Häkkinen 4
______________ Michael Schumacher
Row 3 5 ______________
Ralf Schumacher 6
______________ David Coulthard
Row 4 7 ______________
Eddie Irvine 8
______________ Alexander Wurz
Row 5 9 ______________
Johnny Herbert 10
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 6 11 ______________
Jean Alesi 12
______________ Damon Hill
Row 7 13 ______________
Jarno Trulli 14
______________ Shinji Nakano
Row 8 15 ______________
Jan Magnussen 16
______________ Pedro Diniz
Row 9 17 ______________
Mika Salo 18
______________ Ukyo Katayama
Row 10 19 ______________
Jos Verstappen 20
______________ Tarso Marques
Row 11 21 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 22
______________ Norberto Fontana
  • * Hill was to start at the back of the grid after stalling on the original start.[3]
  • Fontana was made to start at the back of the grid after missing an FIA check.[3]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1997 British Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 59 1:28:01.665 1 10
2 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 59 +10.205s 11 6
3 8 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Renault 59 +11.296s 8 4
4 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 59 +31.229s 6 3
5 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 59 +31.880s 5 2
6 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 59 +1:13.552 12 1
7 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 58 +1 Lap 10
8 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Mugen-Honda 58 +1 Lap 13
9 17 Argentina Norberto Fontana Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 58 +1 Lap 22
10 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Hart 58 +1 Lap 20
11* 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 57 Engine 14
Ret 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 52 Engine 3
Ret 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 50 Engine 15
Ret 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 45 Engine 19
Ret 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 44 Halfshaft 7
Ret 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 44 Engine 17
Ret 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 42 Electrical 9
Ret 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 38 Wheel bearing 4
Ret 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 37 Engine 21
Ret 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 29 Engine 16
Ret 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 0 Collision 2
Ret 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 0 Accident 18
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Nakano was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Jacques Villeneuve had delivered a significant blow in the Championship battle between himself and Michael Schumacher, moving on 43 points at the halfway point. Schumacher still had the lead, but his advantage had been cut to four points after he failed to score. Behind, Jean Alesi was up into third, and likely out of the Championship hunt, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Eddie Irvine on his tail.

Ferrari ended the weekend with the lead in the Constructors Championship, although their lead had been drastically reduced after their double retirement. Indeed, Williams-Renault had done the damage, moving to within three points of the Scuderia, with those two set to duel for the crown during the second half of the season. Behind Benetton-Renault had enhanced their grip on third, moving eleven clear of McLaren-Mercedes in fourth.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 47
2 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 43
3 France Jean Alesi 21 ▲3
4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19 ▼1
5 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 18 ▼1
6 France Olivier Panis 15 ▼1
7 United Kingdom David Coulthard 14
8 Austria Gerhard Berger 10
9 Finland Mika Häkkinen 10
10 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 8
11 Germany Ralf Schumacher 7 ▲2
12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 7 ▼1
13 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 6 ▼1
14 Austria Alexander Wurz 4 ▲12
15 Finland Mika Salo 2 ▼1
16 Italy Nicola Larini 1 ▼1
17 Japan Shinji Nakano 1 ▼1
18 United Kingdom Damon Hill 1 ▲3
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 65
2 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 62
3 Italy Benetton-Renault 35
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 24
5 France Prost-Mugen-Honda 16
6 Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 15
7 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 8
8 United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 6
9 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 2
10 United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 'British GP, 1997', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr606.html, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  2. 'Britain 1997: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Britain 1997: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  4. 'The 1997 RAC British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1997/races/662/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Britain 1997: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 '1997 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1997&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 '9. Britain 1997', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
V T E United Kingdom British Grand Prix
Circuits Brooklands (1926 - 1927), Silverstone (1948 - Present), Aintree (1955 - 1962), Brands Hatch (1963 - 1986)
SilverstoneArena2010
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1926192719481949
V T E 1997 Formula One Season
Teams Arrows • Williams • Ferrari • Benetton • McLaren • Jordan • Prost • Sauber • Tyrrell • Minardi • Stewart • Lola
Engines Ferrari • Ford • Hart • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Petronas • Peugeot • Renault • Yamaha
Drivers Hill • 2 Diniz • 3 Villeneuve • 4 Frentzen • 5 M. Schumacher • 6 Irvine • 7 Alesi • 8 Berger • 8 Wurz • 9 Häkkinen • 10 Coulthard • 11 R. Schumacher • 12 Fisichella • 14 Panis • 14 Trulli • 15 Nakano • 16 Herbert • 17 Larini • 17 Morbidelli • 17 Fontana • 18 Verstappen • 19 Salo • 20 Katayama • 21 Trulli • 21 Marques • 22 Barrichello • 23 Magnussen • 24 Sospiri • 25 Rosset
Other Drivers Badoer • Brundle • Montermini • Montoya • Takagi • Tuero
Cars Arrows A18 • Williams FW19 • Ferrari F310B • Benetton B197 • McLaren MP4/12 • Jordan 197 • Prost JS45 • Sauber C16 • Tyrrell 025 • Minardi M197 • Stewart SF01 • Lola T97/30
Tyres Goodyear • Bridgestone
Races Australia • Brazil • Argentina • San Marino • Monaco • Spain • Canada • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Austria • Luxembourg • Japan • Europe
See also 1996 Formula One Season • 1998 Formula One Season • Category
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