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The XXXV Grand Prix Player's du Canada, otherwise known as the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, was the seventh round of the 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on the 15 June 1997.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher secure a rather fortunate victory for Ferrari, after the race was stopped prematurely due to a huge accident for Olivier Panis.[1]

In fairness the German ace had earned some luck, edging out Jacques Villeneuve to secure pole position in qualifying by just 0.013s.[1] Rubens Barrichello was a surprise third for Stewart-Ford Cosworth, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen could only muster fourth in the second Williams-Renault.[1]

Schumacher duly aced his start to secure an early lead, with Villeneuve sweeping into his wake having been unable to challenge into the first corner.[1] Behind, Giancarlo Fisichella made a barnstorming start to secure third, dragging Jean Alesi with him.[1]

Elsewhere, Barrichello would make an awful start, causing Mika Häkkinen to brake heavily, and hence get whacked by Olivier Panis.[1] Those two would limp back to the pits to have their missing wings replaced, while Barrichello escaped in eighth behind Ralf Schumacher.[1]

Michael Schumacher would bolt during the early stages, with Villeneuve opting to nurse his tyres, knowing that it was likely his only hope of beating the tyre friendly Williams.[1] However, his sprint was ultimately made to be pointless before the end of the second lap, for Villeneuve contrived to slide into the barriers at the final chicane.[1]

That left Schumacher with a fair lead over Fisichella, Alesi and David Coulthard, although that would be wiped out by the Safety Car on lap six.[1] The cause of the SC would be Ukyo Katayama, who demolished his Minardi-Hart when the throttle jammed and sent him flying into the barriers.[1]

The restart saw Schumacher once again bolt, although Fisichella and Alesi would do their best to go with him, having adopted a similar two-stop strategy.[1] Indeed, that left Schumacher's biggest threat in the form of Coulthard, who was the first driver in the field on a one-stop.[1]

By the time Schumacher made his first stop on lap 28 he had only built a ten second lead, with Coulthard duly sweeping through to secure first place, Fisichella and Alesi having made their stops earlier.[1] Schumacher, then in second, would subsequently struggle to close on the McLaren-Mercedes, which was getting as a strong as the Ferrari as the Scot burned through his fuel.[1]

Coulthard made his lone stop on lap 40, handing the lead briefly to Schumacher before the German came in for his stop a few laps later.[1] When the #5 Ferrari rejoined Schumacher found himself fifteen seconds behind, with Coulthard cruising.[1]

Indeed, such was Coulthard's advantage, with the Scot again easing away from the Ferrari, that the McLaren squad decided to make a precautionary stop on lap 51.[1] That proved to be a huge mistake, for a clutch issue caused Coulthard to stall, dumping him from the lead down to seventh.[1]

Three laps later and the race was over, for Panis' Prost-Mugen-Honda would throw itself into the wall at turn five after a suspension failure.[1] The safety car came out for a lap, before the race was stopped completely due to the severity of Panis' injuries and need to be extracted.[1]

The result was declared as the field had completed lap 54, with Schumacher declared as the victor ahead of Alesi.[1] Fisichella would ultimately claimed third ahead of Frentzen, while Johnny Herbert and Shinji Nakano secured the remaining points ahead of a frustrated Coulthard.[1]

Panis was flown to hospital with two fractured legs, but was not in a life threatening condition.[1]

Background[]

A third win of the campaign carried Jacques Villeneuve back to the top of the Championship standings, the Canadian ace leaving Spain with a three point lead. Michael Schumacher had made way for Villeneuve and slipped to second, while Olivier Panis rocketed up to third, although he only had half the number of points of Villeneuve. Eddie Irvine and David Coulthard completed the top five, with fifteen drivers on the score sheet.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had just held onto their lead, although it had been cut to just a single point. Williams-Renault were the team to do the damage, ending the weekend on 40 points, with almost double the number of points of McLaren-Mercedes in third. Behind McLaren were Benetton-Renault and Prost-Mugen-Honda, the only other teams in double figures after the opening third of the season.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1997 Canadian 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 France Olivier Panis 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 Italy Gianni Morbidelli 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 Italy Jarno Trulli 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 Canadian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:18.095 203.798 km/h
2 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:18.108 +0.013s 203.764 km/h
3 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:18.388 +0.293s 203.036 km/h
4 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:18.464 +0.369s 202.840 km/h
5 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.466 +0.371s 202.834 km/h
6 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:18.750 +0.655s 202.103 km/h
7 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Jordan-Peugeot 1:18.869 +0.774s 201.798 km/h
8 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 1:18.899 +0.804s 201.721 km/h
9 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:18.916 +0.821s 201.678 km/h
10 14 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:19.034 +0.939s 201.377 km/h
11 8 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Renault 1:19.286 +1.191s 200.737 km/h
12 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:19.503 +1.408s 200.189 km/h
13 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:19.622 +1.527s 199.889 km/h
14 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:20.102 +2.007s 198.692 km/h
15 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:20.129 +2.034s 198.625 km/h
16 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:20.175 +2.080s 198.511 km/h
17 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:20.336 +2.241s 198.113 km/h
18 17 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:20.357 +2.262s 198.061 km/h
19 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:20.370 +2.275s 198.029 km/h
20 21 Italy Jarno Trulli Italy Minardi-Hart 1:20.370 +2.275s 198.029 km/h
21 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:20.491 +2.396s 197.731 km/h
22 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 1:21.034 +2.939s 196.406 km/h
107% Time: 1:23.562[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 ______________
Michael Schumacher 2
______________ Jacques Villeneuve
Row 2 3 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 4
______________ Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Row 3 5 ______________
David Coulthard 6
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 4 7 ______________
Ralf Schumacher 8
______________ Jean Alesi
Row 5 9 ______________
Mika Häkkinen 10
______________ Olivier Panis
Row 6 11 ______________
Alexander Wurz 12
______________ Eddie Irvine
Row 7 13 ______________
Johnny Herbert 14
______________ Jos Verstappen
Row 8 15 ______________
Damon Hill 16
______________ Pedro Diniz
Row 9 17 ______________
Mika Salo 18
______________ Gianni Morbidelli
Row 10 19 ______________
Shinji Nakano 20
______________ Jarno Trulli
Row 11 21 ______________
Jan Magnussen 22
______________ Ukyo Katayama

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 54 1:17:40.656 1 10
2 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 54 +2.565s 8 6
3 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 54 +3.219s 6 4
4 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 54 +3.768s 4 3
5 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 54 +4.716s 13 2
6 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 54 +36.701s 19 1
7 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 54 +37.753s 5
8 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 53 +1 Lap 16
9 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 53 +1 Lap 15
10 17 Italy Gianni Morbidelli Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 53 +1 Lap 18
11* 14 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Mugen-Honda 51 Accident 10
Ret 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 46 Engine 17
Ret 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 42 Gearbox 14
Ret 8 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Renault 35 Transmission 11
Ret 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 33 Gearbox 3
Ret 21 Italy Jarno Trulli Italy Minardi-Hart 32 Engine 20
Ret 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 14 Accident 7
Ret 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 5 Throttle 22
Ret 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1 Accident 2
Ret 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 0 Collision 9
Ret 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 0 Collision 12
Ret 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 0 Accident 21
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Michael Schumacher moved back to the top of the Championship with his second win of the season, establishing a seven point lead. Jacques Villeneuve had made way for him, a disappointing end to his home race, with an now injured Olivier Panis in third. Behind him sat Eddie Irvine ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, with Jean Alesi level with the German in sixth.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had managed to build up their lead, leaving Canada with an eight point advantage. Williams-Renault were still their closest challengers, sat on 43 points, with a twenty point gap back to the similarly engined Benetton-Renault effort. Benetton themselves had moved into third as a result of the Canadian weekend, moving ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, with Prost-Mugen-Honda completing the top five.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 37 ▲1
2 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 30 ▼1
3 France Olivier Panis 15
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 14
5 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 13 ▲1
6 France Jean Alesi 13 ▲3
7 United Kingdom David Coulthard 11 ▼2
8 Austria Gerhard Berger 10 ▼1
9 Finland Mika Häkkinen 10 ▼1
10 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 8 ▲3
11 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 7
12 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 6 ▼2
13 Germany Ralf Schumacher 4 ▼1
14 Finland Mika Salo 2
15 Italy Nicola Larini 1
16 Japan Shinji Nakano 1 ▲1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 51
2 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 43
3 Italy Benetton-Renault 23 ▲1
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 21 ▼1
5 France Prost-Mugen-Honda 16
6 Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 12
7 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 8 ▲1
8 United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 6 ▼1
9 United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 2

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 1.22 1.23 1.24 'Canadian GP, 1997', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr604.html, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
  2. 'Canada 1997: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/canada/engages.aspx, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'Canada 1997: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/canada/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
  4. 'Grand Prix Player's du Canada 1997 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1997/races/660/canada/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
  5. 'Canada 1997: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/canada/classement.aspx, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 '7. Canada 1997', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/canada.aspx, (Accessed 21/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 '1997 Canadian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1997&gp=Canadian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 20/08/2019)
V T E Canada Canadian Grand Prix
Circuits Mosport Park (1967, 1969, 1971–1974, 1976–1977), Mont-Tremblant (1968, 1970), Montreal (1978–1986, 1988–2008, 2010–present)
CircuitGillesVilleneuve
Races 196719681969197019711972197319741976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
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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