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The 1997 German Grand Prix, otherwise officially advertised as the LIX Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland, was the tenth round of the 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, on the 29 July 1997.[1] The race would see Gerhard Berger claim a stirring final victory upon his return to Benetton-Renault, having missed several races due to personal circumstances.[1]

Indeed, the Austrian racer seemed to be inspired throughout the weekend, sweeping to pole position ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in his Jordan-Peugeot.[1] Mika Häkkinen was next ahead of Championship leader Michael Schumacher, while pre-season favourite Jacques Villeneuve found himself down in ninth.[1]

Race day dawned dry, although a storm shortly after the warm-up ensured that there would be some late debate about how drivers would start the race.[1] Ultimately, however, the circuit would be largely dry before the race was scheduled to start, meaning everyone would head onto the formation lap on slicks.[1]

Berger duly aced his start to claim an early lead, aided by Fisichella making a less than perfect getaway, leaving him vulnerable to Schumacher and Häkkinen.[1] Behind, however, there would be chaos, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen making a poor start, before clashing wheels with Eddie Irvine in the first corner.[1]

That contact resulted Frentzen's car jumping sideways, sending cars scattering around him.[1] David Coulthard was the biggest victim, getting clipped by the Williams-Renault, with the Scot's McLaren-Mercedes ultimately breaking apart as he headed into the Clark Chicane a few moments later.[1]

Irvine, Frentzen and Coulthard would all limp back to the pits for repairs as, out front, Berger did his best to escape up the road.[1] His escape was very impressive, building an eight second lead in ten laps, aided by Fisichella putting up a ferocious defence from Schumacher before the Ferraris tyres began to fade.[1]

Berger made his first stop on lap seventeen, handing the lead to Fisichella, who was on a one-stop with his harder wearing Bridgestone tyres.[1] Schumacher, meanwhile, would stop on lap 22, earlier than planned having used up a lot of his tyre grip to harass Fisichella early on, with the Italian himself stopping on lap 24.[1]

All that left Berger with a sixteen second lead, with the Austrian racer only able to eek out a few tenths each lap, knowing he had to build a thirty second lead.[1] His charge would be further hindered by Jan Magnussen, who suffered a huge engine failure just as Berger came up to lap him, spraying the Benetton in oil and smoke.[1]

As such, Berger emerged from his second and final stop on lap 34 a few seconds behind the yellow Jordan, and struggled to make up the gap.[1] As such, the race had suddenly become Fisichella's to lose, and so it was particularly cruel when the Italian picked up a puncture on lap 39, which caused enough damage to the radiators to end his race completely.[1]

With that the race was over, with Berger, sweeping across the line to claim an emotional victory, his first since 1994.[1] Behind, Schumacher had a quiet afternoon to claim second ahead of Häkkinen, while Jarno Trulli secured fourth ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Jean Alesi.[1]

Background[]

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.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 1997 German 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 Gerhard Berger 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[]

Qualifying Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 8 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 1:41.873 241.112 km/h
2 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:41.896 +0.023s 241.058 km/h
3 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.034 +0.161s 240.732 km/h
4 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:42.181 +0.308s 240.385 km/h
5 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:42.421 +0.548s 239.822 km/h
6 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 1:42.493 +0.620s 239.653 km/h
7 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 1:42.498 +0.625s 239.642 km/h
8 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.687 +0.814s 239.201 km/h
9 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1:42.967 +1.094s 238.550 km/h
10 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:43.209 +1.336s 237.991 km/h
11 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:43.226 +1.353s 237.952 km/h
12 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:43.272 +1.399s 237.846 km/h
13 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:43.361 +1.488s 237.641 km/h
14 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:43.660 +1.787s 236.955 km/h
15 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:43.927 +2.054s 236.347 km/h
16 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 1:44.069 +2.196s 236.024 km/h
17 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:44.112 +2.239s 235.927 km/h
18 17 Argentina Norberto Fontana Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:44.552 +2.679s 234.934 km/h
19 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:45.372 +3.499s 233.106 km/h
20 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 1:45.811 +3.938s 232.138 km/h
21 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Hart 1:45.942 +4.069s 231.851 km/h
22 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 1:46.499 +4.626s 230.639 km/h
107% Time: 1:49.004[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.

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

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

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 8 Austria Gerhard Berger Italy Benetton-Renault 45 1:20:59.046 1 10
2 5 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 45 +17.527s 4 6
3 9 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 45 +24.770s 3 4
4 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Mugen-Honda 45 + 27.165 11 3
5 11 Germany Ralf Schumacher Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 45 +29.995s 7 2
6 7 France Jean Alesi Italy Benetton-Renault 45 +34.717s 6 1
7 15 Japan Shinji Nakano France Prost-Mugen-Honda 45 +1:19.722 17
8 1 United Kingdom Damon Hill United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 44 +1 Lap 13
9 17 Argentina Norberto Fontana Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 44 +1 Lap 18
10 18 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 44 +1 Lap 20
11* 12 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 40 Radiator 2
Ret 22 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 33 Engine 12
Ret 19 Finland Mika Salo United Kingdom Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth 33 Clutch 19
Ret 3 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Williams-Renault 33 Spun off 9
Ret 23 Denmark Jan Magnussen United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 27 Engine 15
Ret 20 Japan Ukyo Katayama Italy Minardi-Hart 23 Out of fuel 2
Ret 16 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 8 Collision 14
Ret 2 Brazil Pedro Diniz United Kingdom Arrows-Yamaha 8 Collision 16
Ret 10 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1 Transmission 8
Ret 4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Williams-Renault 1 Collision 5
Ret 6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1 Collision 10
Ret 21 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-Hart 0 Gearbox 21
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Fisichella was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Michael Schumacher extended his Championship lead as a result of his podium finish, moving ten clear of Jacques Villeneuve in second. The Canadian racer was therefore still in prime position to attack, although his startling lack of pace in Germany suggested that all may not be well with the Canadian's title bid. Behind, Jean Alesi had retained third, Gerhard Berger had leapt into fourth with victory, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen slipped to fifth.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had inched away from Williams-Renault at the head of the hunt, leaving Germany nine ahead. The Anglo-French squad were still their closest challengers, while both had been slightly reeled in by Benetton-Renault, although they were still a fair way back. McLaren-Mercedes were in an increasingly distant fourth, while Prost-Mugen-Honda had just kept Jordan-Peugeot at bay to retain fifth.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 53
2 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 43
3 France Jean Alesi 22
4 Austria Gerhard Berger 20 ▲4
5 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19 ▼1
6 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 18 ▼1
7 France Olivier Panis 15 ▼1
8 United Kingdom David Coulthard 14 ▼1
9 Finland Mika Häkkinen 14
10 Germany Ralf Schumacher 9 ▲2
11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 8 ▼1
12 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 7
13 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 6
14 Austria Alexander Wurz 4
15 Italy Jarno Trulli 3 ▲4
16 Finland Mika Salo 2 ▼1
17 Italy Nicola Larini 1 ▼1
18 Japan Shinji Nakano 1 ▼1
19 United Kingdom Damon Hill 1 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 71
2 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 62
3 Italy Benetton-Renault 46
4 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 28
5 France Prost-Mugen-Honda 19
6 Ireland Jordan-Peugeot 17
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 'German GP, 1997', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr607.html, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  2. 'Germany 1997: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/allemagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'Germany 1997: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/allemagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  4. 'Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1997 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1997/races/663/germany/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 'Germany 1997: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/allemagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 '1997 German GP', chicanef1.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1997&gp=German%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 '10. Germany 1997', statsf1.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1997/allemagne.aspx, (Accessed 22/08/2019)
V T E Germany German Grand Prix
Circuits Nürburgring (1951–1954, 1956–1958, 1960–1969, 1971–1976, 1985, 2008–2013*), AVUS (1926, 1959), Hockenheimring (1970, 1977–1984, 1986–2006, 2008–2014*, 2016, 2018–2019)
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* Nürburgring and Hockenheimring alternated between each other during these years.
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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