1997 British Grand Prix

The 1997 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 13 July 1997. It was the ninth round of the 1997 Formula One World Championship. Williams' Jacques Villeneuve won the race despite being stuck in the pit lane for half a minute during his first stop due to a wheel nut problem.

1997 British Grand Prix
Race 9 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Silverstone Circuit in its 1997 configuration
Race details
Date	13 July 1997
Official name	L RAC British Grand Prix
Location	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.140 km (3.194 miles)
Distance	59 laps, 303.260 km (188.437 miles)
Scheduled distance	60 laps, 308.400 km (191.631 miles)
Weather	Sunny, Dry Track
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Time	1:21.598
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:24.480 on lap 34
Podium
First	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Second	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault
Third	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Renault
Lap leaders

Two previous leaders retired from the race due to mechanical failures. Michael Schumacher led by over 40 seconds before a wheel bearing failure caused retirement. Mika Häkkinen seemed set for his first win but his engine blew while he was holding off Villeneuve, having made one stop to the Canadian's two. Further back, Alexander Wurz scored his first podium finish in his third Grand Prix, also briefly leading the race during the pitstops. David Coulthard ran 3rd early on, but faded with braking problems. Schumacher's teammate Eddie Irvine was close behind Villeneuve when both made their second stop, but his car failed as he exited the pits. Defending champion Damon Hill finally scored his first points for Arrows after a late retirement for Shinji Nakano.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen had a disastrous run: he stalled on the grid with the race about to begin, forcing the race start to be aborted and making him start from the back of the grid. Then, on the first lap, Jos Verstappen crashed into the back of his Williams car at Becketts, ending the German's race immediately.

This race marked the 100th Grand Prix victory for the Williams team, who garnered considerable media attention during the weekend with the "Ro?" branding on their cars.^[1]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap	Grid
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	1:21.598		1
2	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	1:21.732	+0.134	2
3	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:21.797	+0.199	3
4	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:21.977	+0.379	4
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	1:22.277	+0.679	5
6	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:22.279	+0.681	6
7	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:22.342	+0.744	7
8	8	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Renault	1:22.344	+0.746	8
9	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:22.368	+0.770	9
10	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	1:22.371	+0.773	10
11	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	1:22.392	+0.794	11
12	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	1:23.271	+1.673	12
13	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:23.366	+1.768	13
14	17	Norberto Fontana	Sauber-Petronas	1:23.790	+2.192	22 1
15	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:23.887	+2.289	14
16	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:24.067	+2.469	15
17	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	1:24.239	+2.641	16
18	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	1:24.478	+2.880	17
19	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	1:24.553	+2.955	18
20	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	1:25.010	+3.412	19
21	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	1:25.154	+3.556	20
22	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:25.525	+3.927	21
107% time: 1:27.310
Source: [2][3]

Notes

• ^1  – Norberto Fontana was relegated to the back of the grid.^[3]

Damon Hill driving the Arrows A18 during the Grand Prix

Alexander Wurz passes a yellow flag during the race.

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	59	1:28:01.665	1	10
2	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	59	+10.205	11	6
3	8	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Renault	59	+11.296	8	4
4	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	59	+31.229	6	3
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	59	+31.880	5	2
6	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	59	+1:13.552	12	1
7	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	58	+1 lap	10
8	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	58	+1 lap	13
9	17	Norberto Fontana	Sauber-Petronas	58	+1 lap	22
10	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	58	+1 lap	20
11	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	57	Engine	14
Ret	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	52	Engine	3
Ret	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	50	Engine	15
Ret	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	45	Engine	19
Ret	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	44	Halfshaft	7
Ret	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	44	Engine	17
Ret	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	42	Electrical	9
Ret	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	38	Wheel bearing	4
Ret	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	37	Engine	21
Ret	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	29	Engine	16
Ret	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	0	Collision	2
Ret	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	0	Accident/spun off	18
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 47 2 Jacques Villeneuve 43 3 Jean Alesi 21 4 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19 5 Eddie Irvine 18 Source: [5]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 65 2 Williams-Renault 62 3 Benetton-Renault 35 4 McLaren-Mercedes 24 5 Prost-Mugen-Honda 16 Source: [5]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.