1997 Austrian Grand Prix

1997 Austrian Grand Prix
Race 14 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	21 September 1997
Official name	Grosser Preis von Österreich 1997
Location	A1-Ring Spielberg, Styria, Austria
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.323 km (2.697 mi)
Distance	71 laps, 306.933 km (191.474 mi)
Weather	Sunny
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Time	1:10.304
Fastest lap
Driver	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Time	1:11.814 on lap 36
Podium
First	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault
Lap leaders

The 1997 Austrian Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Preis von Österreich 1997)^[1] was a Formula One motor race held at the A1-Ring on 21 September 1997. The race, contested over 71 laps, was the fourteenth race of the 1997 Formula One season, and the first Austrian Grand Prix since 1987.

Jacques Villeneuve, driving a Williams-Renault, won from pole position, with David Coulthard second in a McLaren-Mercedes, and Villeneuve's teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen third. Villeneuve's rival for the Drivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher, could only manage sixth in his Ferrari.

Report[]

Qualifying threw up a few surprises, as the Bridgestone tyres used by several smaller teams proved strong, but it was ultimately Jacques Villeneuve who won. Mika Häkkinen had been leading Villeneuve after the start but his engine failed yet again, before he even managed to complete the first lap. Jarno Trulli lead the early laps as a result, and was running 2nd (though still needing to make another pitstop) when his engine also failed and left oil out the track, which caused Rubens Barrichello to spin out of the race in the closing laps as a result.

A spectacular collision occurred between Eddie Irvine and Jean Alesi. As they battled for 4th place on lap 37, Alesi tried to outbrake Irvine into the chicane from approximately eight car-lengths behind,^[2] and as Irvine took evasive action,^[2] the Frenchman drove into the Northern Irishman's car at such speed that Alesi's car went over the top of Irvine's while the latter was pitched into a spin. Alesi was placed under investigation by the stewards for dangerous driving after the race,^[2] although no charges were formally brought against either driver.

Michael Schumacher ran as high as 3rd, but received a stop-go penalty for overtaking Heinz-Harald Frentzen under yellow flags. Schumacher claimed he had not seen them, and that they were not visible on the inside of the corner.^[2][3]

Austrian Formula One veteran Gerhard Berger announced he was to retire at the end of the season, shortly after he qualified 18th on the grid.

Classification[]

Qualifying[]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	1:10.304
2	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:10.398	+0.094
3	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:10.511	+0.207
4	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	1:10.670	+0.366
5	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:10.700	+0.396
6	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:10.893	+0.589
7	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	1:11.025	+0.721
8	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:11.051	+0.747
9	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:11.056	+0.752
10	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:11.076	+0.772
11	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	1:11.186	+0.882
12	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:11.210	+0.906
13	17	Gianni Morbidelli	Sauber-Petronas	1:11.261	+0.957
14	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	1:11.299	+0.995
15	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	1:11.382	+1.078
16	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:11.596	+1.292
17	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	1:11.615	+1.311
18	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	1:11.620	+1.316
19	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	1:12.036	+1.732
20	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	1:12.230	+1.926
EX	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	1:12.304	+2.000
21	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	1:14.246	+3.942
107% time: 1:15.225
Source:[4]

Notes

• Tarso Marques was excluded from taking part in the race after his car was found to be underweight after qualifying.

Race[]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	71	1:27:35.999	1	10
2	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	71	+ 2.909	10	6
3	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	71	+ 3.962	4	4
4	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	71	+ 12.127	14	3
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	71	+ 31.859	11	2
6	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	71	+ 33.410	9	1
7	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	71	+ 37.207	7
8	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	71	+ 49.057	12
9	17	Gianni Morbidelli	Sauber-Petronas	71	+ 1:06.455	13
10	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	70	+ 1 Lap	18
11	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	69	+ 2 Laps	19
12	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	69	+ 2 Laps	20
13	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	67	Suspension	17
14	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	64	Spun Off	5
Ret	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	58	Engine	3
Ret	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	58	Engine	6
Ret	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	57	Engine	16
Ret	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	48	Gearbox	21
Ret	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	38	Collision Damage	8
Ret	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	37	Collision	15
Ret	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1	Engine	2
EX	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart		Excluded
Source:[5]

Championship standings after the race[]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 68 2 Jacques Villeneuve 67 3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 31 4 David Coulthard 30 5 Jean Alesi 28 Source: [6]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Renault 98 2 Ferrari 86 3 Benetton-Renault 53 4 McLaren-Mercedes 44 5 Jordan-Peugeot 33 Source: [6]

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

References[]