1997 Austrian Grand Prix

The 1997 Austrian Grand Prix (formally the XXI Großer Preis von Österreich) 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.

1997 Austrian Grand Prix
Race 14 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date 21 September 1997
Official name XXVI Großer Preis von Österreich
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 Williams-Renault
Time 1:10.304
Fastest lap
Driver Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault
Time 1:11.814 on lap 36
Podium
First Williams-Renault
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Williams-Renault

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,[1] and as Irvine took evasive action,[1] 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,[1] 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.[1][2]

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

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
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:[3]
Notes
  • Tarso Marques was excluded from taking part in the race after his car was found to be underweight after qualifying.

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
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:[4]

Championship standings after the race

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

References

  1. "From Österreichring to A1-Ring, a brief overview on Austria's fastest little circuit". spinsmag.com. Archived from the original on 2014-07-04. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  2. "Grand Prix Results: Austrian GP, 1997". grandprix.com. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  3. "Austria 1997 - Qualifications". StatsF1. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. "1997 Austrian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. "Austria 1997 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
Previous race:
1997 Italian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1997 season
Next race:
1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
Previous race:
1987 Austrian Grand Prix
Austrian Grand Prix Next race:
1998 Austrian Grand Prix
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