1997 French Grand Prix

At the start, Michael Schumacher led away from pole with Frentzen in the Williams behind him all the way. It was a bad start for Damon Hill, who lost his wing at the first corner after going off and didn't feature much after that.

The race was relatively uneventful until towards the end when a nearby thunderstorm caused rain around the circuit. Some drivers pitted for wet tyres whilst others stayed on their dry tyres. Several drivers spun under the conditions, including Michael Schumacher. Schumacher maintained his big lead, however

In the end, Michael crossed the line well ahead of Frentzen but on the last couple of laps a huge battle was going on between Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Jean Alesi. At the same time Jacques Villeneuve was reeling in Eddie Irvine for the final podium spot.

Ralf Schumacher spun, losing sixth place, but as mentioned in the notes, Michael Schumacher (who had lapped him), allowed him back through at the final corner. At the time, commentator Murray Walker said that it was a silly move. However, on the last lap Alesi pushed Coulthard straight off, costing Coulthard fifth place, thus giving Ralf Schumacher the final point because he had unlapped himself.

Meanwhile, at the last corner, Villeneuve had caught Irvine. In a desperate lunge at the final corner he spun off, rejoined, and held off Alesi at the flag.

• Pedro Diniz outqualified team-mate Damon Hill for the first time.
• Michael allowed his brother Ralf to overtake him and unlap himself on the last corner. Ralf subsequently gained the last point of the day as a result, rising from 7th to 6th after Jean Alesi and David Coulthard made contact, with Coulthard stuck in the gravel.
• Jarno Trulli switched from Minardi to Prost replacing the injured Olivier Panis.
• Trulli's seat at Minardi went to Tarso Marques.
• Norberto Fontana replaced Gianni Morbidelli at Sauber. Morbidelli had suffered from a broken arm.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 47 2 Jacques Villeneuve 33 3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19 4 Eddie Irvine 18 5 Olivier Panis 15 Source:[3]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 65 2 Williams-Renault 52 3 Benetton-Renault 25 4 McLaren-Mercedes 21 5 Prost-Mugen-Honda 16 Source:[3]

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