1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix

The 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany on 28 September 1997. It was the fifteenth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship.

1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix
Race 15 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
The Nürburgring in its 1997 configuration
Race details
Date 28 September 1997
Official name V Großer Preis von Luxemburg
Location Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.556 km (2.831 mi)
Distance 67 laps, 305.252 km (189.675 mi)
Weather Partially cloudy, mild and dry
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:16.602
Fastest lap
Driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Renault
Time 1:18.805 on lap 32
Podium
First Williams-Renault
Second Benetton-Renault
Third Williams-Renault

The 67-lap race was won by Canadian Jacques Villeneuve, driving a Williams-Renault. Frenchman Jean Alesi finished second in a Benetton-Renault, with Villeneuve's German teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen third. Though Villeneuve went on to win the 1997 Drivers' Championship, this turned out to be his 11th and final Formula One victory, and, as of 2020, the last for a Canadian driver.

Report

Qualifying

Qualifying saw Mika Häkkinen take pole position in the McLaren-Mercedes - the first-ever for the Finnish driver, the first for McLaren since the 1993 Australian Grand Prix, and the first for Mercedes (as an engine supplier or constructor) since the 1955 Italian Grand Prix.[1] Villeneuve was alongside on the front row, while his Williams teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen shared the second row with Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan. Michael Schumacher, leading Villeneuve in the Drivers' Championship by one point, was fifth in his Ferrari, sharing the third row with David Coulthard in the second McLaren. The top ten was completed by Gerhard Berger in the Benetton, Ralf Schumacher in the second Jordan, Rubens Barrichello in the Stewart, and Jean Alesi in the second Benetton.

Race

At the start Häkkinen, on his 29th birthday, led away while teammate Coulthard jumped from sixth to second, ahead of Villeneuve.

Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher moved alongside Fisichella, while his brother Ralf made a fast start to be alongside both cars going into the first corner. However, Ralf squeezed his Jordan teammate Fisichella for room, leaving the Italian driver with nowhere to go. The resultant collision saw Ralf's car launch into the air, and come down on top of Michael's Ferrari. Also involved was the Minardi of Ukyo Katayama, who was unsighted by the dust and ploughed into Fisichella's car. Ralf, Fisichella and Katayama all retired immediately, while Michael continued for two laps before pulling into the pits with suspension damage.

With Frentzen dropping back after banging wheels with Villeneuve and knocking off his ignition switch, and Berger cutting the first corner to avoid the aforementioned collision,[1] Barrichello and Alesi moved into fourth and fifth respectively, followed by Jan Magnussen in the second Stewart. The top six remained unchanged until the first round of pit stops, during which Alesi was leapfrogged by Magnussen and Damon Hill in the Arrows.

At half-distance, Häkkinen led Coulthard by around 12 seconds, with Villeneuve four seconds behind the Scottish driver. Then, at the start of lap 43, Coulthard's engine blew. Häkkinen suffered the same failure moments later, putting Villeneuve in the lead. Both Stewarts also retired at around this time, Magnussen suffering a driveshaft failure and Barrichello's gearbox breaking, while Hill had stalled during his pit stop. This left all four Renault-powered cars in the top four, with Alesi second, Frentzen third and Berger fourth, while Pedro Diniz moved into fifth in the second Arrows, just ahead of the Prost of Olivier Panis, in his first race back after breaking his legs in Canada.

Villeneuve eventually took the chequered flag 11.7 seconds ahead of Alesi, with Frentzen a further 1.7 seconds back. Berger finished three seconds behind Frentzen, but 27 seconds ahead of Diniz. The Brazilian driver held off Panis, who in turn held off Johnny Herbert in the Sauber and Hill for the final point.

The win gave Villeneuve a nine-point lead over Michael Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship with two races left to run, while Williams extended their lead over Ferrari in the Constructors' Championship to 26 points, needing just six more for their ninth title.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
1 9 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:16.602
2 3 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 1:16.691 +0.089
3 4 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Renault 1:16.741 +0.139
4 12 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Peugeot 1:17.289 +0.687
5 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:17.385 +0.783
6 10 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:17.387 +0.785
7 8 Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 1:17.587 +0.985
8 11 Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Peugeot 1:17.595 +0.993
9 22 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:17.614 +1.012
10 7 Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 1:17.620 +1.018
11 14 Olivier Panis Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:17.650 +1.048
12 23 Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 1:17.722 +1.120
13 1 Damon Hill Arrows-Yamaha 1:17.795 +1.193
14 6 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:17.855 +1.253
15 2 Pedro Diniz Arrows-Yamaha 1:18.128 +1.526
16 16 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:18.303 +1.701
17 15 Shinji Nakano Prost-Mugen-Honda 1:18.699 +2.097
18 21 Tarso Marques Minardi-Hart 1:19.347 +2.745
19 17 Gianni Morbidelli Sauber-Petronas 1:19.490 +2.888
20 19 Mika Salo Tyrrell-Ford 1:19.526 +2.924
21 18 Jos Verstappen Tyrrell-Ford 1:19.531 +2.929
22 20 Ukyo Katayama Minardi-Hart 1:20.615 +4.013
107% time: 1:21.964
Source:[2]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 3 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault 67 1:31:27.843 2 10
2 7 Jean Alesi Benetton-Renault 67 + 11.770 10 6
3 4 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Renault 67 + 13.480 3 4
4 8 Gerhard Berger Benetton-Renault 67 + 16.416 7 3
5 2 Pedro Diniz Arrows-Yamaha 67 + 43.147 15 2
6 14 Olivier Panis Prost-Mugen-Honda 67 + 43.750 11 1
7 16 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 67 + 44.354 16  
8 1 Damon Hill Arrows-Yamaha 67 + 44.777 13  
9 17 Gianni Morbidelli Sauber-Petronas 66 + 1 Lap 19  
10 19 Mika Salo Tyrrell-Ford 66 + 1 Lap 20  
Ret 18 Jos Verstappen Tyrrell-Ford 50 Spun Off 21  
Ret 9 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 43 Engine 1  
Ret 22 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 43 Gearbox 9  
Ret 10 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 42 Engine 6  
Ret 23 Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 40 Halfshaft 12  
Ret 6 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 22 Engine 14  
Ret 15 Shinji Nakano Prost-Mugen-Honda 16 Engine 17  
Ret 5 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 2 Suspension/Collision Damage 5  
Ret 21 Tarso Marques Minardi-Hart 1 Engine 18  
Ret 20 Ukyo Katayama Minardi-Hart 1 Collision 22  
Ret 12 Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Peugeot 0 Collision 4  
Ret 11 Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Peugeot 0 Collision 8  
Source:[3]

Championship standings after the race

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

Notes

References

  1. "Grand Prix Results: Luxembourg GP, 1997". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  2. "Luxembourg 1997 - Qualifications". StatsF1. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  3. "1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. "Luxembourg 1997 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
Previous race:
1997 Austrian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1997 season
Next race:
1997 Japanese Grand Prix
Previous race:
1952 Luxembourg Grand Prix
Luxembourg Grand Prix Next race:
1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix
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