1997 F1 Season
17 races · Williams FW19
The 1997 season pitted Jacques Villeneuve's Williams against Michael Schumacher's resurgent Ferrari in a battle decided, amid controversy, at the very last race.
Villeneuve, in his second year, carried the title fight to Jerez with the fastest car on his side, but an ever-stronger Schumacher contested every point. The finale is one of the most remembered in history: at the year's penultimate corner, with Villeneuve diving for the title, Schumacher turned his wheel into him and rammed him. The German was pitched out; the Canadian survived, finished third and was crowned world champion.
The FIA judged the move deliberate and took an unprecedented decision: it excluded Schumacher from the entire championship classification, though it let him keep his wins. It was an ending that shaped the German's image for years and crowned Villeneuve, who would never come close to a title again.
Drivers' Champion
Jacques Villeneuve
Williams FW19
Constructors' Champion
Williams
17 races
Ver en españolKey moment
"Jerez, last corner: Schumacher rams Villeneuve, who avoids and wins the title."
The 1997 grid, car by car
The 11 teams that raced in 1997, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams | 97 | Jacques Villeneuve · Heinz-Harald Frentzen |
| 2 | Ferrari | 94 | Michael Schumacher · Eddie Irvine |
| 3 | McLaren | 91 | David Coulthard · Mika Häkkinen |
| 4 | Benetton | 90 | Jean Alesi · Gerhard Berger |
| 5 | Jordan | 86 | Ralf Schumacher · Giancarlo Fisichella |
| 6 | Prost | 83 | Olivier Panis · Shinji Nakano |
| 7 | Sauber | 82 | Johnny Herbert · Nicola Larini |
| 8 | Arrows | 81 | Damon Hill · Pedro Diniz |
| 9 | Stewart | 81 | Rubens Barrichello · Jan Magnussen |
| 10 | Tyrrell | 76 | Mika Salo · Jos Verstappen |
| 11 | Minardi | 73 | Jarno Trulli · Ukyo Katayama |
How 1997 actually ended
The official final standings, from Australian Grand Prix to European Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Jacques VilleneuveWilliams | 81 | 7 | 8 | 10 |
| 2Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams | 42 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 3David CoulthardMcLaren | 36 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| 4Jean AlesiBenetton | 36 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| 5Gerhard BergerBenetton | 27 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 6Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 27 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 7Eddie IrvineFerrari | 24 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 8Giancarlo FisichellaJordan | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Villeneuve took it by 39 points with 7 wins and 10 poles across 17 races. 6 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Mika Häkkinen.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
What if 1997 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 1997 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 16-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Michael SchumacherFerrari | P1.1 | 88% |
| Jacques Villeneuvereal championWilliams | P2.1 | 11% |
| Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams | P2.8 | 1% |
| David CoulthardMcLaren | P4.3 | 0% |
| Jean AlesiBenetton | P5.5 | 0% |
| Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | P6 | 0% |
The engine disagrees with history: its favourite was Michael Schumacher (88%), and Jacques Villeneuve only wins 11% of the time. That title was won with something a table cannot hold.
Tags
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 1997 championship-winning car?
Drivers of 1997
Keep reading
What we have measured about 1997 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
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