The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was contested across 17 Grand Prix, beginning on 9 March and concluding on 26 October.
Season
During the season, Williams emerged as the strongest team overall and secured the Constructors’ Championship, finishing ahead of Ferrari. The battle for the Drivers’ Championship, however, became one of the most controversial conclusions in F1 history.
The title fight came down to the final race of the season, where championship leader Michael Schumacher of Ferrari faced Jacques Villeneuve of Williams. During the race, Schumacher attempted to defend his position by colliding with Villeneuve in a dramatic incident. The contact forced Schumacher’s car into the gravel, immediately ending his race, while Villeneuve was able to continue. Despite damage to his car, Villeneuve finished third, scoring enough points to secure the World Drivers’ Championship.
Following the race, the FIA determined that Schumacher had deliberately caused the collision. As a result, Schumacher was stripped of his second-place finish in the Drivers’ Championship standings, although he was allowed to retain the five race victories he had earned during the season. The penalty promoted Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Villeneuve’s Williams teammate, to second place in the championship standings.
The 1997 season holds several notable historical distinctions. As of today, Jacques Villeneuve remains the most recent non-European driver to win the Formula One World Championship. The season also marked the last time that Williams won both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships, making it the team’s most recent title-winning campaign.
The year also represented the final championship victory using Goodyear tyres, which had been the sole tyre supplier in Formula One for the previous five seasons. In 1997, however, Goodyear faced renewed competition from Bridgestone, the Japanese tyre manufacturer that entered its first full Formula One season.
The championship also marked the end of an era for Renault as an official engine supplier. Renault-powered cars dominated the sport throughout the early and mid-1990s, securing six consecutive Constructors’ Championships from 1992 to 1997 and winning five titles during that period. At the conclusion of the 1997 season, Renault withdrew from Formula One as a factory engine supplier. Although the engines continued to be used by teams from 1998 to 2000, they were maintained by Mecachrome and later Supertec during Renault’s absence before the manufacturer returned officially to the sport in 2001.
The season also marked the final year in which Formula One cars raced on fully slick dry-weather tyres for more than a decade. Beginning in 1998, the sport introduced grooved tyres as part of efforts to reduce cornering speeds, meaning that slick tyres would not return to Formula One competition until 2009.
1997 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
1997 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1997 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1997 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | CAN | Williams Renault | 81 |
| DQ | Michael Schumacher | GER | Ferrari | 78 |
| 2 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | GER | Williams Renault | 42 |
| 3 | David Coulthard | GBR | McLaren Mercedes | 36 |
| 4 | Jean Alesi | FRA | Benetton Renault | 36 |
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | AUT | Benetton Renault | 27 |
| 6 | Mika Hakkinen | FIN | McLaren Mercedes | 27 |
| 7 | Eddie Irvine | GBR | Ferrari | 24 |
| 8 | Giancarlo Fisichella | ITA | Jordan Peugeot | 20 |
| 9 | Olivier Panis | FRA | Prost Mugen Honda | 16 |
| 10 | Johnny Herbert | GBR | Sauber Petronas | 15 |
| 11 | Ralf Schumacher | GER | Jordan Peugeot | 13 |
| 12 | Damon Hill | GBR | Arrows Yamaha | 7 |
| 13 | Rubens Barrichello | BRA | Stewart Ford | 6 |
| 14 | Alexander Wurz | AUT | Benetton Renault | 4 |
| 15 | Jarno Trulli | ITA | Prost Mugen Honda | 3 |
| 16 | Mika Salo | FIN | Tyrrell Ford | 2 |
| 17 | Pedro Diniz | BRA | Arrows Yamaha | 2 |
| 18 | Shinji Nakano | JPN | Prost Mugen Honda | 2 |
| 19 | Nicola Larini | ITA | Sauber Petronas | 1 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Williams Renault | 123 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 102 |
| 3 | Benetton Renault | 67 |
| 4 | McLaren Mercedes | 63 |
| 5 | Jordan Peugeot | 33 |
| 6 | Prost Mugen Honda | 21 |
| 7 | Sauber Petronas | 16 |
| 8 | Arrows Yamaha | 9 |
| 9 | Stewart Ford | 6 |
| 10 | Tyrrell Ford | 2 |
