1997 French Grand Prix

The 1997 French Grand Prix (formally the LXXXIII French Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit de Nevers, Magny-Cours, France on 29 June 1997. It was the eighth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship.

The 72-lap race was won from pole position by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher, with teammate Eddie Irvine finishing third, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen achieving second in a Williams-Renault. This was Schumacher's third win of the season and second in succession. As a result, Schumacher had a 14-point lead in the Drivers' Championship over Jacques Villeneuve, who finished fourth in the other Williams-Renault.

Qualifying

Qualifying report

Michael Schumacher achieved his second pole position in a row, meanwhile Jacques Villeneuve managed to take his worst qualifying position in the season so far. Jarno Trulli took his best qualifying position ever on his first race for Prost, Alexander Wurz outqualified teammate Jean Alesi on his only second start for Benetton and Pedro Diniz outqualified teammate 1996 World Champion Damon Hill for the first time in the season. Norberto Fontana made his first appearance for Sauber, becoming the first Argentine driver to star a Formula One race since Oscar Larrauri in 1988 Australian Grand Prix. On last spot Tarso Marques came back to the grid for Minardi.

Qualifying classification

Race

Race report

At the beginning of the race, Michael Schumacher started from the pole position, followed closely by Frentzen in a Williams car. Damon Hill experienced difficulty from the outset, as he lost his wing at the first corner due to going off the track. Both McLaren drivers jumped from the fifth row to 6th (David Coulthard) and 7th (Mika Häkkinen), passing the Benetton drivers and Jarno Trulli. On lap 5 Tarso Marques ended his comeback race at Minardi with an engine failure on the finishing line. A tough weekend continued at Arrows, as Diniz tangled with Jos Verstappen at the Adelaide Hairpin and lost his front wing, spending more than twenty seconds in the pits and dropping to the back of the field.

The race proceeded without significant incident until the latter stages when a nearby thunderstorm brought rain to the circuit. Some drivers opted to pit for wet tyres, while others remained on their dry tyres. Under these challenging conditions, multiple drivers, including Michael Schumacher, experienced spins. Despite his spin, Schumacher was able to maintain his lead.

Ultimately, Michael Schumacher finished ahead of Frentzen by a considerable margin. During the race's conclusion, an intense battle took place among Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard, and Jean Alesi. Concurrently, Jacques Villeneuve was striving to overtake Eddie Irvine for the final spot on the podium.

Ralf Schumacher encountered a spin, which cost him sixth place. However, as noted in the race records, Michael Schumacher (having lapped his brother) permitted Ralf to pass him at the final corner. Commentator Murray Walker deemed this move unwise at the time. On the last lap, Alesi forced Coulthard off the track, resulting in Coulthard losing fifth place. Consequently, Ralf Schumacher secured the final point, as he had managed to unlap himself.

In the race's closing moments, Villeneuve caught up to Irvine. Attempting an ambitious maneuver at the final corner, Villeneuve spun off the track but managed to rejoin the race and fend off Alesi at the finish line.

Race classification

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

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

References

{{F1GP 90-99

French Grand Prix
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French Grand Prix
French Grand Prix