The 1997 Italian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific terms ''automobile ...

held at

Autodromo Nazionale di Monza The Monza Circuit ( Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis and the oldest in mainland Euro ...

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

on 7 September 1997. It was the thirteenth round of the

1997 Formula One season The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1997 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1997 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were conteste ...

. The 53-lap race was won by

David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...

driving for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

after starting from sixth position on the grid.

Jean Alesi Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari. Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting a ...

finished second for Benetton after starting from pole position, while

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...

finished third for

Williams Williams may refer to: People * Williams (surname), a surname English in origin, but popular in Wales, 3rd most common in the United Kingdom * Williams Nwaneri, American football player Places Astronomy * Williams (lunar crater) * Williams ...

Report

Qualifying

Fisichella set the early pace in qualifying. Alesi got pole position on his second set of tyres. Frentzen moved into second late in the session. The rest of the top six was Fisichella third, Villeneuve fourth, Häkkinen fifth and Coulthard sixth. The Ferraris of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine qualified ninth and tenth respectively.

Race

At the start Alesi led with Frentzen in second and Coulthard moving from sixth on the grid into third place. The top three stayed this way until lap 28 when Frentzen pitted. On lap 32 Alesi and Coulthard pitted together, when Coulthard moved ahead of Alesi courtesy of a faster pit-stop. This left

Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...

in the lead until he pitted a couple of laps later. Coulthard took the lead on lap 34 when Michael Schumacher pitted. The top three after Michael Schumacher pitted was Coulthard first, Alesi second and Frentzen third. Häkkinen was fourth until he got a puncture on lap 36. The top six after Häkkinen's puncture was Coulthard first, Alesi second, Frentzen third, Fisichella fourth, Villeneuve fifth and Michael Schumacher in sixth. The top six stayed in that order for the rest of the race and was won by Coulthard by just under two seconds. This was the only race of the season where neither Jacques Villeneuve nor Michael Schumacher was on the podium.

Post-race

dedicated his win in this race to

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

, who had been killed in a road accident the week before.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Championship standings after the race

*Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion. ;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

External links

{{F1GP 90-99

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix () is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, motor racing Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been held since 1921 ...

Italian Grand Prix

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...