| Race details | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race 12 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One season | ||
 | ||
| Date | August 24, 1997 | |
| Official name | LV Belgian Grand Prix | |
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium | |
| Course | Permanent racing facility 6.968 km (4.330 mi) | |
| Distance | 44 laps, 306.592 km (190.507 mi) | |
| Weather | Wet, then drying out | |
| Pole position | ||
| Driver |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
Williams-Renault |
| Time | 1:49.450 | |
| Fastest lap | ||
| Driver | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Williams-Renault |
| Time | 1:52.692 on lap 43 | |
| Podium | ||
| First |  Michael Schumacher
|
Ferrari |
| Second |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Jordan-Peugeot |
| Third | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Williams-Renault |
The 1997 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on August 24, 1997. The wet weather associated with the circuit came heavily, causing the race to be started behind the safety car for the first time in Formula One history.
Michael Schumacher won the race comfortably, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella who scored the best result of his career up to this time. His team-mate Ralf Schumacher started from the pit lane - he was sent out to take his place on the grid on dry tyres, but spun and crashed on his way to the grid. Explaining how he crashed out of the race later, he explained to ITV "I had nothing to lose, and I lost it". Michael gained ground over championship rival Jacques Villeneuve, who typically struggled in the wet conditions.
Mika Häkkinen was third on the road, but later disqualified due to a fuel irregularity.
Classification[]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Michael Schumacher
|
Ferrari | 44 | 1:33:46.717 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | 12 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Jordan-Peugeot | 44 | +26.753 | 4 | 6 |
| DSQ | 9 |  Mika Häkkinen
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 44 | Disqualified | 5 | |
| 3 | 4 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Williams-Renault | 44 | +32.147 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | 16 |  Johnny Herbert
|
Sauber-Petronas | 44 | +39.025 | 11 | 3 |
| 5 | 3 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Williams-Renault | 44 | +42.103 | 1 | 2 |
| 6 | 8 |  Gerhard Berger
|
Benetton-Renault | 44 | +1:03.741 | 15 | 1 |
| 7 | 2 |  Pedro Diniz
|
Arrows-Yamaha | 44 | +1:25.931 | 8 | |
| 8 | 7 |  Jean Alesi
|
Benetton-Renault | 44 | +1:42.008 | 2 | |
| 9 | 17 | Gianni Morbidelli
|
Sauber-Petronas | 44 | +1:42.582 | 13 | |
| 10 | 6 | Eddie Irvine
|
Ferrari | 43 | Collision | 17 | |
| 11 | 19 | Mika Salo
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 43 | +1 Lap | 19 | |
| 12 | 23 |  Jan Magnussen
|
Stewart-Ford | 43 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| 13 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Arrows-Yamaha | 42 | Wheel Nut | 9 | |
| 14 | 20 |  Ukyo Katayama
|
Minardi-Hart | 42 | Engine | 20 | |
| 15 | 14 | Jarno Trulli
|
Prost-Mugen-Honda | 42 | +2 Laps | 14 | |
| Ret | 18 |  Jos Verstappen
|
Tyrrell-Ford | 25 | Spun off | 21 | |
| Ret | 11 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Jordan-Peugeot | 21 | Spun off | 6 | |
| Ret | 10 | David Coulthard
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | Spun off | 10 | |
| Ret | 21 | Tarso Marques
|
Minardi-Hart | 18 | Spun off | 22 | |
| Ret | 22 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Stewart-Ford | 8 | Steering | 12 | |
| Ret | 15 | Shinji Nakano
|
Prost-Mugen-Honda | 5 | Electrical | 16 |
Notes[]
- Lap leaders: Jacques Villeneuve 4 (1-4), Michael Schumacher 40 (5-44)
Standings after Grand Prix[]
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|
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
| Previous race: 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 1997 season |
Next race: 1997 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1996 Belgian Grand Prix |
Belgian Grand Prix | Next race: 1998 Belgian Grand Prix |
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This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1997 Belgian Grand Prix. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |