1997 German Grand Prix

  1997 German Grand Prix

Race details
Race 10 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One season
Date	July 27, 1997
Official name	Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland
Location	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility 6.823 km (4.256 mi)
Distance	45 laps, 307.035 km (191.537 mi)
Weather	Sunny, Dry Track
Pole position
Driver	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault
Time	1:41.873
Fastest lap
Driver	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault
Time	1:45.747 on lap 9
Podium
First	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault
Second	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Third	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes

Michael Schumacher (Ferrari 310B) finished second, behind Gerhard Berger.

The 1997 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on July 27, 1997. It was won by Austrian driver Gerhard Berger in a Benetton. This race proved to be his final victory and final pole position, as he retired at the end of the season. Berger had missed the previous 3 races due to sinus problems, and the death of his father Johann. His countryman Alexander Wurz had deputised for 3 races. Despite beating local hero Michael Schumacher, Berger's win was well received by the crowd and the majority of the F1 world.

Giancarlo Fisichella took his first ever front-row start, and was challenging Berger for the win until he punctured a tyre on the debris of Jan Magnussen's blown engine. This same incident had helped him gain the lead, as the smoke from the engine delayed Berger prior to his pit stop. Fisichella only led for two laps before Berger repassed him. After Fisichella broke down due to damage from the flailing tyre (caused while he tried to drive back to the pits), Michael Schumacher gave him a lift back to the pits after the race.

Jacques Villeneuve had a disastrous race, spinning off while trying to overtake rookie Jarno Trulli, thus losing championship ground to Schumacher. Schumacher's team-mate Eddie Irvine and Villeneuve's Heinz-Harald Frentzen collided at the first corner, with David Coulthard also forced out by damage from the incident.

Berger's last win was also Benetton's last win, just like Berger's first had been Benetton's first.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	1:41.873
2	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	1:41.896	+0.023
3	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:42.034	+0.161
4	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:42.181	+0.308
5	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	1:42.421	+0.548
6	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	1:42.493	+0.620
7	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	1:42.498	+0.625
8	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:42.687	+0.814
9	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	1:42.967	+1.094
10	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:43.209	+1.336
11	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:43.226	+1.353
12	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:43.272	+1.399
13	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	1:43.361	+1.488
14	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:43.660	+1.787
15	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:43.927	+2.054
16	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	1:44.069	+2.196
17	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:44.112	+2.239
18	17	Norberto Fontana	Sauber-Petronas	1:44.552	+2.679
19	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	1:45.372	+3.499
20	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	1:45.811	+3.938
21	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	1:45.942	+4.069
22	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	1:46.499	+4.626

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	45	1:20:59.046	1	10
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	45	+17.527	4	6
3	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	45	+24.770	3	4
4	14	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Mugen-Honda	45	+27.165	11	3
5	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	45	+29.995	7	2
6	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	45	+34.717	6	1
7	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	45	+1:19.722	17
8	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	44	+1 Lap	13
9	17	Norberto Fontana	Sauber-Petronas	44	+1 Lap	18
10	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	44	+1 Lap	20
11	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	40	Radiator	2
Ret	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	33	Engine	12
Ret	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	33	Clutch	19
Ret	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	33	Spun off	9
Ret	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	27	Engine	15
Ret	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	23	Out of fuel	22
Ret	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	8	Collision	14
Ret	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	8	Collision	16
Ret	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1	Transmission	8
Ret	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	1	Collision	5
Ret	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1	Collision	10
Ret	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	0	Gearbox	21

Notes

• Fastest Lap: Gerhard Berger 1m 45.747s
• Last win - Benetton.
• Last pole position, fastest lap, win and podium - Gerhard Berger

• This would be the last time until the 2009 British Grand Prix that the Austrian national anthem would be played on the podium.
• Only win for Benetton as an Italian team
• First win for an Italian constructor other than Ferrari since Maserati´s win at the 1957 German Grand Prix
• First points: Jarno Trulli

Standings after Grand Prix

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 53 2 Jacques Villeneuve 43 3 Jean Alesi 22 4 Gerhard Berger 20 5 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 19

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 71 2 Williams-Renault 62 3 Benetton-Renault 46 4 McLaren-Mercedes 28 5 Prost-Mugen-Honda 19

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

Previous race: 1997 British Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1997 season	Next race: 1997 Hungarian Grand Prix
Previous race: 1996 German Grand Prix	German Grand Prix	Next race: 1998 German Grand Prix

This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1997 German 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.