Jordan 197
The Jordan 197 was the Formula One car with which the Jordan team competed in the 1997 Formula One World Championship. The car was powered by the 3-litre Peugeot A14 V10 engine and ran on Goodyear tyres. The team's title sponsor, for the second consecutive year, was Benson & Hedges.
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| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
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| Constructor | Jordan | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | Gary Anderson (Technical Director) Tim Holloway (Chief Designer) Seamus Mullarkey (Head of Aerodynamics) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | 196 | ||||||||||
| Successor | 198 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications[1] | |||||||||||
| Chassis | carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double wishbones, pushrod | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double wishbones, pushrod | ||||||||||
| Axle track | Front: 1,700 mm (67 in) Rear: 1,618 mm (63.7 in) | ||||||||||
| Wheelbase | 2,950 mm (116 in) | ||||||||||
| Engine | Peugeot A14, 3,000 cc (183.1 cu in), 72° V10, NA, mid-engine, longitudinally mounted | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Jordan 7-speed sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||||
| Weight | 600 kg (1,300 lb) | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Total | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Benson & Hedges Jordan Peugeot | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 11.  12.  | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1997 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
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| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
After a disappointing 1996 season, Eddie Jordan opted to replace Rubens Barrichello and Martin Brundle with two young, inexperienced drivers - German rookie Ralf Schumacher, younger brother of double World Champion Michael Schumacher, and Italy's Giancarlo Fisichella, who had driven eight races for Minardi in 1996. The move paid off, as Schumacher and Fisichella recorded six points finishes each, including three podiums - Schumacher third in Argentina, only his third F1 race, and Fisichella third in Canada and second in Belgium. Fisichella also set the fastest race lap in Spain and qualified on the front row of the grid in Germany, and there was a behind-the-scenes battle between Jordan and Benetton for his services in 1998, a battle eventually won by Benetton. Fisichella eventually finished ninth in the Drivers' Championship with 20 points while Schumacher was twelfth with 13 (both were subsequently promoted a place following Michael Schumacher's exclusion from the standings); the combined 33 points placed Jordan fifth in the Constructors' Championship.
The 197 also stood out for its bright yellow "snake" livery. The car had a snake's eye and fang painted on either side of the nosecone, forked tongues that extended along the sides from the nosecone to the driver's cockpit, and numerous scale effects on other parts of the car. At Grands Prix held in countries that did not allow tobacco advertising, the Benson & Hedges labels were replaced with the snake-related "Bitten & Hisses", or "Ssssschuey" and "Fisssssssi".
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
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| 1997 | Benson & Hedges Jordan Peugeot | Peugeot V10 | G | AUS | BRA | ARG | SMR | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | AUT | LUX | JPN | EUR | 33 | 5th | |
| Ralf Schumacher | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 5 | Ret | 9 | Ret | ||||||
| Giancarlo Fisichella | Ret | 8 | Ret | 4 | 6 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 11 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 4 | Ret | 7 | 11 | ||||||
References
- AUTOCOURSE 1997-98, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) ISBN 978-1-874557-47-0
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