1997 Japanese Grand Prix

The 1997 Japanese Grand Prix (officially known as the XXIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 1997 at the Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka. It was the 16th and penultimate race of the 1997 Formula One season.[1] The 53-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher for the Ferrari team after starting from second position. Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished second in a Williams, and Eddie Irvine third in the other Ferrari.[4] Irvine led much of the race before moving over to assist Schumacher's championship battle by blocking Drivers' Championship leader Jacques Villeneuve.

1997 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
Race details
Date	12 October 1997
Official name	XXIII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.860 km (3.641 mi)
Distance	53 laps, 310.596[1] km (192.995 mi)
Weather	Sunny[1]
Pole position
Driver	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault
Time	1:36.071[2]
Fastest lap
Driver	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault
Time	1:38.942 on lap 48[3]
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault
Third	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari
Lap leaders

Villeneuve started on pole position in a Williams car. Before the race, it emerged that Villeneuve had been put to the back of the grid, for having ignored waved yellow flags on two consecutive laps during a practice session for the race. Williams appealed and Villeneuve started from the pole. He drove a conservative race to finish 5th, gaining two points. After the race, Williams withdrew their appeal, meaning he lost the two points he originally earned.[5][6] Schumacher's win put him in front of Villeneuve in the championship on 78 points, with Villeneuve on 77 points.[1] However, as a result of Frentzen finishing second, Williams clinched the Constructors' Championship as Ferrari could not pass their points total with only one race remaining.[7]. This race was the last for Gianni Morbidelli

Report

Practice and qualifying

For each race in the 1997 Formula One season there were four practice sessions; two sessions on Friday and two sessions on Saturday morning. The practice sessions on Friday lasted an hour and the practice sessions on Saturday lasted 45 minutes.[8]

"I clearly saw the yellow flag. If they had been waved in a corner, I would have slowed down. But on a straight it was not necessary."

Jacques Villeneuve, commenting on not slowing down under a yellow flag zone during the first Saturday practice session.[2]

In the first practice session on Saturday morning, an incident occurred 30 minutes into the session. Jos Verstappen in a Tyrrell car pulled over to the side of the track with a fuel pick-up problem. The track marshals as a result waved yellow flags meaning that drivers should slow down at that part of the track. Despite the yellow flags, nine drivers, including Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve, never slowed down. Villeneuve in the process, set his fastest time of the session on that lap.[2]

Villeneuve set pole position with a time of 1:36.071, half a tenth faster than Schumacher, who was second in the Ferrari setting a time of 1:36.133. Schumacher's team-mate, Eddie Irvine, qualified third, four tenths behind Villeneuve. McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen rounded out the top four, only three thousands of a second behind Irvine. The Benetton drivers were fifth and seventh; Gerhard Berger ahead of Jean Alesi. Heinz-Harald Frentzen in a Williams split the two in sixth, six tenths behind Villeneuve.[2]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	1:36.071
2	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:36.133	+0.062
3	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:36.466	+0.395
4	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.469	+0.398
5	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	1:36.561	+0.490
6	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	1:36.628	+0.557
7	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	1:36.682	+0.611
8	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:36.906	+0.835
9	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	1:36.917	+0.846
10	14	Olivier Panis	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:37.073	+1.002
11	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:37.095	+1.024
12	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:37.343	+1.272
13	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	1:37.443	+1.372
14	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:37.480	+1.409
15	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	1:37.588	+1.517
16	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	1:37.853	+1.782
17	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	1:38.022	+1.951
18	17	Gianni Morbidelli	Sauber-Petronas	1:38.556	+2.485
19	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	1:38.983	+2.912
20	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	1:39.678	+3.607
21	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	1:40.259	+4.188
22	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	1:40.529	+4.458
107% time: 1:42.796
Source:[9]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	53	1:29:48.446	2	10
2	4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Renault	53	+1.378	6	6
3	6	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	53	+26.384	3	4
4	9	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+27.129	4	3
5	7	Jean Alesi	Benetton-Renault	53	+40.403	7	2
6	16	Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	53	+41.630	8	1
7	12	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Peugeot	53	+56.825	9
8	8	Gerhard Berger	Benetton-Renault	53	+1:00.429	5
9	11	Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Peugeot	53	+1:22.036	13
10	10	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	52	Engine	11
11	1	Damon Hill	Arrows-Yamaha	52	+1 lap	17
12	2	Pedro Diniz	Arrows-Yamaha	52	+1 lap	16
13	18	Jos Verstappen	Tyrrell-Ford	52	+1 lap	21
Ret	21	Tarso Marques	Minardi-Hart	46	Gearbox	20
Ret	19	Mika Salo	Tyrrell-Ford	46	Engine	22
Ret	14	Olivier Panis	Prost-Mugen-Honda	36	Engine	10
Ret	15	Shinji Nakano	Prost-Mugen-Honda	22	Wheel bearing	15
Ret	20	Ukyo Katayama	Minardi-Hart	8	Engine	19
Ret	22	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	6	Spun off	12
Ret	23	Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	3	Spun off	14
DSQ	3	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	53	Ignored yellow flags during practice	1
DNS	17	Gianni Morbidelli	Sauber-Petronas	0	Injury	18
Source:[4]

Notes

• Michael Schumacher equals Jackie Stewart's number of wins in his century race.

• Gianni Morbidelli did not start the race due to injury.

Championship standings after the race

Note, only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 78 2 Jacques Villeneuve 77 3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 41 4 Jean Alesi 36 5 David Coulthard 30 Source: [10]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-Renault 118 2 Ferrari 100 3 Benetton-Renault 64 4 McLaren-Mercedes 47 5 Jordan-Peugeot 33 Source: [10]

References

1. Domenjoz, Luc (1997). Formula 1 Yearbook - 1997-98 (8th ed.). Parragon. p. 209. ISBN 0-7525-2386-4.
2. Domenjoz, Luc (1997). Formula 1 Yearbook - 1997-98 (8th ed.). Parragon. p. 204. ISBN 0-7525-2386-4.
3. Domenjoz, Luc (1997). Formula 1 Yearbook - 1997-98 (8th ed.). Parragon. p. 205. ISBN 0-7525-2386-4.
4. "1997 Japanese Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
5. "Villeneuve in trouble". GrandPrix.com. 1997-10-13. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
6. "Williams drops its appeal". GrandPrix.com. 1997-10-20. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
7. "Grand Prix Results: Japanese GP, 1997". GrandPrix.com. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
8. Domenjoz, Luc (1997). Formula 1 Yearbook - 1997-98 (8th ed.). Parragon. p. 220. ISBN 0-7525-2386-4.
9. "Japan 1997 - Qualifications". StatsF1. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
10. "Japan 1997 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

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