Villeneuve takes championship lead
© 1997 ATLAS F1

Sunday September 28, 1997

Summary


What should have been Mika Hakkinen's race on his birthday turned out to be a disaster for Mercedes with losing two drivers due to engine problems in two laps. Hakkinen showed championship stile all weekend with being second fastest or fastest in every session. He pulled out a lead in the beginning of the race and was clearly faster than anyone else. But everything turned out in vain when a puff of smoke came out of his car on the start and finish straight on lap 43.

Jacques Villeneuve could cruise to the finish with both the McLaren's gone in front of him and with Michael Schumacher out on lap 2 due to a collision with his brother. Schumacher blamed Giancarlo Fisichella for the crash but Ralf was called before the stewarts. The championship lead was Vileneuve's to take.

Flavio Briatore got a nice gift on his last day with the Benetton team with Alesi second and Berger fourth.

Briatore said: "I am very satisfied for the Team and for myself for today's good result. On my last Grand Prix, I am happy to leave a very competitive Benetton Formula, in very capable hands. I wish everyone in the Team and all the Benetton Formula employees the best of luck and success for the present and the future world championships. I would also like to thank all our partners, especially Mild Seven and Renault, who have been always a great support for us."

Olivier Panis made a terrific comeback and ended sixth taking one point.

The Result (67 Lap Race)


  1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.

 

11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.

Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G
Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G
Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G
Berger (Benetton-Renault) G
Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B
Panis (Prost-Mugen) B
Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G
Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B
Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G
Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G

Not Classified

Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G
Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B
Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G
Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G
Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B
Irvine (Ferrari) G
Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B
M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G
Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B
Marques (Minardi-Hart) B
Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G
R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G

B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1h 31m 27.843s
+ 0m 11.770s
+ 0m 13.480s
+ 0m 16.416s
+ 0m 43.147s
+ 0m 43.750s
+ 0m 44.357s
+ 0m 44.777s
1 lap
1 lap

 

17 laps: engine
24 laps: mechanical
24 laps: engine
25 laps: engine
27 laps: driving shaft
45 laps: mechanical
51 laps: engine
65 laps: suspension
66 laps: suspension
66 laps: mechanical
67 laps: crash
67 laps: crash

        Fastest Lap: H.H. Frentzen 1m 18.805s

The Quotes


The Standings

Drivers Championship table
Villeneuve (Williams)77
M. Schumacher (Ferrari)68
Frentzen(Williams)35
Alesi (Benetton) 34
Coulthard (McLaren)30
Berger (Benetton) 24
Fisichella (Jordan)20
Irvine (Ferrari) 18
Panis (Prost) 16
Hakkinen (McLaren) 14
Herbert (Sauber)14
R. Schumacher (Jordan)13
Hill (Arrows) 7
Barrichello (Stewart) 6
Wurz (Benetton) 4
Trulli (Prost) 3
Salo (Tyrrell) 2
Nakano (Prost) 2
Diniz (Arrows) 2
Larini (Sauber) 1

Constructors Championship table
Williams-Renault G 112
Ferrari G 86
Benetton-Renault G 62
McLaren-Mercedes G 44
Jordan-Peugeot G 33
Prost-Mugen B 21
Sauber-Petronas G 15
Arrows-Yamaha B 9
Stewart-Ford B 6
Tyrrell-Ford G 2
 

B: Bridgestone
G: Goodyear


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