The 1997 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the LV Grand Prix de Monaco) was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
race held on 11 May 1997 at the
Circuit de Monaco,
Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
. It was the fifth race of the
1997 Formula One World Championship
The 1997 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 51st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It commenced on 9 March and ended on 26 October after seventeen races. The Drivers' Championship was won by Jacques Villeneuve and the Constr ...
. The 62-lap race was won by
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
, driving a
Ferrari, after starting from second position.
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
finished second in a
Stewart-
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
, with
Eddie Irvine
Edmund Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Drivers' Championship, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
He b ...
third in the other Ferrari.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
, driving a
Williams-
Renault
Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufacture ...
, started from
pole position ahead of Schumacher. Frentzen and teammate
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various o ...
made poor starts, and both retired from the race in separate accidents. Schumacher won by some 53 seconds from Barrichello, who scored the first podium for the Stewart team in only their fifth Grand Prix. The race had been scheduled for 78 laps, but rainy conditions meant that only 62 laps were run before the two-hour time limit was reached.
The win enabled Schumacher to take over the lead of the Drivers' Championship from Villeneuve, and Ferrari to move ahead of Williams in the Constructors' Championship.
Background
Heading into this race, the fifth of the 1997 season, Williams driver
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various o ...
led the Drivers' Championship with 20 points, followed by Ferrari driver
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
on 14. Behind them were five drivers on 10 points each: Villeneuve's teammate
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
,
McLaren driver
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
, Schumacher's teammate
Eddie Irvine
Edmund Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Drivers' Championship, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
He b ...
,
Benetton driver
Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...
, and Coulthard's teammate
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three Fo ...
. In the Constructors' Championship, Williams led with 30 points, followed by Ferrari on 24 and McLaren on 20.
Qualifying report
Qualifying saw Frentzen take pole position in his Williams by just 0.019 seconds from Michael Schumacher's Ferrari, with Villeneuve third in the other Williams, a further 0.3 seconds back. It was Frentzen's first pole position in Formula One. The
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
s of
Giancarlo Fisichella and
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began kart ...
were fourth and sixth respectively, with Coulthard's McLaren between them. Completing the top ten were
Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in ...
in the
Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it un ...
, Häkkinen in the other McLaren,
Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell ...
in the Benetton and
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 T ...
in the
Stewart. Further down the grid, Irvine could only manage 15th in the other Ferrari.
Qualifying classification
Race report
The warm-up session was dry, with Williams taking first and second places. About 30 minutes before the start, however, rain began to fall; Williams decided to run both cars with dry tyres, thinking the weather would improve, while Michael Schumacher set the car for intermediate weather conditions. During the warm up lap, the weather worsened, and at the start, Schumacher was quickest.
He led by 22 seconds on lap 5. Behind him the Jordans of Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher, which both had the car set for rain, took second and third spots, until they were both passed by Barrichello's Stewart, who benefited from the
Bridgestone wet tyres, which were better than
Goodyear's under those conditions.
The start of the race was catastrophic for the
Arrows team, as
Pedro Diniz
Pedro Paulo Falleiros dos Santos Diniz (born 22 May 1970) is a Brazilian businessman and former racing driver. Diniz began karting at the age of eighteen and achieved minor success, before progressing to car racing in the Brazilian Formula Ford ...
, who had opted to start the race on slick tyres, spun out after the hairpin on the opening lap, while his teammate
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill, (born 17 September 1960) is a British former professional racing driver from England and the 1996 Formula One World Champion. He is the son of Graham Hill, and, along with Nico Rosberg, one of two sons of a Formula ...
was involved in a collision with Irvine's Ferrari on the second lap, breaking his suspension. Both McLarens also retired on lap two as Coulthard hit the wall exiting the tunnel, and Häkkinen ran into the back of Alesi's Benetton as they passed Coulthard's car.
Both Willams drivers went out of the race after they had to pit to change their tyres. Frentzen hit a barrier at the chicane on lap 39, while Villeneuve hit a wall and had to retire on lap 17. Schumacher continued to build his lead until he had about 30 seconds advantage over Barrichello; then he backed off and began to maintain the gap. He made an error on lap 53 at the Sainte Devote corner, going down the escape road and losing 10 seconds, but did not lose his lead. Only 62 of the scheduled 78 laps were run as the two-hour time limit was reached, and Schumacher won with a 53-second margin over Barrichello. Irvine finished third after overtaking
Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team.
He is the father of racing driver Auréli ...
, exacting some measure of revenge for Panis' overtaking manoeuvre that had seen him get past Irvine a year earlier. After losing third place to Irvine, Panis backed off in the closing stages and settled for fourth place.
Mika Salo
Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between and . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher ...
finished fifth despite denting his front wing on debris left from Häkkinen's accident early on, and also despite not making a single pit stop during the race. Fisichella, who at one point was running as high as second place, finished in sixth. The race was the first win for a Ferrari driver since the
1981 running of the Monaco Grand Prix.
On the podium, the flag displayed for Eddie Irvine was that of the Republic of Ireland, instead of the Union Jack of the United Kingdom (Irvine being from Northern Ireland, a country within the UK). This was due to a complication regarding the Superlicence that a driver is required to have in order to race in Formula One (Irvine's licence having been issued by an office in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, thus resulting in the Irish tricolour being flown).
Race classification
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
References
{{Coord, 43, 44, 4.74, N, 7, 25, 16.8, E, scale:1563_type:landmark_region:MC, display=title
Monaco Grand Prix
Monaco Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
Monaco Grand Prix