1997 British Grand Prix
The 1997 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 13 July 1997. It was the ninth round of the 1997 Formula One season. Jacques Villeneuve won the race despite being stuck in the pitlane for half a minute during his first pitstop, after a wheelnut problem. This race marked the 100th Grand Prix victory for Williams as a constructor.
| 1997 British Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 9 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
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Silverstone Circuit in its 1997 configuration | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 13 July 1997 | ||||
| Official name | L RAC British Grand Prix | ||||
| Location | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.140 km (3.194 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 59 laps, 303.260 km (188.437 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 60 laps, 308.400 km (191.631 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny, Dry Track | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Time | 1:21.598 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:24.480 on lap 34 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Williams-Renault | ||||
| Second | Benetton-Renault | ||||
| Third | Benetton-Renault | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
Two previous leaders retired from the race due to mechanical failures. Michael Schumacher led by over 40 seconds before a wheel bearing failure caused retirement. Mika Häkkinen seemed set for his first win but his engine blew while he was holding off Villeneuve, having made one stop to the Canadian's two.
Further back, Alexander Wurz scored his first podium finish in his third Grand Prix, also briefly leading the race during the pitstops. David Coulthard ran 3rd early on, but faded with braking problems. Schumacher's team-mate Eddie Irvine was close behind Villeneuve when both made their second pitstop, but his car failed as he exited the pits. The race was a disaster for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. He stalled on the grid with the race about to begin, forcing the race start to be aborted and having him to start from the back of the grid. Then on the first lap Jos Verstappen crashed into the back of his Williams car at Becketts' corner ending the German's race immediately.
Damon Hill finally scored his first points for the Arrows team after a late retirement for Shinji Nakano.
As of 2023, this was the last time that a Williams driver had won at Silverstone.