1997 Belgian Grand Prix
Going Into This Race
Pre-Race Report
Championship standings
Villeneuve has closed the gap to Schumacher after Hungary, narrowing what had been a ten-point deficit.
Previous race
Villeneuve won the Hungarian Grand Prix on the final lap, passing a slowing Damon Hill just as Hill reported hydraulic problems. Hill had led for most of the race after qualifying third — his strongest performance all season in the Arrows — and was set to give the team their first-ever victory before the failure. Herbert finished third. It was Williams’ 100th Grand Prix victory.
Entrants
Ralf Schumacher crashed at Stavelot while driving to his grid position, and is forced to start from the pit lane in his spare car.
Adapted by AI summarisation from “1997 Belgian Grand Prix” on Wikipedia . This adapted text is licensed under CC-BY-SA-4.0 . Modifications: summarised and spoiler-trimmed.
Last 5 Races
Full season →| # | Date | Grand Prix | Pole | P1 | P2 | P3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 15 Jun | 🇨🇦 Canadian Grand Prix | Schumacher | Schumacher | Alesi | Fisichella |
| 8 | 29 Jun | 🇫🇷 French Grand Prix | Schumacher | Schumacher | Frentzen | Irvine |
| 9 | 13 Jul | 🇬🇧 British Grand Prix | Villeneuve | Villeneuve | Alesi | Wurz |
| 10 | 27 Jul | 🇩🇪 German Grand Prix | Berger | Berger | Schumacher | Häkkinen |
| 11 | 10 Aug | 🇭🇺 Hungarian Grand Prix | Schumacher | Villeneuve | Hill | Herbert |
Drivers' Championship
Full standings →| Pos | Driver | Team | Pts | Wins |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams | 53 | 5 |
| 2 | Jean Alesi | Benetton | 22 | 0 |
| 3 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton | 20 | 1 |
| 4 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams | 19 | 1 |
| 5 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari | 18 | 0 |
| 6 | Olivier Panis | Prost | 15 | 0 |
| 7 | David Coulthard | McLaren | 14 | 1 |
| 8 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber | 11 | 0 |
| 10 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan | 11 | 0 |