Statistics for 1997, including drivers' race by race ratings
Ratings for first half of 1995
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Ratings for second half of 1995
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Overall ratings for 1995
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The assessment
Williams-Renault
Despite losing chief designer Adrian Newey to McLaren, Williams again produced the fastest car in 1997, but this proved to be the last year of their period of dominance starting in 1992.
Jacques Villeneuve started the season superbly and looked likely to run away with the drivers' championship, but mid to late season he made numerous errors and was sometimes made to look ordinary by Michael Schumacher. However, he emerged as the world champion and there was a sense of the right man having won the drivers' championship after Michael Schumacher unsuccessfully tried to knock him off at the last race at Jerez.
After a superb 1995 season, Heinz-Harald Frentzen had been disappointing in 1996, and his disappointing form continued at Williams in 1997. There was an impression that he had the pace to beat Jacques Villeneuve but was often unable to access that level of performance, especially early on in the races, and so Jacques quickly got the upper hand. It's true that Heinz-Harald Frentzen ranked a little higher than Damon Hill this year, but this was partly because Damon struggled for motivation at times in the uncompetitive Arrows early in the season. I reckon Hill would probably have done a better job in the Williams than Frentzen did.
Jacques Villeneuve started the season superbly and looked likely to run away with the drivers' championship, but mid to late season he made numerous errors and was sometimes made to look ordinary by Michael Schumacher. However, he emerged as the world champion and there was a sense of the right man having won the drivers' championship after Michael Schumacher unsuccessfully tried to knock him off at the last race at Jerez.
After a superb 1995 season, Heinz-Harald Frentzen had been disappointing in 1996, and his disappointing form continued at Williams in 1997. There was an impression that he had the pace to beat Jacques Villeneuve but was often unable to access that level of performance, especially early on in the races, and so Jacques quickly got the upper hand. It's true that Heinz-Harald Frentzen ranked a little higher than Damon Hill this year, but this was partly because Damon struggled for motivation at times in the uncompetitive Arrows early in the season. I reckon Hill would probably have done a better job in the Williams than Frentzen did.
Benetton-Renault
There was a strong sense of "what might have been" for Benetton in 1997. Had drivers Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger been close to their best this year, they might well have finished second and third in the drivers' championship (following Michael Schumacher's disqualification). Unfortunately, for differing reasons, both drivers struggled at times.
Gerhard Berger was somewhat rejuvenated in pre-season testing and early in the season, when he gave the leaders a strong challenge at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but then he suffered sinus problems and had to miss three races. He had an excellent win on his return at the German GP at Hockenheim, but then his form dropped off again.
Jean Alesi's season was de-railed by his faux pas when he ignored pit signals and ran out of fuel at the opening race at Australia, and got a strong dressing down from boss Flavio Briatore. He was off the pace for the next four races, but starting with the Spanish GP he turned things around and put in a number of good performances, picking up four second place finishes along the way. However, he still had the occasional off day, notably at his bogey tracks at the Hungaroring and at Jerez.
Gerhard Berger was somewhat rejuvenated in pre-season testing and early in the season, when he gave the leaders a strong challenge at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but then he suffered sinus problems and had to miss three races. He had an excellent win on his return at the German GP at Hockenheim, but then his form dropped off again.
Jean Alesi's season was de-railed by his faux pas when he ignored pit signals and ran out of fuel at the opening race at Australia, and got a strong dressing down from boss Flavio Briatore. He was off the pace for the next four races, but starting with the Spanish GP he turned things around and put in a number of good performances, picking up four second place finishes along the way. However, he still had the occasional off day, notably at his bogey tracks at the Hungaroring and at Jerez.
9. Gerhard Berger
Gerhard Berger was in that cluster of top drivers who struggled and came out with a rating around 7.2. This season could and should have been so much better than that, as was evident from his strong times in pre-season testing and his excellent and very popular win at Hockenheim, making up for his engine failure while leading there in 1996. It would seem that, after struggling with the Benetton in 1996, he had largely got on top of it in 1997. Unfortunately, personal problems (his father passed away this year) and health issues (he had to miss three races with sinus issues) often prevented him from performing close to that level during the rest of the season, and he had a number of anonymous races.
12. Jean Alesi
The Jean Alesi/Benetton B197 combination could and should have been strong enough to take second place in the drivers' championship. Unfortunately Jean's season was badly de-railed by his faux pas at the opening race at Melbourne when he ignored frantic pit signals and ran out of fuel, and by Flavio Briatore's reaction behind closed doors afterwards, which damaged his morale. He was well off the pace for the next four races. However, a strong third at the Spanish GP seemed to restore his morale and confidence, and for the rest of 1997 he put in a number of very good performances. He came close to winning the Italian GP, although he had off days at Hungary and at the final race at Jerez.
Gerhard Berger was in that cluster of top drivers who struggled and came out with a rating around 7.2. This season could and should have been so much better than that, as was evident from his strong times in pre-season testing and his excellent and very popular win at Hockenheim, making up for his engine failure while leading there in 1996. It would seem that, after struggling with the Benetton in 1996, he had largely got on top of it in 1997. Unfortunately, personal problems (his father passed away this year) and health issues (he had to miss three races with sinus issues) often prevented him from performing close to that level during the rest of the season, and he had a number of anonymous races.
12. Jean Alesi
The Jean Alesi/Benetton B197 combination could and should have been strong enough to take second place in the drivers' championship. Unfortunately Jean's season was badly de-railed by his faux pas at the opening race at Melbourne when he ignored frantic pit signals and ran out of fuel, and by Flavio Briatore's reaction behind closed doors afterwards, which damaged his morale. He was well off the pace for the next four races. However, a strong third at the Spanish GP seemed to restore his morale and confidence, and for the rest of 1997 he put in a number of very good performances. He came close to winning the Italian GP, although he had off days at Hungary and at the final race at Jerez.
As is reflected by my assessments of the overall car deficits, the field was far more bunched up in 1997. The Williams was still the fastest car, but six other teams were often within 0.5% of the performance of the Williams. This led to the teams and drivers appearing to show considerable race-on-race variability, as even slight fluctuations in performance could be the difference between being in contention for victories and being 10th. With several of the teams being evenly matched for speed, over the 1997 season as a whole, the drivers were able to make more of a difference. The main downside of the 1997 season was that there was often very little overtaking and a number of processional races.
The drivers' championship developed into a straight fight between Jacques Villeneuve, who made much better use of the pace advantage of his Williams than Heinz-Harald Frentzen did, and Michael Schumacher, who, as the class of the field, overcame the relatively modest pace disadvantage of his Ferrari. Villeneuve started and ended the season strongly, but lost his way mid-season. Schumacher was again often brilliant, particularly in the first half of the season, but seriously tarnished his season with an instinctive attempt to take out Villeneuve at the final race at Jerez, which he subsequently had major regrets about.
Benetton produced a competitive car for 1997, but the drivers struggled. Gerhard Berger showed good form in testing and at the beginning of the season, but was bogged down with health problems and missed three races. He took a superb win at the German GP, but then his performances fell off again. Jean Alesi had a very poor start to the season, starting with the morale-shattering lapse of running out of fuel at Australia. However, to his credit, he turned things around and mostly performed well mid to late season. Alexander Wurz was impressive when he stood in for Gerhard Berger.
Behind the Williamses and Ferraris, McLaren's drivers looked the most convincing, which set the scene for the upcoming Schumacher-Häkkinen era. David Coulthard was occasionally excellent, picking up two wins at Australia and Italy, and he was unlucky not to win at Canada, but he was rather inconsistent. After an indifferent start to the season, Mika Häkkinen especially shone in mid to late 1997, frequently looking set to win races only for his car to fail. Particularly cruel was the Luxembourg GP, when he looked all set to achieve his first GP win on his birthday a la Jean Alesi in 1995, but his engine failed on lap 43 while he had a commanding lead. His win at the European GP was unsatisfactory as it was gifted to him by David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve, but it proved to tbe first of many.
Jordan's drivers were fast but inexperienced. Ralf Schumacher was quick but increasingly accident prone, and it was Giancarlo Fisichella who impressed at times in the second half of the season. With Alain Prost taking over the Ligier team, Prost were already much closer to the pace, and in the hands of the much-improved Olivier Panis, were sometimes mixing it with the front runners. Sadly, Panis broke both his legs in an accident at Canada, and when he came back at the end of the season, though he was still competitive, he had lost some of his speed. Pay driver Shinji Nakano had his moments but was generally well off the pace, but newcomer Jarno Trulli was impressive at times.
Johnny Herbert was very solid in the Sauber, often conserving his tyres and leapfrogging drivers in front of him who suffered greater tyre degradation, and he thrashed his Italian team mates. Other strong performers again included Rubens Barrichello and Mika Salo, but they were unable to translate their strong performances into good results because their cars weren't fast and/or reliable enough. Damon Hill was occasionally excellent in the Arrows, and was robbed of a win at Hungary by late mechanical problems, but at times he struggled for motivation.
The drivers' championship developed into a straight fight between Jacques Villeneuve, who made much better use of the pace advantage of his Williams than Heinz-Harald Frentzen did, and Michael Schumacher, who, as the class of the field, overcame the relatively modest pace disadvantage of his Ferrari. Villeneuve started and ended the season strongly, but lost his way mid-season. Schumacher was again often brilliant, particularly in the first half of the season, but seriously tarnished his season with an instinctive attempt to take out Villeneuve at the final race at Jerez, which he subsequently had major regrets about.
Benetton produced a competitive car for 1997, but the drivers struggled. Gerhard Berger showed good form in testing and at the beginning of the season, but was bogged down with health problems and missed three races. He took a superb win at the German GP, but then his performances fell off again. Jean Alesi had a very poor start to the season, starting with the morale-shattering lapse of running out of fuel at Australia. However, to his credit, he turned things around and mostly performed well mid to late season. Alexander Wurz was impressive when he stood in for Gerhard Berger.
Behind the Williamses and Ferraris, McLaren's drivers looked the most convincing, which set the scene for the upcoming Schumacher-Häkkinen era. David Coulthard was occasionally excellent, picking up two wins at Australia and Italy, and he was unlucky not to win at Canada, but he was rather inconsistent. After an indifferent start to the season, Mika Häkkinen especially shone in mid to late 1997, frequently looking set to win races only for his car to fail. Particularly cruel was the Luxembourg GP, when he looked all set to achieve his first GP win on his birthday a la Jean Alesi in 1995, but his engine failed on lap 43 while he had a commanding lead. His win at the European GP was unsatisfactory as it was gifted to him by David Coulthard and Jacques Villeneuve, but it proved to tbe first of many.
Jordan's drivers were fast but inexperienced. Ralf Schumacher was quick but increasingly accident prone, and it was Giancarlo Fisichella who impressed at times in the second half of the season. With Alain Prost taking over the Ligier team, Prost were already much closer to the pace, and in the hands of the much-improved Olivier Panis, were sometimes mixing it with the front runners. Sadly, Panis broke both his legs in an accident at Canada, and when he came back at the end of the season, though he was still competitive, he had lost some of his speed. Pay driver Shinji Nakano had his moments but was generally well off the pace, but newcomer Jarno Trulli was impressive at times.
Johnny Herbert was very solid in the Sauber, often conserving his tyres and leapfrogging drivers in front of him who suffered greater tyre degradation, and he thrashed his Italian team mates. Other strong performers again included Rubens Barrichello and Mika Salo, but they were unable to translate their strong performances into good results because their cars weren't fast and/or reliable enough. Damon Hill was occasionally excellent in the Arrows, and was robbed of a win at Hungary by late mechanical problems, but at times he struggled for motivation.
Memorable British ITV commentary quotes from 1997
Jean Alesi runs out of fuel at the Australian Grand Prix:
Murray Walker: And you can see from the body language of the Benetton mechanics that they are ab-so-lute-ly FURIOUS! Because they know that Alesi has been told to come in, lap after lap after lap, and what does he do? He ignores them! Oh, Jean. You may well look a bit worried, you've got a major problem sunshine when you get back to the pits.
Michael Schumacher instinctively tries to take Jacques Villeneuve out at the European Grand Prix at Jerez:
Martin Brundle: Villeneuve's all over him, look!
Murray Walker: He's through! Oh! Out goes Michael Schumacher!
Martin Brundle: That didn't work. That didn't work, Michael, you hit the wrong part of him, my friend! I don't think that will cause Villeneuve a problem.