1997 Formula 1 Season Page

By September, Villeneuve led by only 1 point (77 vs. 76), setting up a tense final two races.

| Pos | Driver | Team | Points | |-----|---------------------|--------------------|--------| | 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams-Renault | 81 | | 2 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams-Renault | 42 | | 3 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 36 | | 4 | Jean Alesi | Benetton-Renault | 36 | | 5 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton-Renault | 27 | | DSQ | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 78* | 1997 formula 1 season

Throughout the season, the Arrows mechanics would sometimes "crash" or damage a chassis just enough to justify pulling out a fresh spare car. This allowed their drivers—Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz—to access brand-new, high-performance Yamaha engines far more frequently than their rivals, who were nursing older units. By September, Villeneuve led by only 1 point (77 vs

Williams-Renault secured the Constructors' Championship with 123 points, while Villeneuve’s victory marked the first time a Canadian won the F1 title. This allowed their drivers—Damon Hill and Pedro Diniz—to

In 1997, teams were limited to a specific number of "joker" engines per season (usually a certain number of fresh V10s allowed per driver). If you blew an engine, you faced penalties or had to run a previously used, degraded engine.

Schumacher’s results expunged from record; he is listed as “Disqualified” in official histories.