The Australian Grand Prix 1997 was the 1st round of the 1997 F1 season, and took place at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, on March 9th.
David Coulthard won the race after starting in the 4th position, followed by Michael Schumacher, and Mika Häkkinen completing the podium.
Jacques Villeneuve started from the pole position, but didn't manage to cross the finish line, as he retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars, and had to retire on lap 0th.
Final results
Race evolution
Pit Stops
Unfortunately we do not have pit stops information for this race.
Strategy
Unfortunately we do not have strategy information for this race..
Incidents
The reace did not end without incidents... 14 drivers out of the original 24 who started did not managed to cross the finish line.
These included, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who saw the breaks of the car give up on lap 55, Rubens Barrichello, and Mika Salo, both suffered an engine malfunction, Jan Magnussen, who suffered a suspension problem on lap 36, Jean Alesi, who had fuel related problems on lap 34, Ukyo Katayama, who suffered from electrical problems on lap 32, Giancarlo Fisichella, and Jos Verstappen, both lost control and spun off the track, Ralf Schumacher, who experienced issues with the gearbox on lap 1, Jacques Villeneuve, Eddie Irvine, and Johnny Herbert, all of whom retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars, and Damon Hill, who had a throttle issue on lap 0.
Brakes
-
Heinz-Harald FrentzenLap 55
Engine
-
Rubens BarrichelloLap 49
-
Mika SaloLap 42
Suspension
-
Jan MagnussenLap 36
Fuel
-
Jean AlesiLap 34
Electrical
-
Ukyo KatayamaLap 32
Spun off
-
Giancarlo FisichellaLap 14
-
Jos VerstappenLap 2
Gearbox
-
Ralf SchumacherLap 1
Collision
-
Jacques VilleneuveLap 0
-
Eddie IrvineLap 0
-
Johnny HerbertLap 0
Throttle
-
Damon HillLap 0
Qualifying
From 1996 to 2002 the grid order was decided in a single qualifying session which would last 1 hour. During this time each driver had a maximun of 12 laps to set their best time.
This time around, Jacques Villeneuve managed to secure the pole position with a time of 1:29.369 seconds, with his teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen rigth behind him at 1.754 seconds, helping Williams score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.