1997 Belgian Grand Prix

1997 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 12 of 17 in the 1997 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 24 August 1997
Official name LV Belgian Grand Prix
Location Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium[1]
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.968 km (4.330 miles)
Distance 44 laps, 306.592 km (190.507 miles)
Weather Wet, then drying out with temperatures reaching up to 28 °C (82 °F)[2]
Pole position
Driver Williams-Renault
Time 1:49.450
Fastest lap
Driver Canada Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Renault
Time 1:52.692 on lap 43
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Jordan-Peugeot
Third Williams-Renault
Lap leaders

The 1997 Belgian Grand Prix (formally the LV Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 24 August 1997. It was the twelfth race of the 1997 Formula One World Championship.

The 44-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari. Giancarlo Fisichella finished second in a Jordan-Peugeot, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen third in a Williams-Renault after Mika Häkkinen's McLaren-Mercedes was disqualified due to a fuel irregularity. Schumacher's Drivers' Championship rival, Jacques Villeneuve, finished fifth in the other Williams-Renault, having started from pole position.

With the win, Schumacher extended his lead over Villeneuve in the Drivers' Championship to 11 points with five races remaining.

  1. ^ "1997 Belgian GP". Motor Sport. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  2. ^ Weather info for the 1997 Belgian Grand Prix at Weather Underground