1997 Australian Grand Prix

Lore & Background

The 58-lap race was won by David Coulthard, driving a McLaren-Mercedes, after he started from fourth position. It was Coulthard's second F1 victory, and the first for the McLaren team since the 1993 Australian Grand Prix. German Michael Schumacher finished second in a Ferrari, with Coulthard's Finnish teammate Mika Häkkinen third. Canadian Jacques Villeneuve took pole position in his Williams-Renault but retired after a first-lap collision, while reigning World Champion Damon Hill, in his first race for the Arrows team, suffered a throttle failure on the formation lap and did not start.

Reader's Guide

The race marked the debuts of Ralf Schumacher, Jarno Trulli and Shinji Nakano; the entry of Bridgestone as a tyre supplier to compete with Goodyear; and the only appearance of the MasterCard Lola team, whose cars were over 11 seconds off Villeneuve's pole time and thus did not qualify. This was the first race weekend to have 24 pre-event entries since the 1995 Australian Grand Prix and the last until the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. It was also the first Formula One race to be broadcast on ITV in the United Kingdom, with commentary from Murray Walker, Martin Brundle and James Allen.

Did You Know?

• David Coulthard's victory was McLaren's first win since Ayrton Senna won the 1993 Australian Grand Prix.
• Jacques Villeneuve took pole position but retired on the first lap after a collision with Eddie Irvine.
• Damon Hill's throttle jammed on the formation lap, preventing him from starting the race.
• Both MasterCard Lola cars failed to qualify, being over 10 seconds slower than Villeneuve's pole time.