Summary

Jacques Villeneuve took the world championship today in a good out braking manoeuvre over Michael Schumacher, who tried to take them both off but ended in the gravel trap alone.

From this moment on Villeneuve had to keep on going and not risk anything. Both the McLarens got closer and closer. Hakkinen and Coulthard could get past Villeneuve on the last lap, which resulted in Hakkinen's first, and well deserved, victory.

Today's race had everything a title battle should have. The Williams strategy was just brilliant, with a key role for Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and Schumacher was also out there on the limit.

We also say goodbye to two Formula One drivers who both decided it was time to end their careers: Gerhard Berger and Ukyo Katayama.

The Notes

• The incident between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve has been declared a race accident. The stewards' statement said that they: "unanimously concluded it was a racing accident and no further action is necessary."

  • Weather during qualifying: Some clouds

The result (69 Lap Race)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.   18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Irvine (Ferrari) G Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Panis (Prost-Mugen) B Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G Fontana (Sauber-Petronas) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Not Classified Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1h 38m 57.772s + 0m 01.654s + 0m 01.802s + 0m 01.919s + 0m 03.789s + 0m 04.537s + 1m 07.145s + 1m 12.960s + 1m 17.487s + 1m 18.215s 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap   22 lap: engine 22 lap: crash 25 lap: water leak 39 lap: gearbox 58 lap: spin

The Quotes

• Villeneuve: "Either Michael had his eyes closed or his hands slipped on the steering wheel. Winning the championship is really just fantastic and this was a tough, physical race. I thought I had a chance to pass him, but I was quite a long way back and I think he was a little bit surprised. It was not even 50-50 when I made the move. Michael hit me really hard and I thought my car was broken. I knew Michael was capable of taking me off and he tried to do so. But I had decided it was better to finish in the gravel than to finish second so that is why I went for it. It has been such an up and down year but in the end we have got the job done. I am really pleased for the team, for everyone and, of course, for Canada."

• M. Schumacher: "I am not going to comment on the incident, but I will say that Jacques was in the right place at the right time.....and, of course, what goes around in motor sport, always comes around."

• Marques: "I am pleased with today's performance. The set-up was good and I only suffered a small brake problem on the last few laps. I would have liked to finish in the points, but with so many cars finishing it was impossible."

• Katayama: "My car was much better today than during yesterday's qualifying session and the Bridgestone tyres were consistent throughout the race. I am happy with today's result - I wanted to finish the race and I did! I would like to thank my mechanics who worked really hard to help me achieve today's result. I would also like to thank everyone who works in Formula 1 - in particular the teams I raced for, my sponsors, fans and the international press who all supported me. I will always remember this period of my life in years to come."

• Herbert: My start wasn't quite what I would have liked, and though I didn't lose any positions I didn't make any either, and spent the first lap keeping Ralf Schumacher behind. My race after that was nothing spectacular, just a matter of doing everything I could to keep the tyres in good condition. It was drama-free, but my one chance to challenge Panis for seventh place was lost when I got held up behind one of the Minardis."

• Fontana: "I made a very bad start, getting too much wheelspin in first and second gears, so after that it was a case of trying to do as much as I could to catch up. My first and second sets of tyres were good, but on the third the car was oversteering a lot, and the track felt very slippery in the closing stages."

• Salo: "I made a mega start and got past four cars before the first corner. The car has been good all weekend. We have shown that we can compete with Benetton, Sauber and Jordan, although I would have liked to catch Fisichella by the end. But it was really fun to be properly involved in the racing today and to be able to go out with good performance in my last race for the team. I have had a fantastic time at Tyrrell and I would like to thank all the people who have worked so hard for me over the past three years. We have had some good times on the track and lots of fun off it and I am sure we will stay friends. I would like to wish them all the best for the future."

• Verstappen: "Both Mika and I made great starts, but he got ahead of Nakano before the first corner and I didn't, so obviously that helped his race. It has been a difficult season in terms of results, but I have really enjoyed my first year with Tyrrell and we should know soon what the future holds."

• R. Schumacher: "This was not a good way to end the season. I made a fairly good start, but I was not able to overtake anyone once the race had settled down, which meant that I was racing at the back, which is not much fun. After my second pit stop I lost power because of a water leak so I had to abandon, my race. I had just got out of the car when I heard that Michael had gone out, so that soon made me forget my problems."

• Fisichella: "The race was difficult for me," said Giancarlo. "as the car lacked grip in both the front and the rear. The low speed corners were particularly difficult. The second half of the race was much better as there was more rubber on the track. I enjoyed running between Villeneuve and Hakkinen, it was just a shame I was one lap behind them! Of course it is very disappointing not to have a better day for my last race with Jordan, but I have had a great year with them, with many happy memories which I will always remember. I would like to thank everyone very much for all their support and the help they have given me - and for all the fun."

• Barrichello: "I lost the gearbox. I was on a one-stop strategy. The tyres were OK but the gearbox went. But I'm looking forward to next year."

• Lamy: "It was a bad action from Schumacher. It was wrong if you want to touch him."

The Final 1997 Standings

Drivers Championship table

Villeneuve (Williams)	81
M. Schumacher (Ferrari)	78
Frentzen(Williams)	42
Coulthard (McLaren)	36
Alesi (Benetton)	35
Hakkinen (McLaren)	27
Berger (Benetton)	27
Irvine (Ferrari)	24
Fisichella (Jordan)	20
Panis (Prost)	16
Herbert (Sauber)	14
R. Schumacher (Jordan)	13
Hill (Arrows)	7
Barrichello (Stewart)	6
Wurz (Benetton)	4
Trulli (Prost)	3
Salo (Tyrrell)	2
Nakano (Prost)	2
Diniz (Arrows)	2
Larini (Sauber)	1

Constructors Championship table

Williams-Renault G	125
Ferrari G	102
Benetton-Renault G	66
McLaren-Mercedes G	63
Jordan-Peugeot G	33
Prost-Mugen B	21
Sauber-Petronas G	15
Arrows-Yamaha B	9
Stewart-Ford B	6
Tyrrell-Ford G	2
B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear