Benetton B197
The Benetton B197 is a Formula One racing car with which the Benetton team competed in the 1997 Formula One World Championship. There it was driven by Frenchman Jean Alesi and Austrian Gerhard Berger, who were both in their second season with the team. However, Berger was forced to sit out three races in the middle of the season due to sinus problems, and compatriot Alexander Wurz made his F1 début by deputising for him, starting at the Canadian Grand Prix.
 Alexander Wurz driving the B197 at the 1997 British Grand Prix | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Benetton | ||||||||||
| Designer(s) | Pat Symonds (Technical Director) Nick Wirth (Chief Designer) Nikolas Tombazis (Head of Aerodynamics) Bernard Dudot (Chief Engine Designer) (Renault) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | B196 | ||||||||||
| Successor | B198 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | double wishbones, pushrod, triple damper | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | double wishbones, pushrod, double damper | ||||||||||
| Engine | Renault RS9/RS9A/RS9B, 71° V10 | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Benetton six-speed longitudinal sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||||
| Power | 730-755 hp @ 17,000 rpm[1] | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Agip | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Goodyear | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Mild Seven Benetton Renault | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 7.  Jean Alesi8.  Gerhard Berger8. Alexander Wurz | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1997 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| First win | 1997 German Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last win | 1997 German Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 1997 European Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
The car is a further development of the previous year's B196, from which both drivers had struggled to extract maximum performance. The B197 proved competitive at nearly every race, but only scored one win, courtesy of Berger on his return to the cockpit in Germany. The main problem with the car was its inability to bring its tyres up to temperature on low-grip circuits, particularly in qualifying. However, Berger and Alesi did secure one pole position each during the course of the season. By the end of the season, it was clear that Benetton would adopt a new driver line-up for 1998, with Berger retiring and Alesi moving to Sauber.
The team eventually finished third in the Constructors' Championship, with 67 points. Both B197 cars are still actively used, competing in the BOSS GP Series as of 2022.
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Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Mild Seven Benetton Renault | Renault V10 | G | AUS | BRA | ARG | SMR | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | AUT | LUX | JPN | EUR | 67 | 3rd | |
| Jean Alesi | Ret | 6 | 7 | 5 | Ret | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 2 | Ret | 2 | 5 | 13 | ||||||
| Gerhard Berger | 4 | 2 | 6 | Ret | 9 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 4 | 8 | 4 | |||||||||
| Alexander Wurz | Ret | Ret | 3 |
References
- "3rd Naturally-Aspirated Era (3NA), Part 2, 1995 - 2000; Egs. 79 to 85. The 3 Litre Formula" (PDF). grandprixengines.co.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- AUTOCOURSE 1997–98, Henry, Alan (ed.), Hazleton Publishing Ltd. (1997) ISBN 978-1-874557-47-0
