Michael Schumacher's victory gave Ferrari the Constructors' Championship lead and moved him ahead in the Drivers' Championship standings.
Key Facts
- Race winner
- Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
- Laps completed
- 62 of 78 scheduled
- Victory margin
- approximately 53 seconds
- Championship round
- 5th race of 1997 season
- First podium for Stewart team
- Rubens Barrichello finished 2nd
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Wet weather conditions reduced the scheduled 78-lap race to 62 laps as the two-hour time limit was reached. Pole-sitter Heinz-Harald Frentzen and title contender Jacques Villeneuve both made poor starts and subsequently retired from separate accidents, opening the door for Schumacher from second on the grid.
Held on 11 May 1997 at Circuit de Monaco, the race was won by Michael Schumacher driving for Ferrari. Rubens Barrichello finished second for Stewart-Ford, and Eddie Irvine completed the podium in the second Ferrari. Schumacher won by roughly 53 seconds in the rain-shortened encounter.
The victory allowed Schumacher to take over the lead of the 1997 Drivers' Championship from Villeneuve, while Ferrari moved ahead of Williams in the Constructors' Championship. Barrichello's second place also delivered Stewart Grand Prix their first podium finish in only their fifth race as a constructor.
Result
at Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo