24 august 1997 M. Schumacher took another step towards the Drivers Championship by winning the Belgian GP, while his rival Villeneuve only managed sixth position. Decisive in the race was the choice of tyres, with Ferrari opting for intermediate compound despite rain so heavy that the race has to start behind the safety car. When the rain eased and the safety car left the track, around lap three, M. Schumacher raced to the lead while several drivers (including Villeneuve and Alesi) had to go back to the pits for a change of tyres. Young Italian driver Fisichella was a very convincing second, making up for the puncture at Hockenheim which had robbed him of the same position. Third was hakkinen, though his result might be at risk because the fuel he used in practice did not match the sample given to the race officers. Frentzen managed fourth position and Herbert was fifth.
24 August 1997 Mika Hakkinen, who should have started the Belgian GP from the third row, has had his starting position moved to the back of the grid as punishment for using illegal fuel. McLaren has also been fined 25,000 dollars. Hakkinen had managed the third row on th egrid despite a spectacular accident during practice, when the Finnish driver lost the left back wheel and span.
20 August 1997 Panis will be back in the Prost at Spa, after recovering from the fracture of both his legs in the Canadian GP.
13 August 1997 The track at Sepoong, in South Korea, is ready. It is 4,571 metres long with 15 bends. The final layout of the track has been designed by Harvey Postlethwaite of Tyrrell. South Korea has asked the Fia to host a GP in late October next year.
13 August 1997 Eddie Jordan said he has not given up the idea of having Fisichella in his team next year, despite Benetton's announcement that they have signed him for 1998.
11 August 1997 The hungarian GP saw the resurgence of current World Champion Damon Hill, who started third on the grid and took the lead after overtaking M. Schumacher early on in the race. The Arrows surprised the crowd by staying easily ahead of the other cars (M. Schumacher had damaged his car during the morning practice, had started with the spare car and was no serious contender), only to be betrayed by a throttle problem with two laps to go, allowing Villeneuve to overtake and win the race. Having looked like the likely winner throughout the race, Hill had at least the consolation of finishing second. Johnny Herbert was third and M. Schumacher fourth, in front of his youger brother Ralf, fifth. Nakano on Prost was sixth. Fisichella was forced to retire when he span out and stalled his engine in a rushed attempt to overtake M. Schumacher. The Hungarian GP further reduced the gap between Championship leader M. Schumacher and J. Villeneuve to three points, while Ferrai leads the Constructors Championship by only two points over Williams.
4 August 1997 Morbidelli has fully recovered from his injury and will be back for the Hungarian GP.
3 August 1997 Alexander Wurz will be driving for Benetton in 1998. He will join Fisichella who has already been confirmed at the team.
2 August 1997 German Jorg Muller, current Arrows test driver, will take Damon Hill's place as official driver for the team in 1998.
Last updated on 10 September 1997 by Federica Massagrande