HOW TO SET UP A SEASON FINALE! The Story of the 1997 Japanese Grand Prix

Jacques Villeneuve went into the Japanese Grand Prix 9 points ahead, having overhauled a 20 point lead that Michael Schumacher had. Which sounds pretty good, less so when you find out that it happened because The Michael had got a stop-go in Austria and then got taken out by his own brother at the Nurburgring.

But either way, it was Williams bottling it harder than Ferrari, and Williams should have been further ahead, but when you don't have Newey anymore, you're gonna struggle. See Red Bull this year.

So how did Villeneuve get a ban? Was it Schumacher assistance? Trying to stage a finale in Jerez? Or was JV just breaking the rules too much? Let's have a look.

Enjoy! And remember to like and subscribe for more!

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[AidanMillward]

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[brokentuskclan]

Alonso had a 40 point lead after Hungary 2012. Somehow that got reduced thanks to Grosjean being absolute clown shoes. Also the most heart-warming race of 1997 was the German GP, when Berger in his retirement year, owned the weekend after losing his dad. When he took the top step, you could feel the love from all fans, regardless of team.

[rafleggyfast]

I love how you refer to Villeneuve by all the classic names. John Newhouse was my go-to driver in GP3 (since I could race besides my fav driver HHF)

[CyanRooper]

Fun fact: Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc were both born around the same time the 1997 Japanese Grand Prix took place: the Grand Prix was on the 12th of October, Verstappen was born on the 30th of September while Leclerc was born on the 16th of October.


And to make you feel even more old, YouTube will turn 20 years old next year meaning that the oldest videos on YouTube will have "20 years ago" next to the views soon.


And to annoy you even further, Burnout 3 Takedown recently celebrated it's 20th anniversary while Gran Turismo 4 and Need for Speed Underground 2 will be celebrating their 20th anniversaries very soon.

[Sticktothemodels]

Man that ‘97 Willams-Renault with the Rothmans livery might be the best looking race car ever. Could honestly say it for any of those Williams from 94-97.

[hecksters]

5:46

Ah, good ol' John Newhouse (GPM2)/Williams NumberOne (F1 '97)

[TommiNummelin]

So weird to tune into a new video and then BAM! 8:19 and a photo I took myself.

Properly credited and all, thanks!

[Woodie-xqew]

5:35 I’m sure that made for an awkward family dinner at the Schumacher house 😂

[Jb]

"WILLIAMS NUMBER ONE" - Murray Walker 1997

[andyparker]

Love the F1 97 game
"You're right there Murray "

[thirdwheelau]

Australia had a tiered system to the flags - a double yellow at one flag point would be preceded by a single waved yellow at the previous point and at the point before that would be a stationary yellow. I suspect this was Europe as well since CAMS followed their rules pretty closely.

[wabba]

If Schumacher was "the best number two driver in the world" in the 1999 Malaysian GP, then surely this was one of Irvine's finest moments as a rear gunner? That pass around the outside at the end of the Esses was just magic.

[stanislavmelekhin]

Next idea: the story of Monaco 1999: how the distinction between stationary and waved yellow flags disappeared.

[RANDOMZBOSSMAN]

5:21 funnily enough I was watching the 1997 f1 season review yesterday, Schumi 2 and Fisi threw away *a lot* of points in that Jordan

That 1997 Jordan might have been the best car Jordan ever made

[john-klux]

@12:17: irvine wasn't on low fuel. 4 laps relative to Villeneueve. JV just slowed down to back up Schumacher into the pack.

[Cameron_Bell]

Hey Aidan, @ 4:45 The race in Argentina is called Argentine Grand Prix!

[Jackster]

The original 1997 Concorde was signed in March 96 so Forti and Lola actually both signed the original as I believe did a new entry which never happened which Stirling Moss had something to do with if you ever get that story would love to get full details

[Strangegloves]

Had the mercedes engines actually been reliable mcclaren would have had a say in this title fight between them they retired 14 times !! Hakkinen from the lead 4 times !!!

[ibex]

(Iirc) Mika Hakkinen also failed to slow for that same yellow flag at Suzuka. But he had a trick - he would wave to the marshalls to acknowledge he'd seen the yellow flag, while keeping his foot to the floor driving flat out with one hand. Amazingly it worked.
The FIA had been negligent in not enforcing the yellow flags for some time. But the way they handled things at Suzuka was pure Max & Bernie doing what they thought was best for business - they wanted a final race showdown & a Ferrari championship win. And to punish a team which was objecting to the terms of the new Concorde agreement and their vision of big bucks manufacturer involvement in F1, at the expense of independents & the operating model which had dominated F1 for the past 4 decades.

[Kuromori-vz]

I remember watching a graphic comparing the points between John Newhouse and the Michael, said graphic made me realize how satisfying it is that Villeneuve and Schumacher's first and last names have the exact same number of letters.