Melbourne, Sunday 9th March Michael Schumacher finished second in the first round of the 1997 F1 World Championship. Villeneuve did not make a good start, but Schumacher was not involved in the subsequent accident between the Williams driver, Herbert and Irvine and was third at the end of the first lap. Eddie Irvine was unlucky in the race. After making a very good start from the third row of the grid, he had the inside line going into the first corner with Villeneuve and Herbert outside him. A collision between the three cars was inevitable and Irvine's front left tyre was punctured forcing him to retire immediately. After the incident Eddie said: "I made a very good start and was alongside Coulthard at the first corner and then inside Villeneuve who moved over on me. He obviously had not seen me. The impact punctured my left front tyre. After the start I was going well and I was sure I could maintain my position. It was simply a typical racing accident, like the one I had with Hakkinen on Friday. It was a shame as I had done a lot of work on my starting technique over the winter." Schumacher inherited second place when Frentzen made his pit-stop on lap 17. Michael was around one second behind Coulthard when he made his first pit-stop on lap 30. Coulthard stopped on lap 32 then re-took the lead. On lap 50, the Ferrari F 310 B no. 5 was called back into the pits for a splash and dash stop, as during the first pit stop, 20 laps earlier, not enough fuel had been put in the car to allow to finish the race. He rejoined in the third place and moved up to second on lap 55 after Frentzen's retirement. He kept this position to the end of the race. Speaking after the race Schumacher said: "I am happy with the result of today's race because I could not have done better. Naturally I was worried, when I was called back to the pits on lap 50 as I knew I would lose second place. I achieved the podium finish I had hoped for and these six points are a good way to start the season. I felt I was quicker than Coulthard and Frentzen but it is very difficult to overtake on this track. I did not make a very good start, but it might have been for the best as otherwise I might have got involved in the accident at the start." Commenting on the rest of the season, Schumacher said: "Villeneuve did not score points today, but he will certainly do so during the rest of the season, but for the moment I have a slight advantage." After the race, Sporting Director Jean Todt said: "I am satisfied with Michael's second place. In the race our car was quicker than Coulthard and Frentzen's. We have to improve our qualifying performance, but in the race, the balance and reliability of the car are very good. As soon as we have got the car back we will check it to find the problem that occurred during the re-fuelling stop when not all the fuel was loaded into the car. If I had been asked on Thursday, I would have been happy to settle for this result."
Ferrari Press Release
