58th, Schumacher's Jerez Disaster: Villeneuve on Podium, Häkkinen Victorious
After a second season with Ferrari, Schumacher’s reputation was sky-high. While some could not forgive his title-winning chop on Damon Hill in ’94 he had driven with tenacity in the third-best car and now had a chance to win the title.
Benetton wasn’t the sole reason for his success. Heading to Jerez for the final round of 1997 Schumacher led Jacques Villeneuve by one point; if he could simply finish ahead of the Williams he would win the title. Villeneuve, Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen bizarrely all set identical times of 1min 21.072sec during qualifying, but the Canadian would take pole as he had crossed the line first.
Schumacher seized the initiative with a fine start and led into the first corner, with Frentzen also beating his team-mate. After Williams gave the order to switch positions Villeneuve began to close in on Schumacher until, on lap 48, he was less than a second behind.