The 1997 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 13 July 1997. It was the ninth round of the 1997 Formula One World Championship. Williams' Jacques Villeneuve won the race despite being stuck in the pit lane for half a minute during his first stop due to a wheel nut problem.
Two previous leaders retired from the race due to mechanical failures. Michael Schumacher led by over 40 seconds before a wheel bearing failure caused retirement. Mika Häkkinen seemed set for his first win but his engine blew while he was holding off Villeneuve, having made one stop to the Canadian's two. Further back, Alexander Wurz scored his first podium finish in his third Grand Prix, also briefly leading the race during the pitstops. David Coulthard ran 3rd early on, but faded with braking problems. Schumacher's teammate Eddie Irvine was close behind Villeneuve when both made their second stop, but his car failed as he exited the pits. Defending champion Damon Hill finally scored his first points for Arrows after a late retirement for Shinji Nakano.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen had a disastrous run: he stalled on the grid with the race about to begin, forcing the race start to be aborted and making him start from the back of the grid. Then, on the first lap, Jos Verstappen crashed into the back of his Williams car at Becketts, ending the German's race immediately.
This race marked the 100th Grand Prix victory for the Williams team, who garnered considerable media attention throughout the weekend with the "Ro?" branding on their cars.
Pre-race
thumb|right|250px|The race was won by [[Jacques Villeneuve in the "Ro?" Williams FW19]]
The struggles of Sauber to find a suitable teammate for Johnny Herbert in 1997 continued as Peter Sauber's attempts to replace Norberto Fontana for the Silverstone round ultimately failed as Martin Brundle declined a one-off drive, opting to commentate on the race instead. Fontana kept his seat and finished 9th.
Classification
Qualifying
thumb|right|250px|[[Damon Hill during the race]]
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Time !! Gap
!Grid
|-
! 1
| 3
| data-sort-value="vil"| Jacques Villeneuve
| Williams-Renault
| 1:21.598
|
|1
|-
! 2
| 4
| data-sort-value="fre"| Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Williams-Renault
| 1:21.732
| +0.134
|2
|-
! 3
| 9
| data-sort-value="hak"| Mika Häkkinen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:21.797
| +0.199
|3
|-
! 4
| 5
|data-sort-value="scm"| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| 1:21.977
| +0.379
|4
|-
! 5
| 11
| data-sort-value="scr"| Ralf Schumacher
| Jordan-Peugeot
| 1:22.277
| +0.679
|5
|-
! 6
| 10
| data-sort-value="cou"| David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:22.279
| +0.681
|6
|-
! 7
| 6
| data-sort-value="irv"| Eddie Irvine
| Ferrari
| 1:22.342
| +0.744
|7
|-
! 8
| 8
| data-sort-value="wur"| Alexander Wurz
| Benetton-Renault
| 1:22.344
| +0.746
|8
|-
! 9
| 16
| data-sort-value="her"| Johnny Herbert
| Sauber-Petronas
| 1:22.368
| +0.770
|9
|-
! 10
| 12
|data-sort-value="fis"| Giancarlo Fisichella
| Jordan-Peugeot
| 1:22.371
| +0.773
|10
|-
! 11
| 7
|data-sort-value="ale"| Jean Alesi
| Benetton-Renault
| 1:22.392
| +0.794
|11
|-
! 12
| 1
| data-sort-value="hil"| Damon Hill
| Arrows-Yamaha
| 1:23.271
| +1.673
|12
|-
! 13
| 14
| data-sort-value="tru"| Jarno Trulli
| Prost-Mugen-Honda
| 1:23.366
| +1.768
|13
|-
! 14
| 17
| data-sort-value="fon"| Norberto Fontana
|Sauber-Petronas
| 1:23.790
|<nowiki>+2.192</nowiki>
|22
|-
! 15
| 15
| data-sort-value="nak"| Shinji Nakano
| Prost-Mugen-Honda
| 1:23.887
| +2.289
|14
|-
! 16
| 23
| data-sort-value="mag"| Jan Magnussen
| Stewart-Ford
| 1:24.067
| +2.469
|15
|-
! 17
| 2
| data-sort-value="din"| Pedro Diniz
| Arrows-Yamaha
| 1:24.239
| +2.641
|16
|-
! 18
| 19
| data-sort-value="sal"| Mika Salo
|Tyrrell-Ford
| 1:24.478
| +2.880
|17
|-
! 19
| 20
| data-sort-value="kat"| Ukyo Katayama
|Minardi-Hart
| 1:24.553
| +2.955
|18
|-
! 20
| 18
| data-sort-value="ver"| Jos Verstappen
|Tyrrell-Ford
| 1:25.010
| +3.412
|19
|-
! 21
| 21
| data-sort-value="mar"| Tarso Marques
|Minardi-Hart
| 1:25.154
| +3.556
|20
|-
! 22
| 22
| data-sort-value="bar"| Rubens Barrichello
|Stewart-Ford
| 1:25.525
| +3.927
|21
|-
! colspan="7" |107% time: 1:27.310
|-
! colspan="7" |Source:
|-
|}
;Notes
- – Norberto Fontana was relegated to the back of the grid.
|}
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Driver
! Points
|-
| 1
| Michael Schumacher
|align="right"| 47
|-
| 2
| Jacques Villeneuve
|align="right"| 43
|-
| 3
| Jean Alesi
|align="right"| 21
|-
| 4
| Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|align="right"| 19
|-
| 5
| Eddie Irvine
|align="right"| 18
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
| 1
| Ferrari
|align="right"| 65
|-
| 2
| Williams-Renault
|align="right"| 62
|-
| 3
| Benetton-Renault
|align="right"| 35
|-
| 4
| McLaren-Mercedes
|align="right"| 24
|-
| 5
| Prost-Mugen-Honda
|align="right"| 16
|-
!colspan=4|Source: