His teammate David Coulthard finished second and Williams driver Jacques Villeneuve took third, which was sufficient for him to win the World Championship.

Michael Schumacher, driving for Ferrari, had led the championship by a single point ahead of Villeneuve going into the race.

The blame for the incident was later attributed to Schumacher by the sport's governing body, the FIA, and he was stripped of his second-place finish in the championship.

The 1997 European Grand Prix was the final round of the 1997 Formula One World Championship and occurred at the 4.428 km (2.751 mi) Circuito de Jerez on 26 October 1997.

Ferrari remained at the Suzuka Circuit testing an electronic differential used by driver Eddie Irvine at the previous race.

[13] At the end of the session, the three fastest drivers had all set the same laptime, the first time this had happened in the history of the World Championship.

Hill had been on course to get pole position but had to slow towards the end of the lap because of yellow flags due to an incident involving Ukyo Katayama's Minardi.

[14] Villeneuve's pole position was the last for a Canadian driver in Formula One until Lance Stroll at the 2020 Turkish Grand Prix.

[15] A half an hour warm-up session took place on Sunday morning for teams to set-up their cars for the race later that day.

The top ten was completed by Coulthard, Villeneuve, Herbert, Michael Schumacher, Frentzen, Nakano, and Hill.

During the first round of pitstops the McLarens swapped places with Coulthard leading Häkkinen and Frentzen dropped to fifth position behind both of them.

[21][22] ITV's pit lane reporter James Allen stated that onboard footage shows Schumacher twitching his steering wheel left before turning right into Villeneuve.

The slower pace of Villeneuve's car meant that on the last lap, he had been caught by both McLarens, Häkkinen having regained second place from Coulthard under team orders.

"[14] Berger in fourth place (in what transpired to be his final Grand Prix) was also catching Villeneuve but he did not pass before crossing the finish line.

[27] Third place meant Villeneuve finished ahead of Schumacher in the Drivers' Championship by three points, and became World Champion.

Before the race at Jerez, Max Mosley, the then president of the FIA, had promised to issue penalties to anyone who tried to influence the outcome of the championship.

[33] Ferrari escaped unpunished despite Article 123 of the FIA International Sporting Code stating that "the entrant shall be responsible for all acts or omissions on the part of the driver", meaning that under this rule, which has never been invoked for a driving incident, Ferrari could have been punished for failing to control its driver by being excluded from the championship standings.

Another question which the World Council had not addressed was whether or not there would be any public sanction against the stewards at Jerez who had initially dismissed the Schumacher–Villeneuve collision.

"[39] The Frankfurter Allgemeine called him "a kamikaze without honour" and alluded to a "monument [that] is starting to crack because the foundations are faulty".

[39] Despite being owned by the Agnelli family, which also controlled Ferrari, La Stampa said: "His image as a champion was shattered.

"[39] In England, Schumacher's manoeuvre against Damon Hill at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix was used as a comparison in many media reports.

[40] The public broadcaster also posited that the affair "left Formula One's glamorous image in a poor light.

"[41] The Independent commented that "many observers remain convinced Schumacher and Ferrari, major attractions in the Formula One show, have been given preferential treatment".

[44] Ferrari hosted a press conference on the Tuesday after Jerez during which Schumacher admitted that he had made a mistake but said it was a misjudgment rather than a deliberate attempt to take out Villeneuve.

"[39] On 12 December 1997, the World Motorsport Council ruled that Pedro Pacheco, the then mayor of Jerez, disrupted the podium ceremony.

[45] As of 2023[update], this race was the last time that Jerez hosted a Formula One Grand Prix, although it has held many pre-season test days until 2015.

There was some confusion due to the late changes in position, and whilst the mayor and the president of the region presented trophies, Schrempp did nothing.

On 8 November, The Times published an article accusing Williams and McLaren of colluding to decide the finishing order at the end of the Grand Prix.

"[50] In 2006, Norberto Fontana claimed in an interview with the Argentine newspaper Olé that a few hours before the Grand Prix the Ferrari team director Jean Todt visited the Sauber motorhome and told the Swiss team, which used Ferrari engines at the time, that the Saubers must block Villeneuve if they were in a position to do so in order to help Michael Schumacher win the World Championship.

"[47] In 2014, David Coulthard gave an interview to Charles Bradley in Autosport where he stated that an agreement between McLaren and Williams was in place.