Must-see: Michael Schumacher's third pole at Hungaroring

Must-see: Michael Schumacher’s third pole at Hungaroring | 1997 Hungarian GP. On 9th August 1997, Michael took pole position for the Hungarian GP.

On 9th August 1997, Michael Schumacher took pole position for the Hungarian Grand Prix. It was the third time the German had been fastest over a single lap of the Hungaroring and he would do it a further four times, a feat he also managed at the Catalunya circuit. The only circuit where the seven times world champion did better was Suzuka, where he took eight pole positions.

The Sunday did not work out so well for the Ferrari man. Michael went off in the warm-up, doing irreparable damage to the new chassis of his F310 B and had to revert to the standard version for the race. The higher temperatures compared to previous days and the decision to start on the softer Goodyear compound would penalise Schumacher, as he had to stop as early as lap 14, having been overtaken by the surprising Arrows of Damon Hill, fitted with Bridgestone tyres, which definitely had the upper hand that day. By the skin of his teeth, Michael managed to finish fourth which might have been even more valuable but for the fact that, in the final stages, Hill ran into gearbox problems, thus missing out on an almost certain victory, handing the win to Schumacher’s main rival in the fight for the championship, Jacques Villeneuve.