» 1997 F1 World Championship Review (VHS)

Down to the Last 30 Minutes – The Official Review of the 1997 FIA Formula 1 World Championship Season
VHS, © 1997 DUKE

The official video review of the 1997 Formula 1 World Championship season is again a bit of a ‘so near, but yet so far’ case in video production.

The championship season produced some of the best season-long racing in some years, ending – as the video title aptly puts it – in the last thirty minutes of the final race, when Jacques Villeneuve hunted down championship rival Michael Schumacher, attempted to take the German for the lead, and the inevitable collision happened…

The video certainly supports the quality of the action, with some truly excellent footage on display – helped by the fact that this year was the first to have digital broadcasts of the championship.

The race analysis is generally pretty solid, and there are plenty of behind-the-scenes interviews to keep things ticking along.

One complaint is the shift in narrative style to the use of ‘present tense’ narrating (this has largely continued in subsequent season review videos), which sometimes feels disingenuous.

In summary:

HITS: The year-long battle between Villeneuve and Schumacher, culminating in that infamous collision at Jerez;
MISSES: That present-tense narrative style in the commentary;
BEST BITS: Gerhard Berger’s final career win at Hockenheim in the Benetton, just days after the death of his father – a sterling drive!

Using our unique ‘Chequered Flags’ rating system, we award the 1997 Formula One World Championship Review…