Formula 1 97
Encyclopedia
Formula 1 97 is the second game in the Formula One game series. This game was more of an evolution of the original Formula One than a brand new game. However, it had several new features, including a cockpit
Cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft, from which a pilot controls the aircraft. Most modern cockpits are enclosed, except on some small aircraft, and cockpits on large airliners are also physically separated from the cabin...

 camera view (complete with dirt and flies hitting the visor, with the player having to remove the driver's tear-off strips), if playing on the PlayStation, the use of the joystick and the introduction of a co-commentator (in both the U.K. and U.S. versions, this was Martin Brundle
Martin Brundle
Martin John Brundle is a British racing driver from England, known as a Formula One driver and as an F1 commentator for ITV Sport from 1997 to 2008, the BBC from 2009 to 2011 and Sky Sports from 2012....

). Setting up the car became more intricate. Formula One 97 was developed by Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations was a video game development studio, best known for their racing titles: Metropolis Street Racer and the followup Project Gotham Racing series . The company has also developed games in other genres, including the Geometry Wars arcade series, plus third-person shooters Fur...

 and published by Psygnosis.

The game was the first in the series to have a specific driver on the front cover, Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

 appearing on the front of the '97 cover, however the Prost car of Olivier Panis appeared instead on the cover of the French version, with Jean Alesi's Benetton appearing on the Japanese cover.

Gameplay

Formula 1 97 contained an "arcade" mode which felt like a completely separate game. Handling was totally different, with the emphasis placed on powersliding. In the simulation mode (or "Grand Prix" mode as shown on the menu), it also saw the introduction of more realistic elements such as flags and car failures.

Teams and drivers

  • Arrows
    Arrows
    Arrows Grand Prix International was a British Formula One team active from to . For a period of time, it was also known as Footwork.-Origins :...

    -Yamaha
    Yamaha Motor Company
    , is a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company. Yamaha Motor is part of Yamaha Corporation and its headquarter is located in Iwata, Shizuoka. Along with expanding Yamaha Corporation into the world's biggest piano maker, then Yamaha CEO Genichi Kawakami took Yamaha into the field of motorized...

    • 1. Damon Hill
      Damon Hill
      Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...

    • 2. Pedro Diniz
      Pedro Diniz
      Pedro Paulo Diniz is a racing driver from Brazil. He participated in 99 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on March 26, 1995...

  • Williams
    WilliamsF1
    Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

    -Renault
    Renault F1
    Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

    • 3. Jacques Villeneuve
      Jacques Villeneuve
      Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...


      (Williams Numberone)
    • 4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
      Heinz-Harald Frentzen
      Heinz-Harald Frentzen is a German racing driver most famous for his career in Formula One. At various times driving for Williams, Jordan, Sauber, Prost, and Arrows, he achieved three race wins before his retirement from F1 in 2003.-Early career:He was born in the West German city of...

  • Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
    • 5. Michael Schumacher
      Michael Schumacher
      Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...

    • 6. Eddie Irvine
      Eddie Irvine
      Edmund "Eddie" Irvine, Jr. is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He grew up in Conlig, County Down, and was influenced by his parents, who were also involved in motor racing...

  • Benetton
    Benetton Formula
    Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...

    -Renault
    Renault F1
    Lotus Renault GP, formerly the Renault F1 Team, is a British Formula One racing team. The Oxfordshire-based team can trace its roots back through the Benetton team of the late 1980s and 1990s to the Toleman team of the early 1980s. Renault had also competed in various forms since , before taking...

    • 7. Jean Alesi
      Jean Alesi
      Jean Alesi is a French racing driver of Italian origin. His Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, Benetton, Sauber, Prost, Jordan and most notably Ferrari where he proved very popular among the tifosi...

    • 8. Gerhard Berger
      Gerhard Berger
      Gerhard Berger, is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver, who previously owned 50% of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula One team until he sold his share back to energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz in November 2008....

  • McLaren-Mercedes
    • 9. Mika Häkkinen
      Mika Häkkinen
      Mika Pauli Häkkinen is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion...

    • 10. David Coulthard
      David Coulthard
      David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...

  • Jordan
    Jordan Grand Prix
    Jordan Grand Prix was a Formula One constructor that competed from 1991 to 2005. The team is named after Irish businessman and founder Eddie Jordan...

    -Peugeot
    Peugeot
    Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...

    • 11. Ralf Schumacher
      Ralf Schumacher
      Ralf Schumacher is a German racing driver, and the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher...

    • 12. Giancarlo Fisichella
      Giancarlo Fisichella
      Giancarlo Fisichella , also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver. He has driven in Formula One for Minardi, Jordan, Benetton, Sauber, Renault, Force India and Ferrari. Nowadays, he drives for AF Corse's GT2 Ferrari in various sportscar events...

  • Prost
    Prost Grand Prix
    Prost Grand Prix was a Formula One racing team managed by former world champion Alain Prost. The team participated in five seasons from 1997 to 2001.-Purchase of Ligier:...

    -Mugen-Honda
    • 14. Olivier Panis
      Olivier Panis
      Olivier Panis is a French racing driver. Panis is best known in F1 not only as a test driver for the McLaren team but for his win at the eventful Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 for the Ligier team after starting 14th...

    • 15. Shinji Nakano
      Shinji Nakano
      Shinji Nakano is a racing driver from Japan.His father, Tsuneharu was also a racing driver who competed in the All-Japan Formula Three Championship etc.-Pre Formula One Career:-Formula One Career:...

  • Sauber
    Sauber
    Sauber F1 Team is a Swiss Formula One team. It was founded in the 1970s by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in 1993....

    -Petronas
    Petronas
    PETRONAS, short for Petroliam Nasional Berhad, is a Malaysian oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974. Wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia, the corporation is vested with the entire oil and gas resources in Malaysia and is entrusted with the responsibility of developing and...

    • 16. Johnny Herbert
      Johnny Herbert
      John Paul Herbert is a British racing driver from England. He competed in Formula One, winning three races, and also in sports cars winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1991 driving a Mazda 787B...

    • 17. Nicola Larini
      Nicola Larini
      Nicola Larini is a racing driver from Italy. He participated in 75 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on September 6, 1987. He finished second in the tragic 1994 San Marino Grand Prix on a substitute outing for Ferrari, but only scored points once more in his career...

  • Tyrrell
    Tyrrell Racing
    The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...

    -Ford
    • 18. Jos Verstappen
      Jos Verstappen
      Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen nicknamed "Jos the Boss" is a Dutch racing driver. He is the most successful Dutch Formula One driver, and has also won races in A1 Grand Prix and Le Mans Series LMP2 races...

    • 19. Mika Salo
      Mika Salo
      Mika Juhani Salo is a Finnish racing driver. He competed in Formula One between and . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999. He also won the GT2 class in the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans....

  • Minardi
    Minardi
    Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...

    -Hart
    • 20. Jarno Trulli
      Jarno Trulli
      Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

    • 21. Ukyo Katayama
      Ukyo Katayama
      is a Japanese racing driver, most notable for competing six years in Formula One. Despite struggling with under-funded teams throughout his career, Katayama's performances impressed on several occasions, and was popular in the F1 paddock for his unshakeably sunny disposition and self-deprecating...

  • Stewart
    Stewart Grand Prix
    Stewart Grand Prix is a former Formula One constructor and racing team. The team was formed by three times Formula One champion Jackie Stewart and his son Paul Stewart in 1996. The team competed in F1, as the Ford works-supported team, for only three seasons, from 1997 to 1999...

    -Ford
    • 22. Rubens Barrichello
      Rubens Barrichello
      Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...

    • 23. Jan Magnussen
      Jan Magnussen
      Jan Magnussen is a racing driver from Denmark and a GM factory driver. He has competed in several of the most prestigious events in motor sport including CART, NASCAR, the FIA Formula One World Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.- Lower series racing :Magnussen dominated the 1994 British...


  • It is also worth noting that Lola
    MasterCard Lola
    MasterCard Lola is a former Formula One team that contested one race in the 1997 Formula One season. It quickly withdrew from the sport after failing to qualify in its sole race...

     is included in the game's manual; on the back cover with the team logos and also in the drivers and teams lineup, but they are not actually included in the game. Furthermore, the Minardi and Stewart team are pictured with the wrong car in the manual (The Minardi M197
    Minardi M197
    The Minardi M197 was the car with which the Minardi Formula One team competed in the 1997 Formula One season. It was initially driven by Ukyo Katayama, who moved from Tyrrell, and Jarno Trulli, the reigning German Formula Three champion...

     being replaced by the Williams FW19
    Williams FW19
    The Williams FW19 was the car with which the Williams Formula One team used to compete in the 1997 Formula One season. It was driven by Jacques Villeneuve, who was in his second year with the team, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who moved from Sauber to replace the dropped champion, Damon Hill...

    , and the Stewart SF01
    Stewart SF01
    The Stewart SF01 was the car that the Stewart Formula One team competed with in the 1997 Formula One season, and the first car constructed by the team...

     being replaced by the Ferrari F310
    Ferrari F310
    The Ferrari F310, and its evolution, the F310B, was the Formula One racing car with which the Ferrari team competed in the and seasons. It was driven in both years by Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine....

    ).
  • In the real 1997 Formula One season
    1997 Formula One season
    The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.-Season summary:...

    , car number 20 should be Ukyo Katayama
    Ukyo Katayama
    is a Japanese racing driver, most notable for competing six years in Formula One. Despite struggling with under-funded teams throughout his career, Katayama's performances impressed on several occasions, and was popular in the F1 paddock for his unshakeably sunny disposition and self-deprecating...

     and number 21 should be Jarno Trulli
    Jarno Trulli
    Jarno Trulli is an Italian Formula One racing driver. He has been a regular in Formula One since 1997, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault and Toyota. He won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix for Renault, his only Grand Prix victory to date. He is known for being a qualification expert...

    . However, it was made the other way around in the game.

Circuits

The game features 17 official Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...

 circuits based on the 1997 Formula One season
1997 Formula One season
The 1997 Formula One season was the 48th FIA Formula One World Championship season. It commenced on March 9, 1997, and ended on October 26 after seventeen races.-Season summary:...

 are:
No. Country Circuit Length (m) Turns
1  Australia Melbourne
Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit
The Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a street circuit around Albert Park Lake, only a few kilometres south of central Melbourne. It is used annually as a racetrack for the Australian Grand Prix and associated support races.-Design:...

5303 16
2  Brazil Interlagos
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Autódromo José Carlos Pace, also known by its former name Interlagos, is a motor racing circuit located in the city of São Paulo, and named after Carlos Pace, a Brazilian Formula One driver, who had died prior to its naming...

4309 15
3  Argentina Buenos Aires 4259 15
4  San Marino Imola
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari
The Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is an auto racing circuit near the Italian town of Imola, east of Bologna and east of the Ferrari factory in Maranello....

4959 17
5  Monaco Monte Carlo
Circuit de Monaco
Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the principality of Monaco. It is commonly referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside the Monte Carlo neighbourhood of Monaco.The circuit is used on one weekend in...

3370 25
6  Spain Catalunya
Circuit de Catalunya
The Circuit de Catalunya is a racetrack in Montmeló, to the north of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. With long straights and a variety of corners, the Circuit de Catalunya is seen as an all-rounder circuit.-History:...

4727 13
7  Canada Montreal
Circuit Gilles Villeneuve
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is a motor racing circuit, venue for the Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, NASCAR Canadian Tire Series, NASCAR Nationwide Series and Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series....

4361 13
8  Early Modern France Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...

4250 19
9  United Kingdom Silverstone
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is an English motor racing circuit next to the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. The circuit straddles the Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire border, with the current main circuit entry on the Buckinghamshire side...

5141 17
10  Germany Hockenheim
Hockenheimring
The Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg is an automobile racing track situated near the town of Hockenheim in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Amongst other motor racing events, it biennially hosts the Formula One German Grand Prix...

6825 16
11  Hungary Hungaroring
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a racing circuit in Mogyoród, near Budapest, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtain. Bernie Ecclestone wanted a race in the USSR, but a Hungarian friend of his...

3975 13
12  Belgium Spa-Francorchamps
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps is the venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix and the Spa 24 Hours endurance race. It is also home to the all Volkswagen club event, 25 Hours of Spa, run by the Uniroyal Fun Cup. It is one of the most challenging race tracks in the world, mainly due to its...

6963 24
13  Italy Monza
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
The Autodromo Nazionale Monza is a race track located near the town of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. The circuit's biggest event is the Formula One Italian Grand Prix, which has been hosted there since the sport's inception....

5770 14
14  Austria A1-Ring 4326 10
15  Luxembourg Nürburgring
Nürburgring
The Nürburgring is a motorsport complex around the village of Nürburg, Germany. It features a modern Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a much longer old North loop track which was built in the 1920s around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel mountains. It is located about...

4556 13
16  Japan Suzuka
Suzuka Circuit
, Suzuka Circuit for short, is a motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Mobilityland Corporation, the subsidiary of Honda Motor Co., Ltd..-Introduction:...

5821 20
17  Portugal Estoril
Autódromo do Estoril
The Autódromo do Estoril is a race course in Portugal, owned by state-run holding management company Parpública. Its length is . It was the home of the Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix from 1984 to 1996....

*
4182 13
18  Europe Jerez 4428 15

  • Although the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril is on the game, it wasn't used in the 1997 season.


There are also four bonus circuits the player can unlock: mirrored versions of Aida and Adelaide
Adelaide Street Circuit
The Adelaide Street Circuit is a temporary street circuit in the East Parklands adjacent to the central business district of the city of Adelaide in South Australia....

 (titled Adia and Edialeda respectively), a fantasy track called Speedy (titled Sunob) and a 1960s version of Silverstone (track is the same but in black and white with 1960s style cars).

Reception

It is seen as having achieved the best possible balance between realism and fun. Some still say that it is the best Formula One game to date. However, this was the last Formula One game to be made by the Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations
Bizarre Creations was a video game development studio, best known for their racing titles: Metropolis Street Racer and the followup Project Gotham Racing series . The company has also developed games in other genres, including the Geometry Wars arcade series, plus third-person shooters Fur...

 team, who moved on to create the highly successful Metropolis Street Racer
Metropolis Street Racer
Metropolis Street Racer or MSR is a racing game for the Dreamcast. It was developed by Bizarre Creations, and published by Sega. The game was originally intended to be a Dreamcast launch title in Europe and North America, however, due to numerous delays it was not released in Europe until November...

 and Project Gotham Racing
Project Gotham Racing
Project Gotham Racing is a racing game, the first in its series, developed by Bizarre Creations and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox gaming console, and released on 9th November 2001 in North America, and 14th March 2002 in Europe.The first title in the franchise, Project Gotham...

.

Legal issues

The game was hit by legal wranglings with the FIA (Formula One's governing body) objecting to the use of the FIA logo on the game's packaging. The game was withdrawn from the shops six weeks after its release. It was re-released without the offending logo, but the FIA were still unhappy. However, the FIA lost the court case, and the game continued to be sold without the logo. Another problem faced was the use of the name and image of then Williams F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve, , is a Canadian musician and automobile racing driver. He is the son of the late Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, and is the namesake of his uncle...

, after he had copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

ed both. Murray Walker
Murray Walker
Graeme Murray Walker, OBE is a former Formula One motorsport commentator...

 calls him "Williams Numberone", however on the game menu, they list him as Driverone Williams. The game a silhouetted the driver's image (this problem however was easily sidestepped by the addition of a driver name edit function, this idea proved popular and re-appeared in Formula 1 98
Formula 1 98
Formula 1 98 is a video game first released in Europe on October 30, 1998 for the PlayStation, and was developed by Psygnosis which held the official Formula 1 game licence at the time....

, but unfortunately was not used for any of the following games). The driver name edit function is also used to enter cheats, such as unlocking 4 extra tracks (60's Silverstone, back-to-front versions of Adelaide and the TI Circuit at Aida and a made-up track called Sunob (bonus spelt backwards). Other cheats are raining frogs and the cars having the ability to hover.

Alcohol and tobacco related sponsors

All alcohol and tobacco sponsors are censored.
  • Ferrari's
    Scuderia Ferrari
    Scuderia Ferrari is the racing team division of the Ferrari automobile marque. The team currently only races in Formula One but has competed in numerous classes of motorsport since its formation in 1929, including sportscar racing....

     Marlboro is replaced by a "bar code" (as in real life).
  • Benetton's
    Benetton Formula
    Benetton Formula Ltd., commonly referred to simply as Benetton, was a Formula One constructor that participated from to . The team was owned by the Benetton family who run a worldwide chain of clothing stores of the same name. In 2000 the team was purchased by Renault, but competed as Benetton for...

     Mild Seven
    Mild Seven
    Mild Seven is a brand of cigarettes produced by Japan Tobacco. Mild Seven cigarettes are the third widest smoked cigarette in the world, behind Marlboro and Camel. Manufactured originally in Tokyo, by Japanese Tobacco Inc. it has been a top seller since its creation in 1977...

     is replaced by "Benetton".
  • McLaren's West
    West (cigarette)
    West is a German tobacco brand owned by the British company Imperial Tobacco.The cigarettes are available in most European Union countries except the UK and Ireland. The brand is sold in over 90 countries worldwide.-History:...

     is completely censored.
  • Williams's
    WilliamsF1
    Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...

     Rothmans is replaced by Racing.
  • Foster's
    Foster's Lager
    Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 5.0% abv pale lager, It is a product of Foster's Group brewed under licence in several countries, including the U.S. and Russia...

     at some tracks is replaced with "Faster".
  • At the Monaco Grand Prix, Gitanes
    Gitanes
    Gitanes is a brand of French cigarettes, sold in many varieties of strengths and packages. It is currently owned by Imperial Tobacco following their acquisition of Altadis in January 2008, having been owned by SEITA before that. Originally rolled with darker or brun tobacco, in contrast to...

    is replaced by white lines but the original logo is retained.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK