# 1997 German Formula Three Championship

The 1997 German Formula Three Championship (German: 1997 Deutsche Formel-3-Meisterschaft) was the 23rd edition of the German Formula Three Championship. It commenced on 26 April 1997 and ended on 15 October. Opel Team BSR driver Nick Heidfeld won the championship title after a title battle with Benetton RTL Junior's Timo Scheider.

## Teams and drivers

1997 Entry List :
| Team | No. | Driver | Chassis | Engine | Status | Rounds |
| Class A |||||||
| Benetton RTL Junior Team | 1 | Timo Scheider | Dallara 397/002 | Opel | R | All |
| Benetton RTL Junior Team | 2 | Dominik Schwager | Dallara 397/045 | Opel | | 1–5, 7–9 |
| Benetton RTL Junior Team | 3 | Alexander Müller | Dallara 397/023 | Opel | R | All |
| Opel Team BSR | 4 | Nick Heidfeld | Dallara 397/049 | Opel | | All |
| Opel Team BSR | 5 | Sascha Bert | Dallara 397/029 | Opel | | All |
| Opel Team BSR | 6 | Tim Verbergt | Dallara 397/003 | Opel | | All |
| Opel Team BSR | 7 | Tomáš Enge | Dallara 397/030 | Opel | R | All |
| Opel Team BSR | 22 | Andreas Scheld | Dallara 397/003 | Opel | | 8–9 |
| GM Jordan F3 Team | 8 | Norman Simon | Dallara 397/052 | Opel | R | All |
| GM Jordan F3 Team | 9 | Steffen Widmann | Dallara 397/054 | Opel | | 1–3 |
| Josef Kaufmann Racing | 9 | Steffen Widmann | Martini MK73/05 | Opel | | 5–9 |
| Josef Kaufmann Racing | 12 | Wolf Henzler | Martini MK73/02 | Opel | | All |
| Josef Kaufmann Racing | 14 | Jarosław Wierczuk | Martini MK73/01 | Opel | | 1–7 |
| Josef Kaufmann Racing | 36 | Tom Schwister | Martini MK73/01 | Opel | | 9 |
| Trella Motorsport | 10 | Pierre Kaffer | Dallara 396/012 | Opel | R | All |
| IPS Motorsport | 16 | Johan Stureson | Dallara 397/046 | Opel | | All |
| JB Motorsport Boxy's Jeans | 17 | Yves Olivier | Dallara 397/007 | Opel | | All |
| Tokmakidis Motorsport | 18 | Tim Coronel | Dallara 397/018 | Opel | R | 1–6 |
| Van Amersfoort Racing | 20 | Bas Leinders | Dallara 397/009 | Opel | R | All |
| GM Motorsport | 21 | Tim Bergmeister | Dallara 397/062 | Opel | | 6–9 |
| GM Motorsport | 25 | Ronny Melkus | Dallara 395/033 | Opel | | 4 |
| GM Motorsport | 25 | Ronny Melkus | Dallara 397/054 | Opel | | 5 |
| GM Motorsport | 25 | Ronny Melkus | Dallara 397/051 | Opel | | 6–9 |
| KUG ELU Motorsport | 22 | Andreas Scheld | Dallara 397/051 | Opel | | 1–5 |
| MKL F3 Racing | 27 | Lucas Luhr | Dallara 397/056 | Opel | | All |
| Olympia Sport System | 30 | Riccardo Moscatelli | Dallara 397/057 | Opel | | 6–8 |
| Leoš Prokopec | 31 | Leoš Prokopec | Dallara 397/047 | Fiat | | 9 |
| Class B |||||||
| TKF Racing | 50 | Luciano Crespi | Dallara 396/022 | Opel | | 1, 3–4 |
| TKF Racing | 56 | Marcin Biernacki | Dallara 396/022 | Opel | | 5, 7–8 |
| TKF Racing | 59 | Jarosław Wierczuk | Dallara 396/022 | Opel | | 9 |
| Chemopetrol Mus Team F3 Racing | 51 | Jaroslav Kostelecký | Dallara 396/023 | Opel | R | All |
| Tokmakidis Motorsport | 55 | Michael Stelzig | Dallara 395/071 | Opel | R | All |
| Tokmakidis Motorsport | 58 | Nikolaos Stremmenos | Dallara 395/071 | Opel | | 7–8 |
| GM Motorsport | 52 | Michael Becker | Dallara 395/062 | Opel | R | All |
| GM Motorsport | 53 | Roman Truschev | Dallara 395/033 | Opel | | 1–2 |
| Icon | Class |
| R | Rookie |

## Race calendar and results

* The series supported the ADAC events at all nine rounds. With the exception of round at Salzuburg in Austria, all rounds took place on German soil.
| Round | Round | Circuit | Date | Pole Position | Fastest Lap | Winning driver | Winning team | B Class Winner |
| 1 | R1 | Hockenheimring | 26 April | Alexander Müller | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Opel Team BSR | Luciano Crespi |
| 1 | R2 | Hockenheimring | 27 April | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Opel Team BSR | Michael Stelzig |
| 2 | R2 | Nürburgring | 24 May | Alexander Müller | Nick Heidfeld | Timo Scheider | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 2 | R2 | Nürburgring | 24 May | Timo Scheider | Dominik Schwager | Wolf Henzler | Josef Kaufmann Racing | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 3 | R1 | Sachsenring | 14 June | Bas Leinders | Nick Heidfeld | Timo Scheider | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 3 | R2 | Sachsenring | 15 June | Timo Scheider | Timo Scheider | Timo Scheider | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Luciano Crespi |
| 4 | R1 | Norisring | 28 June | Bas Leinders | Alexander Müller | Dominik Schwager | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Luciano Crespi |
| 4 | R2 | Norisring | 29 June | Dominik Schwager | Norman Simon | Dominik Schwager | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 5 | R1 | Wunstorf | 12 July | Wolf Henzler | Bas Leinders | Alexander Müller | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Marcin Biernacki |
| 5 | R2 | Wunstorf | 13 July | Alexander Müller | Timo Scheider | Alexander Müller | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Michael Becker |
| 6 | R1 | Zweibrücken | 9 August | Wolf Henzler | Pierre Kaffer | Pierre Kaffer | Trella Motorsport | Michael Becker |
| 6 | R2 | Zweibrücken | 10 August | Pierre Kaffer | Nick Heidfeld | Wolf Henzler | Josef Kaufmann Racing | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 7 | R1 | Salzburgring | 23 August | Nick Heidfeld | Timo Scheider | Nick Heidfeld | Opel Team BSR | Michael Becker |
| 7 | R2 | Salzburgring | 24 August | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Opel Team BSR | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 8 | R1 | Regio-Ring | 5 September | Tomáš Enge | Norman Simon | Alexander Müller | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Jaroslav Kostelecký |
| 8 | R2 | Regio-Ring | 6 September | Alexander Müller | Norman Simon | Alexander Müller | Benetton RTL Junior Team | Michael Becker |
| 9 | R1 | Nürburgring | 4 October | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Nick Heidfeld | Opel Team BSR | Jarosław Wierczuk |
| 9 | R2 | Nürburgring | 5 October | Nick Heidfeld | Pierre Kaffer | Norman Simon | GM Jordan F3 Team | Jaroslav Kostelecký |

## Championship standings
### A-Class

* Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 20 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |

### B-Class

* Points are awarded as follows:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Pos | Driver | HOC | HOC | NÜR1 | NÜR1 | SAC | SAC | NOR | NOR | WUN | WUN | ZWE | ZWE | SAL | SAL | LAH | LAH | NÜR2 | NÜR2 | Pts |
| Class A |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Nick Heidfeld | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | Ret | 8 | 12 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 224 |
| 2 | Timo Scheider | 3 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 218 |
| 3 | Alexander Müller | Ret | Ret | 3 | 2 | 4 | Ret | 15 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 147 |
| 4 | Wolf Henzler | Ret | 3 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 144 |
| 5 | Norman Simon | 16† | Ret | 9 | 5 | 15 | 15† | Ret | 6 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 113 |
| 6 | Pierre Kaffer | 5 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 4 | Ret | 1 | Ret | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 103 |
| 7 | Bas Leinders | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 16† | Ret | 8 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 4 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 100 |
| 8 | Sascha Bert | 9 | 8 | 5 | Ret | 14 | Ret | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | Ret | 9 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 80 |
| 9 | Tim Verbergt | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | Ret | 13 | 10 | | | | | 72 |
| 10 | Dominik Schwager | Ret | 5 | Ret | 9 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Ret | 9 | | | 9 | Ret | 17† | Ret | Ret | 14 | 68 |
| 11 | Ronny Melkus | | | | | | | 8 | Ret | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 | DNS | DNS | 9 | 6 | 13 | 8 | 48 |
| 12 | Tomáš Enge | 7 | Ret | 10 | 13 | 6 | 14† | 14 | Ret | 10 | 7 | 9 | Ret | Ret | 7 | 18† | 9 | 6 | 12 | 30 |
| 13 | Steffen Widmann | Ret | 13 | Ret | 10 | 18† | 9 | | | 7 | 5 | 11 | 5 | 12 | 9 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 15 | 26 |
| 14 | Johan Stureson | 10 | Ret | Ret | DNS | 8 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 15 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 13 | Ret | 7 | Ret | 26 |
| 15 | Yves Olivier | 11 | 7 | 17 | 18† | 17† | 8 | Ret | 15 | 14† | 10 | 10 | 8 | Ret | 13 | Ret | DNS | 11 | 7 | 16 |
| 16 | Lucas Luhr | | | | | | | | | | | 13 | 10 | 10 | 18 | 5 | Ret | 12 | 13 | 10 |
| 17 | Tim Coronel | 8 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 11 | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 16 | 12 | | | | | | | 10 |
| 18 | Luciano Crespi | 6 | Ret | | | 13 | 10 | 9 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| 19 | Andreas Scheld | 18 | Ret | 11 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 11 | 11 | Ret | Ret | | | | | Ret | 14 | 14 | 9 | 7 |
| 20 | Tim Bergmeister | | | | | | | | | | | 12 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| 21 | Michael Stelzig | 13 | 10 | 15 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 1 |
| 22 | Jaroslav Kostelecký | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 19† | 13 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| 23 | Michael Becker | 17 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 16 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 12 | 18 | 14 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 16 | 18 | 0 |
| 24 | Jarosław Wierczuk | 14 | DNS | 12 | 11 | 19† | 13† | 13 | 12 | 13† | Ret | 17 | 15† | 16 | 16 | | | 15 | 19† | 0 |
| 25 | Marcin Biernacki | | | | | | | | | 11 | 13 | | | 19 | 17 | 14 | Ret | | | 0 |
| 26 | Nikolaos Stremmenos | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | Ret | Ret | 13 | | | 0 |
| 27 | Riccardo Moscatelli | | | | | | | | | | | Ret | Ret | Ret | 15 | 15 | 15 | | | 0 |
| 28 | Roman Truschev | 15 | Ret | Ret | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| 29 | Tom Schwister | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 18 | 17 | 0 |
| 30 | Leoš Prokopec | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 | Ret | 0 |
| Class B |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Jaroslav Kostelecký | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 19† | 13 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 17 | 16 | 111 |
| 2 | Michael Becker | 17 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 16 | Ret | Ret | 13 | Ret | 12 | 18 | 14 | 14 | Ret | Ret | 11 | 16 | 18 | 83 |
| 3 | Luciano Crespi | 6 | Ret | | | 13 | 10 | 9 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | 33 |
| 4 | Marcin Biernacki | | | | | | | | | 11 | 13 | | | 19 | 17 | 14 | Ret | | | 30 |
| 5 | Michael Stelzig | 13 | 10 | 15 | Ret | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 19 |
| 6 | Jarosław Wierczuk | 14 | DNS | 12 | 11 | 19† | 13† | 13 | 12 | 13† | Ret | 17 | 15† | 16 | 16 | | | 15 | 19† | 13 |
| 7 | Nikolaos Stremmenos | | | | | | | | | | | | | 17 | Ret | Ret | 13 | | | 10 |
| 8 | Roman Truschev | 15 | Ret | Ret | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 9 |
| Pos | Driver | HOC | HOC | NÜR1 | NÜR1 | SAC | SAC | NOR | NOR | WUN | WUN | ZWE | ZWE | SAL | SAL | LAH | LAH | NÜR2 | NÜR2 | Pts |
| Colour | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | Second place |
| Bronze | Third place |
| Green | Points finish |
| Blue | Non-points finish |
| Blue | Non-classified finish (NC) |
| Purple | Retired (Ret) |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Red | Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| White | Withdrew (WD) |
| White | Race cancelled (C) |
| Blank | Did not practice (DNP) |
| Blank | Did not arrive (DNA) |
| Blank | Excluded (EX) |
† — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.