The season began in the way 1996 left off for Williams, with Villeneuve taking pole and Frentzen joining him on the front row for the opening race in Australia. Villeneuve was in trouble right from the start, however, and a bad start pulled him back into the field and he was taken out by Johnny Herbert in the Sauber. This left Frentzen in the lead, but he was jumped by David Coulthard's McLaren in the second pitstops. He was still on for second place, however, but his brakes failed three laps from the end and it was a no score for Williams.