The Benetton B197 had a lacklustre opening to the 1997 season at Melbourne but the team and Berger bounced back at the 1997 Brazilian Grand Prix, with Berger finishing second having overtaken Mika Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher. Berger then scored Benetton's final Grand Prix victory at the age of 37, again at Hockenheim, coming back after a 3 race layoff following illness and the death of his father in a light aircraft accident. As well as the victory, Berger also claimed pole position and fastest lap during the 1997 German Grand Prix. He announced his decision to leave Benetton at the end of the season during the same weekend. He eventually retired at the end of the season, his final race seeing him finish a very close fourth in Jerez only seconds behind the victor Mika Häkkinen. In his final season as a Formula One driver, Berger and Alesi out-qualified each other 7 times each with the Austrian missing three races due to illness. Rumours of a Ferrari return for 1998 were false. Sauber offered Berger a drive for 1998 to partner Alesi, but the Austrian turned down the offer for a number of reasons, not least because of the new regulations for grooved tyres which the Austrian did not find inspiring.