The 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 71st season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 68th Formula One World Championship, a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which is recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Teams and drivers competed in twenty Grands Prix—starting in Australia on 26 March and ending in Abu Dhabi on 26 November—for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championships.
The reigning Drivers' Champion Nico Rosberg was originally due to drive for Mercedes in 2017. He announced his retirement from the sport in December 2016, 5 days after winning his first drivers' World Championship at the 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, so the 2017 season was the first since in which the reigning champion did not compete. Mercedes started the season as the defending Constructors' Champion, having secured their third consecutive title at the 2016 Japanese Grand Prix.
2017 was the first genuine inter-team title battle for five years, since Fernando Alonso battled Sebastian Vettel for the title in 2012. Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes had to contend with a resurgent Ferrari team with their lead driver, 4 time world champion, Sebastian Vettel heading the championship for the first 12 rounds and challenging deep into the twenty race season. At the conclusion of the championship, Hamilton won his fourth World Drivers' Championship title. Hamilton finished 46 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel in second with 317 points and Valtteri Bottas in third with 305 points. In the World Constructors' Championship, Mercedes won their fourth consecutive title at the 2017 United States Grand Prix and finished with 668 points. Ferrari finished second with 522 points and Red Bull Racing were third with 368 points.
Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers took part in the 2017 Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Pirelli. EntrantConstructorChassisRace driversNo. Driver nameRounds Scuderia FerrariFerrariSF70HFerrari 06257 Sebastian Vettel Kimi RäikkönenAllAll Sahara Force India F1 TeamForce India-MercedesVJM101131 Sergio Pérez Esteban OconAllAll Haas F1 TeamHaas-FerrariVF-17Ferrari 062820 Romain Grosjean Kevin MagnussenAllAll McLaren Honda Formula 1 TeamMcLaren-HondaMCL32Honda RA617H21422 Stoffel Vandoorne Fernando Alonso Jenson ButtonAll1–5, 7–206 Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 TeamMercedesF1 W08 EQ Power+Mercedes M08 EQ Power+4477 Lewis Hamilton Valtteri BottasAllAll Red Bull RacingRed Bull Racing-TAG HeuerRB13TAG Heuer F1-2017333 Daniel Ricciardo Max VerstappenAllAll Renault Sport Formula One TeamRenaultR.S.17273055 Nico Hülkenberg Jolyon Palmer Carlos Sainz Jr.All1–1617–20 Sauber F1 TeamSauber-FerrariC36Ferrari 06199436 Marcus Ericsson Pascal Wehrlein Antonio GiovinazziAll1, 3–201–2 Scuderia Toro RossoToro RossoSTR12Toro Rosso26103928552610 Daniil Kvyat Pierre Gasly Brendon Hartley Brendon Hartley Carlos Sainz Jr. Daniil Kvyat Pierre Gasly1–1415–161718–201–161718–20 Williams Martini RacingWilliams-MercedesFW40Mercedes M08 EQ Power+181940 Lance Stroll Felipe Massa Paul di RestaAllAll11Sources:Official entry lists:
Free practice drivers Six drivers drove as free practice drivers over the course of the season.
+ Drivers that took part in a free practice sessionConstructorPractice driversNo.Driver nameRoundsForce India-Mercedes 3435 Alfonso Celis Jr. George Russell 9, 11, 1819–20Haas-Ferrari 50 Antonio Giovinazzi 10–11, 14–15, 18–20Renault 46 Sergey Sirotkin 4–5, 9, 15Sauber-Ferrari 37 Charles Leclerc 15, 17–19Toro Rosso-Renault 38 Sean Gelael 14–15, 17–18Source:
Team changes Just Racing, the parent company of MRT, went into administration in January 2017. The company collapsed later that same month, ultimately closing down entirely in March after administrators were unable to find a buyer for MRT. Sauber used one-year-old Ferrari power units in 2017, mirroring the arrangement between Ferrari and Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2016. Toro Rosso returned to using Renault power units (badged with their own name) in 2017, having used 2015-specification Ferrari power units in . The team had previously used Renault power units in and before the relationship between Renault and sister team Red Bull Racing broke down, prompting Toro Rosso to seek out an alternative supplier.
Driver changes
Kevin Magnussen turned down an offer to stay with Renault and instead signed a deal with Haas to drive alongside Romain Grosjean. As a result of the agreement with Magnussen and the team's decision to take up an option on Grosjean, Esteban Gutiérrez's contract with the team was not renewed. Gutiérrez later moved to the Formula E championship. Esteban Ocon moved from MRT to Force India, filling the seat left vacant by Nico Hülkenberg's departure to Renault. Reigning champion and Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg announced his shock retirement from the sport at the end of the 2016 season, ending his Formula One career after 11 seasons when he clinched the title in Abu Dhabi. Valtteri Bottas was released by Williams after a $10 million buyout was agreed with Mercedes to sign Bottas as Rosberg's replacement. 2008 runner-up Felipe Massa, who had intended to retire from Formula One at the end of the 2016 season, extended his contract with Williams by a year to replace his former teammate. Massa was partnered by 2016 European Formula 3 Championship winner Lance Stroll, who was originally hired by the team to replace Massa. 2015 GP2 Series champion Stoffel Vandoorne joined McLaren as a full-time driver. Vandoorne previously competed in one race for the team, substituting for the injured Fernando Alonso at the 2016 Bahrain Grand Prix. Vandoorne replaced Jenson Button, who took a sabbatical from racing in 2017 while staying on with the team as a reserve driver. Pascal Wehrlein moved from the now-defunct MRT to replace Felipe Nasr at Sauber. Rio Haryanto was under contract to compete in 2017, but his contract was terminated after the 2016 German Grand Prix due to sponsorship issues.
Mid-season changes Sauber driver Pascal Wehrlein withdrew from the Australian Grand Prix as a precaution after an injury at the Race of Champions interrupted his training regimen, prompting concerns that he would not be able to cope with the greater physical demands placed on the drivers by the 2017 generation of cars. As such, 2016 GP2 Series runner-up Antonio Giovinazzi took over racing duties for Sauber. Wehrlein returned to competition at the Bahrain Grand Prix, with Giovinazzi resuming testing and reserve driving duties. Fernando Alonso did not contest the Monaco Grand Prix. Instead, he participated in the Indianapolis 500. Jenson Button, who was serving as team ambassador and reserve driver, replaced Alonso for the race. Paul di Resta replaced Felipe Massa for the Hungarian Grand Prix after Massa was taken ill after Free Practice. Jolyon Palmer was dropped by Renault after the Japanese Grand Prix. Carlos Sainz Jr., who was set to join Renault from 2018, left Toro Rosso early to replace him. In the final rounds of the championship, Toro Rosso rotated several drivers between their cars. Prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix, Daniil Kvyat was replaced by 2016 GP2 Series champion Pierre Gasly. After Sainz Jr. left the team for Renault, Kvyat returned as his replacement for the United States Grand Prix. Gasly was forced to miss this race as it clashed with the final round of his Super Formula Championship campaign. FIA World Endurance Championship driver and former Red Bull Junior Team member Brendon Hartley stood in for him. After the race, Kvyat was released from the team and from the Red Bull programme entirely, with Gasly returning to the team at the next race and Hartley being promoted to a regular race seat.
Calendar
The following twenty Grands Prix took place in 2017: RoundGrand PrixCircuitDate1Australian Grand Prix Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne26 March2Chinese Grand Prix Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai9 April3Bahrain Grand Prix Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir16 April4Russian Grand Prix Sochi Autodrom, Sochi30 April5Spanish Grand Prix Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Montmeló14 May6Monaco Grand Prix Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo28 May7Canadian Grand Prix Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal11 June8Azerbaijan Grand Prix Baku City Circuit, Baku25 June9Austrian Grand Prix Red Bull Ring, Spielberg9 July10British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone16 July11Hungarian Grand Prix Hungaroring, Mogyoród30 July12Belgian Grand Prix Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot27 August13Italian Grand Prix Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza3 September14Singapore Grand Prix Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore15 Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur1 October16Japanese Grand Prix Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka8 October17 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas22 October18Mexican Grand Prix29 October19Brazilian Grand Prix Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo12 November20Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi26 NovemberSource:
Calendar changes The Baku event was renamed, becoming the first Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The previous race at the Baku City Circuit ran under the European Grand Prix title in 2016. The date of the race was changed to avoid conflicting with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which had been a source of controversy at the 2016 European Grand Prix. The German Grand Prix was removed from the calendar in March after the owners of the Nürburgring pulled out of the event-sharing arrangement with the Hockenheimring to alternate between the two circuits. The owners of the Hockenheimring circuit were unwilling David Hayhoe, Formula 1: The Knowledge records and trivia since 1950 – 2nd Edition, 2021, page 36. to organise a Grand Prix every year due to financial problems and were unable to agree to commercial terms with Formula One Management.
Changes
General changes In September 2016, Liberty Media purchased a minority stake in the sport from CVC Capital Partners, and completed the purchase ahead of the 2017 season, with the long-term goal of adopting a model similar to that used by the U.S. National Football League and Major League Baseball, with teams entitled to purchase a stake in the sport. The commercial operation of the sport underwent a restructuring in January 2017, with Bernie Ecclestone leaving his position as chief executive of Formula One Group after forty years in the role. Former team principal Ross Brawn—who won World Championships with Ferrari and his own eponymous team—was appointed as managing director in Ecclestone's stead. With the acquisition of the sport by Liberty Media, teams were given more control over creating and uploading content to social media. Under Bernie Ecclestone's previous management, all footage filmed in the paddock was automatically controlled by Formula One Management with tight restrictions on the release of content. As a response to widespread changes in the technical regulations expected to increase cornering speeds by up to , the FIA requested that every circuit on the calendar undergo revisions to update safety features.
Technical regulations
The technical regulations governing bodywork design were revised for 2017, with the objective of improving lap times by four to five seconds over the 2016 generation of cars. These changes include: Overall width of the car increased from . Bodywork width increased from . Front wing width increased back from . Rear wing lowered by , from , and moved backwards by . Rear diffuser height increased from and width increased from , and leading edge moved from the rear wheel centre line to in front of it. The leading edge of the barge boards was brought forward to allow teams more freedom in controlling airflow.