Jos Verstappen unfortunately did not make it ...

Published on 29 June 1997 by Verstappen Info Page

Jos Verstappen unfortunately did not make it to the finish in the French Gand Prix. The problem was a stuck throttle which caused the Dutchman to spin. Verstappen said to be very lucky to escape unhurt. He estimated to have hit the guardrail at a pace of about 160/170 km/h, however he only suffered from some pain in his toes.

Eddie Irvine was quickest in this morning's warm-up session. The Ferrari driver headed his teammate Michael Schumacher by more than a second to set a time of 1m30.456s. Jos Verstappen could do no better than a 1m37.212s lap only good enough for 22nd and last place. Teammate Mika Salo did slightly better and set a time of 1m35.174 which put him into 18th position. Tyrrell's problems were caused by a lack of grip on the rain tyres. The team had already used the tyres on Friday which caused the rubber to harden. Verstappen will drive the race with his regular Cosworth ED5 engine. The warm-up was held under wet conditions and further rain is predicted for the race.

For a complete overview of all the practice times please refer to our results page.