For the 1997 season, Frentzen replaced Damon Hill at the Williams-Renault team, which had won the drivers' championship three times since 1992. At the first race of the season, the Australian Grand Prix, Frentzen took the lead at the first corner and remained there until his first pit stop. He was running second late in the race when a brake disc exploded, throwing him off the circuit and into retirement. He took his first win at San Marino but the season was disappointing for him; after the family atmosphere at Sauber, Frentzen found life at Williams difficult, in particular having a troubled relationship with Patrick Head. Despite qualifying for many races on the front row he had a tendency to drift back in the race, usually finishing well behind teammate Jacques Villeneuve. However, because of Michael Schumacher's disqualification from the driver's championship Frentzen ended up second in the championship with 42 points to teammate Villeneuve's 81, having scored one win to Villeneuve's seven.