Kammala jumla mai zuwa: A farkon kakar wasa ta 1997, an ba Alesi wata sanarwa daga Flavio Briatore, yana gargadin shi cewa 1997 zai zama damarsa ta ƙarshe don samun kyakkyawan sakamako. Motar ta samar da kyakkyawan sakamako a gwajin pre-season, amma Ross Brawn, Nigel Stepney da Rory Byrne sun shiga Schumacher a Ferrari, kuma yanayin Benetton a lokacin kakar ya kasance ba daidai ba. Ba a taimaka masa ba ta hanyar yin ritaya a cikin kakar wasa ta farko.
Grand Prix na Ostiraliya a lokacin da ya yi watsi da sakonnin rediyo da yawa daga injiniyoyin rami don ya zo ya tsaya, kuma ya ci gaba da zagaye biyar har sai ya ƙare da man fetur kuma Briatore ya soki shi, wanda ya ji cewa ya ɓata damar samun nasara. Ya zira kwallaye uku ne kawai a cikin tsere huɗu masu zuwa, amma sai ya sami kyakkyawan gudu tare da wasu podiums, yana hawa zuwa matsayi na uku a gasar zakarun matafiya. Koyaya, akwai ƙarin abubuwan da suka faru, kamar a Grand Prix na Faransa lokacin da ya tura David Coulthard ba tare da buƙata ba, da kuma Grand Prix na Austrian, inda yunƙurinsa na yin birki Eddie Irvine daga kusan tsayi takwas ya haifar da haɗari wanda ya ga Alesi ya sanya a karkashin bincike don tuki mai haɗari bayan tseren. Ya ɗauki matsayi na farko a Grand Prix na Italiya wanda ya aika da magoya baya cikin farin ciki duk da cewa bai ƙara tuka Ferrari ba kuma ya jagoranci a farkon tseren amma ya rasa zuwa McLaren na David Coulthard saboda jinkirin tsayawa. Ya gama na huɗu a gasar tare da maki 36, godiya ga rashin cancantar Michael Schumacher a ƙarshen kakar. An lalata martabar Alesi a lokacin da yake a Benetton, bayan da ya kasa lashe Grand Prix duk da cewa yana da motar gasa, kuma ya sha wahala idan aka kwatanta da Schumacher a Ferrari. Ba a sabunta kwangilar Alesi tare da Benetton a ƙarshen kakar ba kuma ya sanya hannu kan kwangilar shekara biyu tare da Sauber.