In late 1996, Minardi was acquired by a consortium led by Flavio Briatore that also included former Minardi driver Alessandro Nannini and Gabriele Rumi of Fondmetal. Founder Giancarlo Minardi retained a minority shareholding. The ownership change brought new resources but also late-stage instability: the decision to use Hart V8 engines was made late in the development process, requiring extensive redesign work ahead of the first race.
Chief engineer Gabriele Tredozi led development of the M197, working with head of the drawing office Mauro Gennaro and lead aerodynamicist Mariano Alperin. The car was developed extensively at Fondmetal's wind tunnel facility in Ferrara, Italy, with Davide Colombo joining the aerodynamics team from Formula 3000. The M197 was the last Minardi car to use a naturally aspirated V8 engine until the Scuderia Toro Rosso STR2 used a Ferrari V8 in 2007.
The M197 was launched on 4 February 1997. Ukyo Katayama and rookie Jarno Trulli were confirmed as the race drivers, with Tarso Marques retained as test driver.
At the opening round in Australia, both M197s qualified ahead of the Tyrrell and Arrows cars — the latter including reigning World Champion Damon Hill. Katayama retired from the race, but Trulli finished ninth. The young Italian completed all three of the opening Grands Prix, demonstrating promising consistency. Katayama meanwhile struggled with two retirements in that same span. Trulli failed to start the San Marino Grand Prix due to a hydraulic failure.
Ahead of the French Grand Prix, Trulli departed to join Prost Grand Prix mid-season and was replaced by Marques. Neither Marques nor Katayama scored a point during the remainder of the season. Marques was disqualified from the Austrian Grand Prix for a weight infringement.
Minardi was unclassified in the 1997 Constructors' Championship, finishing ahead only of Lola, who had withdrawn from the championship after the opening race.
The M197 featured a return to Minardi's classic colour scheme of black, yellow, and white, used continuously from 1988 to 1992. Major sponsors included Fondmetal and Roces. Katayama brought Mild Seven tobacco backing to the team, though the Mild Seven logos were absent at the French, British, and German Grands Prix.
Beyond the three race drivers — Katayama, Trulli, and Marques — the M197 was used in testing by several notable names: Esteban Tuero, Tom Kristensen, Luca Badoer, Laurent Redon, and Oliver Martini all drove the car during sessions over the course of the year.
The M197 is notable primarily for giving Jarno Trulli his Formula One debut and an early indication of the qualifying pace that would characterise his career. For the team itself, the car represented a transitional moment: new ownership brought ambition but not immediate performance gains, and without the Ford engine supply that had sustained the M193 and M194 campaigns, competitive results proved elusive. The car also marked the end of an era, being the final Minardi chassis to use a V8 before the team adopted the Ford Zetec-R V10 for 1998.