As Formula One returns to action this weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Belgium, here is a chance to relieve, perhaps, the craziest race in the sport’s history.
Practice and Buildup:
After a hectic first 12 rounds of the 1998 World Championship, the teams gathered in late August for the Belgian GP which was to be held at the drivers favourite Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot. As we are now accustomed to there were three Free Practice sessions and a Qualifying session.
McLaren’s David Coulthard and world championship leading Mika Hakkinen were quickly on the pace with, as ever, the Ferrari’s of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine not too far behind. Judging the season by how it had gone up to Spa, many experienced heads in the paddock predicted an exclusive fight between McLaren and Ferrari for the win. How wrong could they be?
At the end of qualifying the grid had a familiar feel to it with a Hakkinen pole, Coulthard second, Schumacher fourth with Irvine fifth. Surprisingly 1996 world champion Damon Hill had managed to put his Jordan into third, although the expectation was that the Ferrari’s would quickly clear him off the grid.
Race day, Sunday 30th August 1998, brought the great leveller in Formula One circles. Rain. And lots of it. The decision was taken to start the race as normal without a safety car start and at 13.00pm UK time the crowds, teams and fans at home alike settled down for the race.
The start of the 44 lap Foster’s Belgian Grand Prix. The stampede down to La Source was, as ever tight and a few drivers a little extra cautious, owing to the conditions. Hakkinen led the charge up to Eau Rouge, with Irvine and Coulthard getting close on the outside. Then trouble began.
Initially he protested that Irvine had hit him and caused him to veer across the track and into the old pitwall, although Coulthard eventually owned up, saying he dropped it “onto a metal grille.”
The Biggest crash in Formula One history?
Anyhow chaos ensued. Rebounding across the track, covered in spray, the back half of the grid was decimated with a 13 car mass pile up. Most of the drivers, in fairness had no chance to take avoiding action.
Nonetheless, with Coulthard and Irvine the list of those caught up is as follows: Alex Wurz, Rubens Barrichello, Johnny Herbert, Olivier Panis, Jarno Trulli, Mika Salo, Pedro Diniz, Ricardo Rossset, Shinji Nakano, and Jos Verstappen.
Tyrell racer Toranosuke Takagi, afterwards uttered one of the most infamous quotes in Formula One history when he said “I saw the cars crashing ahead of me, so I put my foot down harder and tried to aim for the gaps.” Needless to say he failed and retired from the race.
So bad was the carnage, the race was immediately stopped. Tyres flew all across the track, as a result the FIA brought in the wheel tethers to stop this. Sadly for Salo, Panis, and Rosset, they couldn’t restart as their teammates, Diniz, Trulli, and Takagi, had also wrecked their chassis. With only one spare car, priority was given to the highest placed man on the grid.
Only the 1973 British GP at Silverstone, where Jody Scheckter caused a mass pile up on Lap two, could make a claim to have had the biggest crash in Formula One.
The Restart
An hour delay followed but eventually the, somewhat depleted looking, grid was released for the second time. However for McLaren disaster struck very quickly. Johnny Herbert had a great getaway and was trying up to inside of the MP4-13 of Hakkinen. They collided and both retired on the spot. Zero points for the world championship leader.
Hill led the early part of the race until he was passed by Schumacher, who at his self-proclaimed “favourite circuit” started to pull away immensely quickly. On lap nine he posted a 2.03.766 and was lapping in some cases two to three seconds faster than Hill.
He seemed all set to take the lead of the championship with ten points giving him 80, three ahead of Hakkinen. Behind the leader, the race somewhat settled down, although Jacques Villeneuve spun off at Radillion causing a little excitement. Then it happened.
“Are you trying to f*****g kill me?”
Lap 25, some 37 seconds ahead of Hill, Schumacher was approaching Pouhon and to lap Coulthard, who had some gremlins on the restart. In the spray the McLaren as instructed, slowed to let the leader by. However he did so on the racing line. Impact was inevitable.
Violently the right front of the scarlet car whacked into the rear of the car in front, forcing the assembly and wheel to go flying along with the rear wing. A truly terrifying moment and somehow the German managed to get his Ferrari F300 turned Reliant Robin back to the pits and immediately stormed off to the McLaren garage. Squaring up to Coulthard he accused him of “trying to f*****g kill me”.
Amazingly the mechanics managed to fix the Scotsman's car and get him back out into the race, albeit numerous laps down. To compound the Scuderia’s misery Irvine then spun off a lap later, ironically, at Pouhon to leave the front runners as they were pre Spa.
Hill and teammate Ralf Schumacher were now first and second. A lap after that another massive accident occurred, Giancarlo Fisichella, collided with the Minardi of Nakano, writing the Benetton off completely. Suddenly there were just SIX cars running. All of them stood to score some World Championship points.
“I’m going to put something to you here”
When the Safety car had pulled in, with 12 laps to go, all seemed routine for Hill. Keep it out of the barriers and a 22nd GP win was his. However “anything happens in Formula One and it usually does”, and Schumacher started to lap FIVE seconds a lap faster than Hill.
Showing the ruthlessness that made him a World Champion Hill put it to the team that “we have an opportunity to get a first and second here” calling on team boss Eddie Jordan to impose team orders and force Ralf to not overtake his team leader, reluctantly both agreed and to the delight of, most, of the paddock Jordan scored a 1-2 finish- their first win. Jean Alesi was third, Heinz-Harald Frentzen fourth, Diniz fifth, and Trulli rounded out the points in sixth.
Legacy:
The race is often voted as one of the best in the history of the sport and quite rightly the best Belgian GP ever. Fans often hope that the famous old circuit in the Ardennes forest can throw up something similar and although no race has been received in such high acclaim since, Spa-Francorchamps always delivers. Here’s hoping the 2015 edition is no different…