Michael Schumacher's hopes in the 1998 Formula One season were dealt a big blow in the 1998 Belgium Grand Prix when he crashed with David Coulthard in a race marred by rain.
Follow Us
The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix had high drama and intensity. Held in extremely heavy rain, the race was the defining moment in the Formula One World Championship. It featured heavy crashes. It saw one legend accuse another driver of trying to kill him. The race was eventually won by another team, but the repercussions of what transpired in Spa Francorchamps in 1998 have become a talking point until this day.
The 1998 F1 championship was very closely fought. Mika Hakkinen, in the McLaren, had 77 points while Michael Schumacher, the two-time champion, was seven points behind. In the practice session, the McLarens were superior as compared to the Ferraris. Hakkinen and his teammate David Coulthard occupied the front row of the grid on the day of the race. More importantly, their rival Schumacher was in the fourth position.
There was a bit of controversy as Schumacher’s fastest lap in practice was deleted by the Stewards. They had deemed that he had not slowed down enough during a yellow flag incident and thus, he ended up finishing in fourth position.
On the day of the race, there was torrential rain. The race began and immediately after the first corner, there was carnage. David Coulthard spun and hit the trackside wall. This caused the biggest pile-up in the history of Formula One. Murray Walker, the veteran F1 commentator, said, “Oh my goodness, this is the worst start to a Formula One race that I have ever seen.” A total of 13 cars were damaged in the pile-up.
Drivers involved in the crash along with Coulthard included Eddie Irvine (Ferrari), Alexander Wurz (Benetton), Rubens Barrichello (Stewart), Johnny Herbert (Sauber), Olivier Panis (Prost), Jarno Trulli (Prost), Mika Salo (Arrows), Pedro Diniz (Arrows), Toranosuke Takagi (Tyrrell), Ricardo Rosset (Tyrrell) and Shinji Nakano (Minardi). Jos Verstappen managed to get his Stewart back to the pits but it was too badly damaged to continue. The race was stopped before the end of the first lap, in order to allow the damaged cars to be recovered and the track to be cleared.
In the crash, Eddie Irvine and Rubens Barrichello suffered minor injuries. Irvine continued the race. Barrichello did not as he felt the racing conditions were too treacherous. The regulations in force at the time stated that should any race be stopped within the first two laps, the start would be null and void, and a full restart over the original distance would take place. When the race restarted, Hakkinen was at the receiving end of a disaster. He spun and collided with Jonny Herbert of the Sauber. This eliminated Hakkinen and the door was now open for Schumacher to pounce and take the lead.
The safety car was deployed to slow the competitors down and allow Hakkinen’s car to be safely recovered. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the second lap, with Hill continuing to lead from Michael Schumacher after the resumption of the race. Hill retained the lead until the eighth lap. Schumacher overtook him at the Bus Stop chicane. Irvine then lost his front wing in an off-track excursion, dropping him from third to eleventh place as he pitted for repairs.
Schumacher showed his mastery of the wet weather conditions and put in fastest lap after fastest lap. He had built a 40-second lead and was putting every driver behind. When Schumacher was closing in to lap Coulthard, no one had imagined the drama that would unfold. Initially, David Coulthard was not making way for Schumacher. This caused the German to angrily shake his fist at Coulthard. When the drivers approached the high-speed Pouhon straight, Coulthard decided to let Schumacher through.
Coulthard reduced his speed but vitally, he had not gone off the racing track. The ensuing spray saw Schumacher unsighted. Schumacher slammed straight into the back of the McLaren, tearing off the right-front wheel of the Ferrari. The crash removed the rear wing of the McLaren. Both cars made it back to the pits.
Schumacher immediately got off the car and stormed into the McLaren garage. The German pushed Coulthard and there was an angry exchange. The mechanics from both Ferrari and McLaren had to intervene to separate the duo.
The events at that time suggested that Schumacher screamed at Coulthard stating, “Are you trying to kill me?”. Years later, Coulthard revealed that Schumacher was threatening to kill him.
The race was won by Damon Hill and his teammate Ralf Schumacher being in second. It was the first one-two for Jordan in their racing history. It was the final race win for Hill, who was the 1996 F1 champion but struggled in his end years.
One week after the race, Schumacher and Coulthard had a one-and-a-half-hour private meeting. They emerged shaking hands vowing to join up to combat for clearer guidelines when lapping and overtaking. Schumacher later said, “It’s clear he [Coulthard] did nothing wrong at Spa.” In 2003, David Coulthard admitted for the first time the crash at Spa was his fault. “The reality is that I lifted to let him pass me, but I lifted in heavy spray on the racing line. You should never do that. I would never do that now,” Coulthard said.
The crash proved to be the defining moment in the 1998 championship. Hakkinen would win at Suzuka after Schumacher suffered tyre issues and retired. Hakkinen won his first F1 title in the most dramatic of circumstances. It all changed from the incident at Spa.
2023 Formula E Hyderabad ePrix: Preview, Dates, Tickets, Live Streaming, all you need to know
