Belgian GP: A Spa of Champs
	by Marcel Schot, The Netherlands

Spa-Francorchamps - the name alone brings out admiration and respect from drivers and spectators alike, holding some of the most memorable moments in auto racing. Even before the World Championship Series began in 1950, Spa separated the men from the boys, having illustrious winners such as Tazio Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola. In fact, the first race held at Spa was in 1925, and was won by Alfa Romeo driver Antonio Ascari, the father of Alberto Ascari who himself won the race twice in his days, both times for Ferrari. However, although most people immediately relate the Belgian Grand Prix to Spa, Formula One has been away from the famous track for Twelve years. During most of the '70s, the race was held at Nivelles and at Zolder. The last track is mostly known for taking the life of one of the greatest drivers of recent decades: Gilles Villeneuve. Towards the end of qualifying for the 1982 Belgian Grand Prix, Villeneuve was second on the grid behind his Ferrari team-mate Didier Pironi, when he began his last run of the session. He desperately wanted to beat Pironi, after the Frenchman disobeyed team orders and snatched Villeneuve's win in the San Marino race two weeks before. Villeneuve came up to the slow March of Jochen Mass, who was just returning to the pits. Mass made room for Villeneuve by going to the right side of the road, but Villeneuve had already decided he would go around Mass and also steered towards the right side of the track. As a result, Villeneuve's left front-wheel hit the right rear-wheel of the March and the car was launched into the air, with Villeneuve thrown out of the cockpit. The Canadian didn't stand a chance and died hours later in the hospital. Villeneuve's death, however, was not the first in the Belgian Grand Prix. In 1960 Formula One was shocked by Two deaths in one race after Sterling Moss already had an accident in practice which cost him two months of his career. Both Chris Bristow (Cooper) and Alan Stacey (Lotus) were killed during the race, leaving the other drivers to drive on a bloodstained track for multiple laps. After this disaster, Formula One almost lost another Briton driver, who was set to retire from racing: Jim Clark. Clark was the first to see that Bristow had crashed and was horrified by seeing the marshals pull the dead body from the car. Stacey, who was killed later on that race, was Clark's team mate. The trauma was too deep on Clark. But luckily for Formula One fans, Clark did not retire eventually, and although he hated the Belgian venue, Clark made Spa his most successful circuit, winning there four times consecutively from 1962 until 1965. Ayrton Senna was the only other driver to achieve the same feat later on, from 1988 until 1991. Senna also won in 1985, making him the only one to win the event five times. Jim Clark's third win was one of the strangest finishes in Formula One history. Towards the end of the race, Dan Gurney was leading in his Brabham when he ran out of fuel. Graham Hill passed him with the BRM, but suffered the same fate just a few hundred meters from the finish line. Bruce McLaren (Cooper) appeared to become the lucky third. However, in the final corner his car failed and he got passed by Lotus driver Jim Clark on the straight to take what is probably the luckiest win in history. However, in 1968, Bruce McLaren finally managed to win the Belgian Grand Prix, giving the team that was named after him its first win. Since the return to the shortened Spa in 1985, only five drivers have managed to win there: Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, Alain Prost, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill. This also marks the fact that future champions can come out in Spa: for Senna his first win in Belgium was only the second win of his career and Schumacher scored his maiden win on the track in the Ardennes. 1987 proved to be a special year too: Senna (Lotus) and Mansell (Williams) collided first on the track, putting both cars out, and later in the pits, where the two engaged in a celebrated fist fight. But after that, it was just Senna in Spa. From 1988 to 1991 the Brazilian McLaren driver was the master of the track, not seldom in wet conditions for which the track is notorious. Strange as it may seem, the rain prevented Senna from taking his fifth in a row in 1992. Starting out in the rain, all cars went away on slicks with the impression the rain would stop soon. When the rain got worse, only Senna's McLaren stayed out on slicks, thus falling back. However, that race marked the transition of generations, as Senna would not win again on that track, but a new face debuting there only a year before, would win that race to become the heir to the track. Spa was the debut race of Schumacher - then in a Jordan - in 1991. He did not finish that race due to a clutch failure. But the 1992 saw him in the Benetton, winning his first Grand Prix in much the same style that was later to become his trademark. Schumacher saw the blisters the tyres of his Benetton team-mate Martin Brundle and directly went in for fresh rubber. His rivals ran on with bad tyres and by the time they had changed tyres too, Schumacher was already in the lead and heading for victory. After that race, Schumacher made Spa his home away from home only once finishing second, in 1993, but crossing the line first ever since. However, despite having finished first the last four years, he will have to win this year's race to even Senna's achievement of four wins in a row and five overall wins; back in 1994 the German saw his win taken away after the FIA's post race official scrutinizer found the Benetton's wooden plank a few millimeters short of the legal thickness. Schumacher claimed it wore out when he had a slight off on one of the curbs, but he was nonetheless disqualified, handing the Williams driver Damon Hill his second win at Spa in as many years. But Hill's first Spa victory was too overshadowed. In the 1993 qualifying, Lotus pilot Alex Zanardi crashed at 300 kph into the barriers of the famous Eau Rouge corner. Zanardi - nowadays close to clinching his second CART championship - was hospitalized with a concussion and spinal nerve damage, which paralyzed his shoulder and arm muscles for four months. In 1995 Michael Schumacher truly showed his talent after qualifying in his Benetton only 16th on the grid, following mechanical problems in his car which prevented him from clocking in a lap while the track was still dry. But, after a sensational race loaded with overtakes (!), the German won once again, just barely holding off Damon Hill's Williams who started from 8th. 1996 is mostly remembered for Dutchman Jos Verstappen's crash at Stavelot, where he missed the corner because of a defect on his Arrows and hit the barriers at 250 kph. While the safety-car was out, Schumacher was the first to enter the Ferrari pits for new tyres, whereas a misunderstanding in the Williams team made Villeneuve come in a lap later and Damon Hill another lap later, handing Schumacher enough advantage. After both the leading McLarens made their stops, Schumacher was ahead, driving towards yet another one of his Spa home-runs. What happened last year: An hour before the race start, the rain was pouring down, only to stop just before the race. All drivers started with wet weather tyres, gradually changing to slicks. Jean Alesi (Benetton) made four stops, Gerhard Berger (Benetton) and both Williams' made three. All others made two pit stops. Jacques Villeneuve took his tenth pole, ahead of Benetton driver Alesi and Schumacher (Ferrari). Villeneuve also took the fastest lap on the drying track. Michael Schumacher scored his third consecutive win, with Jordan's Fisichella finishing second, scoring his second podium spot Mika Hakkinen finished the race third in his McLaren, but was later disqualified because of illegal fuel, thus promoting Williams' Heinz Harald Frentzen to third.

Marcel Schot	© 1998 Atlas Fourmula One Journal.
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