Damon Hill did what he said he would try to do after qualifying yesterday: win the race for Jordan. The Jordan team finally saw a race go their way, and Eddie Jordan got his dream come true. And how: with a one-two.
The start went well for Hakkinen and things were looking good up until David Coulthard lost control right after the first corner, on a wet Spa-Francorchamps track, slammed into the opposite all and bounced back. It seemed to be all down hill from there. With the spray coming of the wet track cars smashed into each other one after another; fourteen cars in total. The race, which had hardly begun, was stopped.
After the restart, Hill took the lead with a great start, followed by Hakkinen, Schumacher and Irvine. However, coming into La Source, Schumacher tried to overtake Hakkinen from the outside, whereas Hakkinen went wide. The two cars touched, and Hakkinen spun out of the race, taking Johnny Herbert with him.
Some 9 laps into the race, Schumacher overtook Hill at the entrance to the Bus Stop chicane and continually opened up the gap.
As rain began pouring, all drivers pitted and changed to wet weather tyres. Schumacher continued to lap at approximately 3-4 seconds faster than any other driver, and it seemed the Spa master was heading for a fifth win in a row there, until he came up to lap McLaren driver, David Coulthard, around about half way through the race.
After following Coulthard for quite some time, Schumacher attempted to overtake, right when Coulthard slowed down to let Schumacher through. The result: Schumacher crashed into the left rear tyre of Coulthard, losing his front right wheel and effectively ending his race.
The two cars limped to the pits, where mad Schumacher had to be restrained from taking a blow at Coulthard.
Nonetheless, with Schumacher out of the race, Hill had a clear road ahead to take his first win since Suzuka 1996. He was followed by his team-mate Ralf Schumacher, thus handing the Jordan team not only their first Grand Prix victory, but also a 1-2 result.
Over at the pit lane, where herds of drivers and team bosses were walking towards the Jordan garage to pay their tribute, stood by the pit wall Eddie Jordan, half smiling, half crying. 127 Grand Prix of almost-there, have finally paid off.
A lengthy race report will follow on Atlas F1 this Wednesday.
Timing
BELGIAN GRAND PRIX
World Championship of Drivers, Round 13
Spa-Francorchamps, Liege, August 30th, 1998
44 laps, 306.592 kms.
1. D. Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 1h 43:47.407
2. R. Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 + 0.932
3. J. Alesi Sauber-Petronas C17 + 7.240
4. H.H. Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome FW20 + 32.242
5. P. Diniz Arrows A19 + 51.682
6. J. Trulli Prost-Peugeot AP01 42 laps
7. D. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13, 39 laps
8. S. Nakano Minardi-Ford M198 39 laps
Fastest Lap: M. Schumacher Lap 9 2:03.766, 202.679 kph
Retirements:
G. Fisichella Benetton-Mecachrome B198 crash Lap 28
E. Irvine Ferrari F300 spin Lap 26
M. Schumacher Ferrari F300 crash Lap 24
E. Tuero Minardi-Ford M198 electronics Lap 20
J. Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome FW20 spin Lap 17
T. Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 026 spin Lap 10
J. Verstappen Stewart-Ford SF2 engine Lap 9
A. Wurz Benetton-Mecachrome B198 spin Lap 1
J. Herbert Sauber-Petronas C17 crash Lap 1
M. Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 spin/crash Lap 1
O. Panis Prost-Peugeot AP01 crash Lap 0
R. Barrichello Stewart-Ford SF2 crash Lap 0
M. Salo Arrows A19 crash Lap 0
R. Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 026 crash Lap 0
All Times Unofficial
Lap Leaders:
Lap 1-7: D. Hill, Lap 8-25: M. Schumacher, Lap 26-44: D. Hill
Temps:
Air 11 C, Track 12 C
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