Schumacher’s rage and first lap madness – 5 dramatic Belgian Grand Prix moments

One of the calendar’s more classic venues, the Belgian Grand Prix at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps has produced plenty of fantastic racing, as well as some shocking moments. With 22 drivers taking on the challenging circuit this weekend, here are five of the most dramatic incidents from over the years…

1987 – Mansell and Senna collide

Williams’ Nigel Mansell – the early leader of the Drivers’ Championship – started on pole for the third round of 1987 and confidently stayed ahead of his rivals at the front of the field. However, numerous crashes further down the order caused mayhem on the track and prompted an extended delay to recover the wreckage.

The Briton’s hopes of replicating his original start fell away as rising star Ayrton Senna charged past to take the lead, but Mansell wasn’t prepared to give it up so easily. Heading into the Fagnes right-hander, he attempted an ambitious lunge around the outside of the yellow Lotus, which ended in disaster as the equally stubborn Senna refused to concede the place.

Their cars touched and spun rather elegantly off track, leaving Senna to retire on the spot whilst Mansell limped back into action. The damage was eventually deemed too great and his race ended in the pits, where the pair got stuck into a brief scuffle as neither wanted to take responsibility for the incident.

1998 – Wet weather pile-up

Some race starts can be described as chaos, but the opening lap of the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix was nothing short of pandemonium. Despite the heavy rainfall and extremely poor visibility, the race went ahead as usual without any extra precautions, which seemed to be a good decision for roughly 15 seconds.

Polesitter Mika Hakkinen, chasing down his first title, cautiously held onto his lead and headed up to Eau Rouge before his McLaren team mate David Coulthard was seen facing the wrong way, crashing into the wall.

He was then flung back across the track into another barrier, taking out multiple drivers en route until a total of 13 cars were involved in the collision, which legendary commentator Murray Walker referred to at the time as “the worst start to a Grand Prix I have ever seen”.

Naturally, that wasn’t the end of the drama – Michael Schumacher built up a dominant lead after Hakkinen spun out on the restart, but the Ferrari driver’s race fell apart when he caught up to backmarker Coulthard.

The McLaren man slowed after hearing the order to let Schumacher past, but crucially remained on the racing line and was largely obscured by the spray. Unsurprisingly, the German didn’t manage to avoid slamming into his car and tore off his own wheel and the McLaren’s rear wing in the process, leading a furious Schumacher to subsequently storm down the pit lane to confront Coulthard.

Oh, and in the end, Damon Hill secured a remarkable maiden victory for Jordan.

2008 – A breathless final two laps

One driver who excels in wet conditions, and subsequently has a strong record at Spa-Francorchamps, is Lewis Hamilton, who demonstrated in just his second season that he was never to be ruled out of contention.

With a high chance of rain predicted, the then-McLaren driver lost his race lead to Kimi Raikkonen after spinning at La Source two laps in, and the Finn continued to extend his advantage throughout the pit stops.

Nevertheless, Hamilton had gradually chipped away at that lead when the rain finally arrived on Lap 41 of 44, allowing him to stage a fierce challenge that began with an attempted overtake at the Bus Stop. He cut the chicane to avoid a collision and returned to the track in first place, but returned the position to Raikkonen before using his superior speed to pass him at La Source.

After making some minor contact, they were forced into evasive action as Nico Rosberg spun ahead, letting the Ferrari driver sail back into the lead once again. It wouldn’t last for too long as he then completely lost control of his car and collided with the barrier, ending his race and handing victory to Hamilton on the final lap.

But that didn’t last long either – the Briton controversially received a 25-second time penalty (equivalent to what would have been a drive-through) for cutting the chicane and gaining an advantage, demoting him to P3 and giving his title rival Felipe Massa the win.

2011 – Webber’s fearless overtake

Mark Webber’s 2011 Belgian Grand Prix got off to a messy start when his Red Bull went into anti-stall on the opening lap, leaving him to tumble down the order and watch his team mate Sebastian Vettel battle Rosberg for control of the race.

Determined to maximise any potential scoring, the Australian went on the charge and eventually found himself close behind Fernando Alonso, who had just emerged from the pits after boxing slightly later than the other frontrunners. Carrying more speed, Webber darted out from the Ferrari’s rear and drew alongside, barely staying on the track as Alonso veered over in an attempt to maintain the racing line.

He clung on and shot past as they climbed Eau Rouge, marking an incredibly courageous overtake that led to a well-deserved P2 finish, while Alonso just missed out on the podium in fourth.

2012 – First lap drama

The 2012 edition of the Belgian Grand Prix came pretty close to repeating the major incident at the 1998 event, although it initially looked like the biggest problem would be Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi’s brakes smoking on the grid.

Fortunately for him, he got away cleanly at lights out. Unfortunately, other drivers didn’t. Pastor Maldonado sneakily made a jump start before Romain Grosjean squeezed Hamilton into the wall, resulting in contact between the two.

They only seemed to touch wheels, but that was more than enough to kick off a terrifying domino effect – Grosjean ploughed into the back of Sergio Perez and was sent into the air, crashing heavily into Alonso. At the same time, Hamilton drove into Kobayashi and then the Spaniard, and Perez sent Maldonado into a spin.

The destruction was enough to earn Grosjean a one-race ban and a hefty financial penalty, but it also had wide-reaching implications in the championship fight. Alonso left Belgium with nothing while his competitor Vettel won the race, reducing his advantage to 24 points – he would ultimately miss out on the title by three points.