Rain Wars At Spa

David Coulthard kept a diary of his 1998 season with McLaren. He was deeply involved in the controversial, crash-filled event at the notorious Spa circuit. His bad day in Belgium ended with Michael Schumacher accusing him of attempted murder. Here are some excerpts from DC's Diary... 

David Coulthard: “Like most drivers I love the breathtaking and exhilarating Spa circuit, where the adrenaline runs higher than anywhere we race. It’s a fabulous place, tremendously satisfying and thrilling for us as well as the spectators. Every corner at Spa is famous in racing lore and the track has been the scene of some of the sport’s greatest battles. It is also notorious for wet weather and big accidents. Unfortunately this year’s event had far too much of both and, sad to say, yours truly was in the thick off it.

“In the pre-race warmup session the rain began that was to continue to fall throughout the race. Also a forecast of what was to come were the numerous incidents of cars sliding off the soaking wet track. More worrying was the lack of visibility when following other cars. In the spray it was difficult to even see the track, let alone the car in front. My McLaren team mate Mika Hakkinen and I were on the front row, ahead of Jordan’s Damon Hill, Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher and the rest of the 22-car field.

“As I sat there on the starting grid in the pouring rain my visor was steaming up, the last thing you want moments before you're going to need the clearest possible vision. With one eye on the starting lights I reached down between my legs and got the leather shammy and gave my visor a quick wipe. Despite this unwanted distraction I got away smoothly, we all made it safely around La Source and started down the hill toward Eau Rouge. Suddenly, my rear wheels spun. The car veered sharp right, smashed into the wall, then shot back across the track directly in front of the oncoming pack.     

“I still don't know what caused me to spin, though it seems likely I just made a mistake, lost it and from then on was just a passenger. At first I was convinced that I was hit from behind, but when I watched it later on video I couldn't see anyone close. In fact, no one could see anything except glimpses of cars smashing into each other and wheels and debris flying in all directions through the clouds of spray.

“It all happened so quickly. I don't really remember many details, after the first hit against the wall. I saw it coming and got ready for more. In that impact my visor popped open and as the car bounced back I grabbed the chinpiece of my helmet with both hands and held on for dear life. I ducked down as low as possible in the cockpit because I was afraid of another car coming over the top and taking my helmet with it.

“I just prayed that my car wouldn't rebound into the middle of the track. But it did and it was destroyed, as were many others. When the red flag came out there were a dozen cars parked there in what looked like a wrecker's yard. It was one of the biggest ever multiple shunts and a miracle that no one was seriously hurt.

“I don't know how many cars hit me. My cockpit was a steaming mess, with cold fire extinguisher fluid spraying onto my legs. My left foot was bruised from bashing around in the footwell, and my head had also taken a knock. Mika Salo came up and asked me if I was okay. My natural reaction was to say yes, though I was actually feeling a bit shell-shocked and wasn't entirely positive that I was okay, or even where I was. 

“When I got back to the garage the team was getting the T-car ready for the re-start, which would take nearly an hour while the track was cleaned up. For a while I wasn't sure what track we were at. Gradually, it came back that we were at Spa and the Belgian Grand Prix would start all over again. Once I got back into the car I felt fine and just focussed on making a good start among the 18 survivors who would again temp fate on a soaking wet Spa." 

This video (from the official F1 website) shows highlights of the Rain Wars At Spa...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o02s_g5AUUE



"On the second start Mika and Michael touched going around La Source. Mika spun, was hit by another car and his race ended there and then. Half way around the first lap Alexander Wurz tried to pass me in his Benetton, we collided and flew off the track. Alex was unable to continue. As I was sliding backwards through a gravel trap I selected first gear. I let the car slide through onto the grass on the other side and rejoined the race - in 16th and last place.

“The day after the race Alex sent me a fax saying he hadn't been able to find me at the track to apologize for running into me. He hoped that the incident wouldn't affect our personal relationship. I had helped him settle in when he moved to Monaco and we saw each other there occasionally. It was a nice gesture on his part and I phoned him and left a message on his answering machine, saying that I would prefer that he didn't run into me, but there were no hard feelings. There was no animosity after this incident, though there was a lot of it to come."

David Coulthard: "Cars were flying off the track all around Spa.
It was absurdly wet. The Safety Car came out a couple of times,
while the marshals removed abandoned cars from dangerous
positions. But I was making little progress. It was raining more
heavily and I was on intermediate tyres. On lap 9 I stopped to
change to full wets and came back out in 13th place, second last
in what remained of the 22-car field.

"Meanwhile, Michael was leading the race and the team kept me
informed of his progress. Because of the spray I couldn't see
much in my mirrors. On lap 24 Pat Fry said Michael was coming up
behind to lap me and that I should prepare to let him past. As I
dropped down the hill from Malmedy through Rivage I caught a
glimpse of a car approaching, and the marshals began waving blue
flags to let me know a faster car was coming up behind me. As I
went through the Pouhon corner I maintained my position and my
speed on the right hand side of the track to give Michael plenty
of room to overtake me. The next thing I knew there was an
massive thump at the rear of my car.

"I was in total disbelief! I flicked on the radio and said that
Michael had hit me from behind and his Ferrari had just gone past
me on three wheels. My car had lost the rear wing in the impact
and I came into the pits behind Michael, who somehow managed to
make it there on three wheels. The guys directed me into the
garage, where I got out of the car. As I was taking off my gloves
Michael came running into our garage shouting and screaming at
the top of his lungs: "Were you fucking trying to kill me!"

"I said something like: "It was you who ran into the back of me,
mate." Michael tried to get closer to me, but the guys, led by
Roger Duff, held him back. In a fax he sent me later Alex Wurz
said that our guys should have let Michael through, because I
still had my helmet on. That was the only funny part of this
exchange. I was extremely angry at Michael's outburst. I'm afraid
I responded in kind and my remarks were widely reported.

"I explained that the team had told me Michael was coming and
asked me to move over, which I would have done anyway. I was
having a terrible race and he was about to lap me, so I was
getting out of his way. Either he wasn't watching in front of him
or he couldn't see me in the poor visibility. I hadn't moved
over, or swerved, or slowed down. He just drove straight into the
back of me.

"When I had incidents with him in the past - such as in Argentina
earlier in the year, where he also hit me from behind - I had
waited and discussed it with him like a man afterwards. I didn't
come stomping down the pit lane asking if he was trying to kill
me. I said that until Michael was prepared to discuss it
reasonably, man-to-man, I had no interest in talking to him.

"There were accusations from Michael and Ferrari that I
deliberately took him off to help Mika in the championship. I
thought this was absolute bollocks - paranoia in the extreme. I
said that while it might be understandable in this twisted world
that some people would suggest such a thing, you only had to
watch the TV footage to see that I was trying to get out of his
way. I expected him to drive around me - not straight into the
back of me.

"Only eight cars were still running at the end of a disastrous a
Grand Prix. I was classified seventh, five laps behind the
winner. One of the few positive things to happen in Belgium was
Damon Hill's first victory for Eddie Jordan's team. I was
delighted for them both and I don't think anyone begrudged them
the win in what had otherwise been a black day for the sport."

- from David's Diary, by David Coulthard (with Gerald Donaldson)