Schumacher’s anger, a 13-car pile-up and Jordan’s breakthrough win: Revisiting the chaos of the 1998 Belgian GP

Wet weather has become synonymous with the Belgian Grand Prix with last year's race won by Oscar Piastri after a delay. In 1998, the chaos unfolded in some of the most appalling weather conditions ever seen in Formula One, with the race getting underway without a safety car.

With the championship battle reaching a critical stage, Mika Hakkinen led the drivers' standings by seven points from Michael Schumacher, and on reflection, Spa 1998 was perhaps the race which lost the championship for the German driver as he lost 10 crucial points on a day where Hakkinen also failed to finish. Few could have predicted that the Belgian GP would deliver not just drama, but a historic breakthrough for one of the grid's smaller teams and ignite a bitter feud that would linger long after the chequered flag.

The 1998 Belgian Grand Prix started in torrential rain which reduced visibility to almost zero. Despite the heavy rain, it was decided that the race would start at the scheduled time without a safety car, a decision that would very unlikely be seen today. At the start, Mika Häkkinen led from a fast-starting Jacques Villeneuve, Schumacher, and Giancarlo Fisichella.

Behind them, Coulthard struck a metal drain cover, which pitched his McLaren sideways and sent it slamming into the barrier on the high-speed downhill run towards Eau Rouge. The impact bounced the car back onto the racing line, where it was immediately collected by the pack, triggering one of the largest first-lap accidents in Formula 1 history.

Detached tyres and shards of carbon fibre filled the air as cars slewed out of control and ricocheted off one another in the blinding spray. Just as the initial mayhem appeared to subside, unsighted tail-enders ploughed helplessly into the growing pile of wreckage. The entire incident was over in barely 15 seconds, yet it claimed 13 of the 22 starters. Eddie Irvine was hit several times and sustained a minor injury as he limped away from his car, while Rubens Barrichello suffered a minor injury to his arm and did not make the restart. Hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage had been done in a matter of moments, forcing the race to be immediately red-flagged.

The race resumed one hour later and it quickly looked like it was Schumacher's to lose. His title rival Hakkinen had retired at the first corner of the restart following a tangle with Johnny Herbert's Sauber. His next biggest challenger, Coulthard, also collided with Alex Wurz in the Benetton and rejoined in last place.

Schumacher had overtaken Damon Hill for the lead and was some 40 seconds ahead of his old rival as he caught up to lap Coulthard. After a lap of following Coulthard's spray, Schumacher radioed his pits and then Ferrari team prinicipal Jean Todt went down to McLaren to request Coulthard be told to let Schumacher through.

As the cars came down the hill towards Pouhon, Coulthard attempted to let Schumacher through by lifting off to reduce his speed. However, obscured by the spray, Schumacher slammed into the back of the McLaren, tearing off the right-front wheel of the Ferrari and removing the rear wing of the McLaren.

After they both returned to the pits, Schumacher would charge down the pit lane to the McLaren garage, confronting Coulthard as a sea of mechanics from both teams kept them apart. Recalling the incident on the Red Flags podcast, Coulthard said: "

in an appearance on the Red Flags podcast, Coulthard revealed what was being said between himself and Schumacher in that clash: "I’m thinking, ‘Hey, Michael’… I had my helmet on, and I remember shouting back at him… He’s shouting at me, ‘Were you trying to f***ing kill me?’ And I’m shouting back at him, ‘You ran into the back of me!’

With the two title contenders eliminated, the spotlight shifted to Damon Hill and his Jordan teammate Ralf Schumacher, who found themselves running first and second. As the race progressed, the younger Schumacher began closing in Hill, with Jean Alesi's Sauber closing in on the pair of them in third. Team principal Eddie Jordan faced a agonising dilemma.

Hill went over the team radio saying: ""I'm going to put something to you here, and I think you better listen to this," Hill said. "If we race, if we two race, we could end up with nothing, so it's up to Eddie. You've got to tell Eddie. If we don't race each other, we've got an opportunity to get first and second. It's your choice."

Eddie Jordan prompted to instruct team orders with Ralf Schumacher's race engineer, Sam Michael, needing four attempts to get a response when asking him not to challenge Hill for the victory. It relieved the pressure on Hill who secured a 1-2 victory for Jordan, the first for the team and his first win since winning the championship at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix.

It sparked a now-famous jig from Jordan in the paddock, and while Hill was delighted with the win, Ralf was furious - much like his older brother earlier in the race. After the race, Michael Schumacher vented his fury at Jordan's decision and according to the former team owner would buyout Ralf's contract with the team, allowing his younger brother to join Williams in 1999.