1998 Belgian Grand Prix

The , otherwise known as the LVI Foster's Belgian Grand Prix, was the thirteenth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship. Held at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps on the 30th of August in heavy rain, it was won by Damon Hill for . It was Hill's last win in Formula One, and a first ever Grand Prix win for the Jordan team.
It was involved with a multiple crash after the 1st corner with many drivers involved. Some of them restarted, and some of them did not restart.
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==Background==
Michael Schumacher's win in Hungary and the fact that championship rival Mika Häkkinen only managed to score a single point, meant that Schumacher was firmly back in the running for the championship. Schumacher was now only seven points behind Häkkinen, also closing in on in the constructor's battle with Ferrari now only 23 points behind. 
Following Hungary, a week of testing occured at Monza in preparation for the Belgian Grand Prix with Ferrari, McLaren and the resurgent teams of and in action.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Jacques Villeneuve 	Winfield Williams 	 	FW20 	 	GC37-01 3.0 V10 	
2 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	Winfield Williams 	 	FW20 	 	GC37-01 3.0 V10 	
3 	Michael Schumacher 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F300 	 	047 3.0 V10 	
4 	Eddie Irvine 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F300 	 	047 3.0 V10 	
5 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife 	 	B198 	 	GC37-01 3.0 V10 	
6 	Alexander Wurz 	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife 	 	B198 	 	GC37-01 3.0 V10 	
7 	David Coulthard 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4/13 	 	FO 110G 3.0 V10 	
8 	Mika Häkkinen 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4/13 	 	FO 110G 3.0 V10 	
9 	Damon Hill 	Benson & Hedges Jordan 	 	198 	 	MF-301HC 3.0 V10 	
10 	Ralf Schumacher 	Benson & Hedges Jordan 	 	198 	 	MF-301HC 3.0 V10 	
11 	Olivier Panis 	Gauloises Prost Peugeot 	 	AP01 	 	A16 3.0 V10 	
12 	Jarno Trulli 	Gauloises Prost Peugeot 	 	AP01 	 	A16 3.0 V10 	
14 	Jean Alesi 	Red Bull Sauber Petronas 	 	C17 	 	SPE-01D 3.0 V10 	
15 	Johnny Herbert 	Red Bull Sauber Petronas 	 	C17 	 	SPE-01D 3.0 V10 	
16 	Pedro Diniz 	Danka Zepter Arrows 	 	A19 	 	T2-F1 3.0 V10 	
17 	Mika Salo 	Danka Zepter Arrows 	 	A19 	 	T2-F1 3.0 V10 	
18 	Rubens Barrichello 	HSBC Stewart Ford 	 	SF02 	 	VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
19 	Jos Verstappen 	HSBC Stewart Ford 	 	SF02 	 	VJ Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
20 	Ricardo Rosset 	PIAA Tyrrell 	 	026 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
21 	Tora Takagi 	PIAA Tyrrell 	 	026 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
22 	Shinji Nakano 	Fondmetal Minardi Team 	 	M198 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
23 	Esteban Tuero 	Fondmetal Minardi Team 	 	M198 	 	JD Zetec-R 3.0 V10 	
Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/05/2020)
==Practice Overview==
===FP1===
The first practice session saw Michael Schumacher lead the timesheets throughout the day, seemed unable to respond with Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard second and third. Damon Hill continued to demonstrate impressive pace in the to go fourth fastest. 
The biggest incident of the day was when driver Jacques Villeneuve flew off the circuit at Eau Rouge and flew into the barriers destroying his car. Despite the enormity of the incident, Villeneuve was able to walk away from the incident unscathed. He finished the session in sixth place behind teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. 
The team suffered technical difficulties throughout the day, their drivers Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz could only manage eleventh and twelfth in the session.
===FP2===
The Saturday practice session saw Mika Häkkinen dominate the timesheets. Despite going quickest throughout the session, Häkkinen was not immune to the difficulty of the Belgian circuit. In the dying minutes Häkkinen spun off the circuit and into the gravel trap, bringing his session to a premature end. David Coulthard was second fastest ahead of Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill.
The Saturday practice session saw another enormous accident, Mika Salo slammed his into the barriers destroying his car, he walked away unscathed despite being adminstered to hospital for a precautionary check-up.
===Practice Results===
The full practice results for the are outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	FP1 	 	FP2 	 	Warm-Up 	
No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Pos. 	Time 	Pos. 	Time 	Pos.
1 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:53.589 	6 	1:51.859 	4 	2:13.781 	12
2 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:53.534 	5 	1:52.136 	8 	2:11.860 	11
3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:51.895 	1 	1:52.058 	6 	2:07.839 	1
4 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:53.601 	7 	1:51.972 	5 	2:08.608 	2
5 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:54.171 	12 	1:52.542 	10 	2:09.127 	4
6 	Alexander Wurz 	 	1:54.158 	11 	1:53.020 	11 	2:10.917 	8
7 	David Coulthard 	 	1:52.629 	3 	1:50.702 	2 	2:10.258 	7
8 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	1:51.906 	2 	1:50.319 	1 	2:09.120 	3
9 	Damon Hill 	 	1:53.100 	4 	1:51.368 	3 	2:10.076 	6
10 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	1:54.116 	9 	1:52.346 	9 	2:09.539 	5
11 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:55.182 	15 	1:53.933 	14 	2:26.065 	22
12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	1:54.878 	14 	1:55.049 	17 	2:14.680 	16
14 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:53.660 	8 	1:52.102 	7 	2:11.546 	10
15 	Johnny Herbert 	 	1:54.130 	10 	1:53.379 	12 	2:14.147 	15
16 	Pedro Diniz 	 	1:56.431 	19 	1:55.302 	18 	2:13.853 	13
17 	Mika Salo 	 	1:55.730 	17 	1:54.814 	16 	2:16.139 	17
18 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:54.433 	13 	1:54.071 	15 	2:11.374 	9
19 	Jos Verstappen 	 	1:55.263 	16 	1:55.451 	19 	2:17.733 	20
20 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	1:58.178 	22 	1:56.604 	21 	2:16.174 	18
21 	Tora Takagi 	 	1:56.080 	18 	1:53.898 	13 	2:14.038 	14
22 	Shinji Nakano 	 	1:57.682 	21 	1:56.329 	20 	2:16.217 	19
23 	Esteban Tuero 	 	1:57.014 	20 	1:57.000 	22 	2:20.842 	21
Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-1.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - PRACTICE 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-2.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - WARM UP', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/practice-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)
*Bold indicates a driver's fastest practice time.
*T Indicates a driver using a spare car to set their practice time in that session.
==Qualifying==
The cars came out on track almost immediately, the two 's of Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher were the first of the front runners to go out with Mika Häkkinen following suit. Häkkinen set the early pace ahead of Irvine, Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve.
Michael Schumacher then improved to go into second whilst Hill moved into third position. Heinz-Harald Frentzen then moved into fourth, setting the initial pace for . 
David Coulthard was the last of the front runners to come out of the pits, setting a strong lap time to take the provisional pole time.  Schumacher attempted to respond but was forced to abort his next hot lap after making a mistake. Hill then moved into provisional third, bumping Schumacher down to fourth.
Häkkinen then reclaimed provisional pole ahead of teammate Coulthard. Shinji Nakano then spun out being forced to return to the pits on foor for the spare car. Coulthard then reclaimed the pole position time from teammate Häkkinen. Häkkinen's next run was aborted, unable to beat Coulthard's provisional pole time.
Michael Schumacher attempted to respond to the McLaren's time, however going into Blanchimont, the Ferrari driver was forced to slow due to yellow flag's due to Alexander Wurz stopping out on circuit. Despite this, Schumacher went fast enough to reclaim third from Damon Hill.
Eddie Irvine was struggling in the session, whilst on a quick lap going into the Bus Stop Chicane, Irvine was held up by the of Ricardo Rosset. Irvine flying over the kerbs in order to avoid Rosset's slow Tyrrell destroying his lap time.
In the dying seconds of the session Mika Häkkinen reclaimed the pole position ahead of teammate David Coulthard, Damon Hill then improved to go third fastest ahead of Michael Schumacher, Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve.
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap 	Ave. Speed
1 	8 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	1:48.682 	— 	230.809 km/h
2 	7 	David Coulthard 	 	1:48.845 	+0.163s 	230.463 km/h
3 	9 	Damon Hill 	 	1:49.728 	+1.046s 	228.609 km/h
4 	3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:50.027 	+1.345s 	227.988 km/h
5 	4 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:50.189 	+1.507s 	227.652 km/h
6 	1 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:50.204 	+1.522s 	227.621 km/h
7 	5 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:50.462 	+1.780s 	227.090 km/h
8 	10 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	1:50.501 	+1.819s 	227.010 km/h
9 	2 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:50.686 	+2.004s 	226.630 km/h
10 	14 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:51.189 	+2.507s 	225.605 km/h
11 	6 	Alexander Wurz 	 	1:51.648 	+2.966s 	224.678 km/h
12 	15 	Johnny Herbert 	 	1:51.851 	+3.169s 	224.270 km/h
13 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	1:52.572 	+3.890s 	222.833 km/h
14 	18 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:52.670 	+3.988s 	222.640 km/h
15 	11 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:52.784 	+4.102s 	222.415 km/h
16 	16 	Pedro Diniz 	 	1:53.037 	+4.355s 	221.917 km/h
17 	19 	Jos Verstappen 	 	1:53.149 	+4.467s 	221.697 km/h
18 	17 	Mika Salo 	 	1:53.207 	+4.525s 	221.583 km/h
19 	21 	Tora Takagi 	 	1:53.237 	+4.555s 	221.525 km/h
20 	20 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	1:54.850 	+6.168s 	218.414 km/h
21 	22 	Shinji Nakano 	 	1:55.084 	+6.402s 	217.969 km/h
22 	23 	Esteban Tuero 	 	1:55.520 	+6.838s 	217.147 km/h
107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020) 	107% Time: 1:56.290'Belgium 1998: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)
Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'1998 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2020), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1998/races/683/belgium/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/05/2020)
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
*T Indicates a driver using a spare car to set their best/qualifying time in that session.
===Grid===
The full grid for the is shown below:
==Race==
===Report===
The race would be held in extremely wet conditions, conditions that naturally suited the of Michael Schumacher.
As the cars left the grid, Jacques Villeneuve got a phenomenal start moving up into second position. Eddie Irvine did well to move into third ahead of Schumacher whilst David Coulthard had a terrible start dropping to fifth from second. It was about to get a whole lot worse for Coulthard when coming out of the first corner, he lost control of his car slamming into the barriers then rebounding onto the circuit into the path of the oncoming cars. Unable to avoid the out of control McLaren, the cars then piled into Coulthard causing a chain reaction of collisions down the field as nearly the entire field was wiped out in an enormous accident. Aside from Coulthard, Eddie Irvine, Alexander Wurz, Rubens Barrichello, Johnny Herbert, Olivier Panis, Jarno Trulli, Mika Salo, Pedro Diniz Toranosuke Takagi, Ricardo Rosset, Shinji Nakano and Jos Verstappen were all caught up in the accident. 
Verstappen was able to drive his crippled back to the pits, but all the other driver's were eliminated on the spot, their cars well and truely wrecked. The race was unsurprisingly stopped in order to clear away the twelve car wreckage of the start. Eddie Irvine was notably limping on his way back to the pits whilst Rubens Barrichello nursed his arm, blood had visibly soaked through his overalls near his right shoulder.
Barrichello could be seen arguing with race doctor Sid Watkins about taking the restart, the Brazilian visibly feeling well enough to take the start. Ultimately however he was denied by the race doctors to take the re-start, although only suffering minor injuries he was denied taking the second start as a precaution. 
Aside from Barrichello, Mika Salo, Olivier Panis and Ricardo Rosset would not take the restart, their cars wrecked in the accident and their teammates getting the spare car the three driver's were unable to continue to take part. 
Eventually the carnage was cleared and the eighteen surviving cars took the re-start. The rain had not subsided and the second start would be held in similar torrential conditions to the first start.
On the re-start, Damon Hill got a phenomenal start taking the lead into the first corner, Michael Schumacher attempted to overtake Mika Häkkinen around the outside but instead Häkkinen spun his car right into the oncoming field. Johnny Herbert had nowhere to go and crashed into the McLaren driver, but all the other drivers were able to avoid the stricken cars of Häkkinen and Herbert. Both cars were eliminated from the race, for Häkkinen this was a devastating blow for his championship ambitions.
Up front Irvine had made another strong start to move into second but then conceded the position back to teammate Schumacher going into Raidillon. Coulthard who had made another poor start was then rammed from behind by Alexander Wurz's , the two cars spinning into the gravel trap. Wurz was eliminated from the race whilst Coulthard was sent to the back of the pack.
The incidents of the first lap saw the race officials bring out the safety car to clear away the debris. Under the safety car it was Hill leading Schumacher, Irvine, Jean Alesi, Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
On lap three the racing got underway and Hill sprinted away into the lead ahead of Schumacher. Villeneuve then managed to overtake Alesi going into the first corner for fourth place. A few corners later Frentzen had also overtaken Alesi.
Giancarlo Fisichella then spun dropping a position to eighth behind Ralf Schumacher's .
Villeneuve then made a mistake going into the bus stop chicane, losing positions to Frentzen and Alesi. Meanwhile up front Schumacher began to close the gap and apply the pressure to Hill's Jordan. Eventually on lap 8, Schumacher was able to overtake to take the lead of the race. The same lap saw Jos Verstappen retire with an engine failure.
The race then began to intensify, Eddie Irvine whilst chasing down Damon Hill then spun his car colliding with the barriers at Fagnes, Irvine losing his front wing and bargeboards. Irvine drove his crippled car back to the pits for repairs, rejoining the race in eleventh position. The same lap saw David Coulthard pit from eleventh to move into the full wet tyre from the intermediate.
Toranosuke Takagi then spun into the barriers at the first corner, bringing an end to his day. Lap eleven saw Ralf Schumacher come into the pits from sixth position for full wet tyres.
Frentzen then spun off the circuit at Stavelot, allowing Jean Alesi to take third position. 
Lap 14 saw the two race leaders of Schumacher and Hill come into the pits for full wets followed by Alesi, Frentzen and Fisichella. Villeneuve who was still on the intermediate tyres in the continually deteoriating conditions then spun off the circuit going down the kemmel straight. Villeneuve's car significantly damaged was forced to stop. 
Ralf Schumacher was now up to third position behind teammate Damon Hill, having made the early decision to come in for full wets. 
Lap 17 saw Esteban Tuero make his retirement with gearbox failure. 
At the front, Michael Schumacher was consolidating an enormous lead, however disaster was to strike on lap 25. Schumacher coming around to lap the McLaren of David Coulthard slammed into the back of Coulthard as the McLaren driver slowed to allow the leader through. In the wet spray Schumacher did not see Coulthard collided with the back of the McLaren ripping the front right wheel off.
Schumacher drove his crippled three wheeled car back into the pits and out of the race. Coulthard also came into the pits, his rear wing ripped off in the incident with Schumacher. Schumacher feeling angrily and agrieved following his accident with Coulthard, stormed down the pits and into the McLaren pit lane in an effort to get to Coulthard. His own Ferrari mechanics as well as the McLaren mechanics barring his way to his confrontation with Coulthard. After being unable to get to Coulthard, Schumacher stormed back to his own pit-box close to tears.
More bad news for Ferrari when the sole running car of Eddie Irvine spun off the circuit whilst trying to apply pressure to Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Williams. 
Following the incidents with the Ferrari's, Damon Hill led a Jordan one-two ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Jean Alesi, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Giancarlo Fisichella and Pedro Diniz.
Ralf Schumacher then came in for his second pit-stop in the race, a lap later race leader Hill came into the pits. Fisichella then collided at full speed with Shinji Nakano's Minardi going into the bus stop chicane. Fisichella ripping the entire left hand side pod off his car, leaving fire spurting from the side of his car. Fisichella exited his wrecked car without injury as Nakano crept back to the pits in his crippled Minardi.
The safety car was then brought out for a second time following Fisichella's accident. Following the second safety car only six cars remained in the race with Hill leading Ralf Schumacher, Alesi, Diniz and Jarno Trulli. During the safety car period, David Coulthard was brought back out on track, his car sufficiently repaired albeit rejoining multiple laps down. The following lap, Minardi brought Shinji Nakano back onto the track. 
The final laps saw little action, Ralf Schumacher was commanded by his team to hold station behind teammate Damon Hill and maintain the one-two finish for the Jordan team. Hill brought his car home to take his first victory since his win in Japan with Williams in 1996. Ralf Schumacher was second to take Jordan's first ever win and their first ever one-two finish. Jean Alesi came home to take his first podium of the season with Heinz-Harald Frentzen fourth, Pedro Diniz fifth and Jarno Trulli taking Prost's first points of the season. 
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	9 	Damon Hill 	 	44 	1:43:47.407 	3 	10
2 	10 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	44 	+0.932s 	8 	6
3 	14 	Jean Alesi 	 	44 	+7.240s 	10 	4
4 	2 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	44 	+32.242s 	9 	3
5 	16T 	Pedro Diniz 	 	44 	+51.682s 	16 	2
6 	12T 	Jarno Trulli 	 	42 	+2 laps 	13 	1
7 	7T 	David Coulthard 	 	39 	+5 laps 	2 	
8 	22T 	Shinji Nakano 	 	39 	+5 laps 	21 	
Ret 	5 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	26 	Collision 	7 	
Ret 	3 	Michael Schumacher 	 	25 	Collision 	4 	
Ret 	4T 	Eddie Irvine 	 	25 	Spin 	5 	
Ret 	23 	Esteban Tuero 	 	17 	Gearbox 	22 	
Ret 	1 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	16 	Spin 	6 	
Ret 	21T 	Tora Takagi 	 	10 	Spin 	19 	
Ret 	19T 	Jos Verstappen 	 	8 	Engine 	17 	
Ret 	8 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	0 	Collision 	1 	
Ret 	6T 	Alexander Wurz 	 	0 	Collision 	11 	
Ret 	15T 	Johnny Herbert 	 	0 	Collision 	12 	
DNS* 	18 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	0 	Collision 	14 	
DNS* 	11 	Olivier Panis 	 	0 	Collision 	15 	
DNS* 	17 	Mika Salo 	 	0 	Collision 	18 	
DNS* 	20 	Ricardo Rosset 	 	0 	Collision 	20 	
Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)	Source:'Belgium 1998: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1998/belgique/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/05/2020)
*T Indicates a driver using a spare car.
** Indicates a driver who did not take the restart of the race.
==Milestones==
*Jean Alesi's last podium.
*Damon Hill's last win and podium.
*'s first win, and only ever 1-2 finish.
*Jarno Trulli and Prost's only point for this season.
==Standings after race==
;Drivers' Championship standings
Pos	Driver 	Points
1 	Mika Häkkinen 	77
2 	Michael Schumacher 	70
3 	David Coulthard 	48
4 	Eddie Irvine 	32
5 	Jacques Villeneuve 	20
6 	Alexander Wurz 	17
7 	Damon Hill 	16
8 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	15
9 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	13
10 	Ralf Schumacher 	10
11 	Jean Alesi 	7
12 	Rubens Barrichello 	4
13 	Mika Salo 	3
14 	Pedro Diniz 	3
15 	Johnny Herbert 	1
16 	Jarno Trulli 	1
17 	Jan Magnussen 	1
18 	Shinji Nakano 	0
19 	Ricardo Rosset 	0
20 	Esteban Tuero 	0
21 	Olivier Panis 	0
22 	Toranosuke Takagi 	0
23 	Jos Verstappen 	0
;Constructors' Championship standings
Pos	Constructor	Points
1 	 	125
2 	 	102
3 	 	33
4 	 	32
5 	 	26
6 	 	8
7 	 	6
8 	 	5
9 	 	1
10 	 	0
11 	 	0
==References==
Images and Videos:
*
References:
Category:1998 Grands Prix
Category:Belgian Grand Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Belgium