Summary

It rained cats and dogs at the beginning of the Belgium Grand Prix and the teams had to make important decisions about what to do with this sudden change of weather. Michael Schumacher was the driver who got it all right. He choose the intermediate tyres and the right set-up, he also feels at home on this circuit in bad weather conditions. Schumacher was able to pull out a gap in the beginning of the race and just kept the lead until the end.

Damon Hill made a bad tyre choice and had to make another pitstop. His team-mate Pedro Diniz went very well. He showed that the Arrows car could compete against cars like McLaren and Ferrari.

Villeneuve saw the gap to World Championship leader grow because he didn't follow the decisions made by the team and had to make an extra pitstop, Patrick Head said after the race.

Notes

• M. Schumacher starts in his T-car with a wet set-up.
• R. Schumacher wrecks his Jordan in his lap towards the grid. He starts from the pits.
• Trulli has a hydraulic problem with his race car. He starts from the pits the T-car.
• The race starts from behind the safety car because of the amount of water on the track.
• Nakano spins off on lap 4.
• Barrichello has contact with Frentzen and retires on lap 4.
• Marques, Coulthard and Verstappen spin. (lap 5, 20, 26)
• R. Schumacher retires in a gravel trap after missing a turn. (lap 22)
• Hill retires in the pits on the last lap.
• Diniz and Irvine clash. Irvine out, Diniz finishes.
• Honda has announced that they will develop a brand new engine for the Jordan team next season.
• TWR Arrows has another sponsor. The British company Eagle Star has signed a two year deal with the team.
  • Weather during session: Beginning wet, drying out (20-26 °C)

			Race
		1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.   17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.	M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Irvine (Ferrari) G Trulli (Prost-Mugen) B Not Classified Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear	1h 33m 46.717s + 26.753s + 30.852s + 32.147s + 39.025s + 42.103s + 1m 03.741s + 1m 25.931s + 1m 42.008s + 1m 42.582s 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 2 lap 2 lap 2 laps   18 laps 22 laps 24 laps 39 laps 40 laps 40 laps

• Fastest lap: Jacques Villeneuve: 1m 52.692s

The Quotes

• Coulthard: "I'm disappointed. I would have liked to pick up some points."

• M. Schumacher: "I am more than happy today and it is hard for me to find the words to express how I feel. When I was on the podium I had no thought in my mind. I was simply enjoying the sensation of being very happy. From the start of the race, I felt we had made the right choice and that I could win. Winning at Spa is always special for me, as it is my favourite track. I would also like to thank you the thousands of fans for their tremendous support.

• Fisichella: "This is a dream for me. Everything went well for me and maybe I was a little bit lucky too. But now I am going to Monza to try to win. I think I have a chance."

• Jordan: "Giancarlo drove perfectly. He was very polished and, I believe, of a championship standard the whole way through."

• Irvine: "On my last lap Diniz hit me at the chicane as he tried to pass me. Unfortunately this is the sort of thing that can happen when you are fighting for a place. I would like to forget the last three days which have been very difficult for me. I cannot wait to be back with the Ferrari fans at Monza as I am sure they will give me a lot of support."

• Villeneuve: "I was on the grid and we had put full wet-tyres on, not intermediates, when we were told we were starting behind the pace car. I had no idea about it and no idea how many laps we were going to do. Twelve points behind with five races to go is not the problem. But the trouble is that most of the next few races could also be in cold and wet weather and that is not good for us."

• Hill: "It was a bad one fore me. I called for intermediates. It was my choice because I could see some rain. As it turned out I called the wrong shot. I've only myself to blame. It's a shame. I had to come in at the end because of a loose wheel."

• Salo: "I lost any advantage when we had to start behind the safety car. By the time we were able to run properly, a dry line had appeared, making it perfect for intermediates. Once I had changed to slicks the car felt good, especially on the middle section where I was making up a lot of time and I Was involved in a great battle, passing both Hill and Irvine."

• Alesi: "It's a pity the rain spoiled what should have been a clean race but even so the car was quite good at the start, but half way through the race I started to have big problems. I thought the tyres were blistered and we changed them but they hadn't. Now it seems something broke in the rear of the car. We will know more after we examine it. I am obviously very frustrated because my second place on the grid had promised a great result for me and the team."

• Berger: "I have been penalised since the beginning of the race by my poor starting position. There was very little I could do from my fifteenth place. During the first few laps I could not gain any position and also I tried, I was too far back to get even one point. However, I was quite competitive, did some quick laps and made no mistake, therefore I have nothing to blame myself for."

• Verstappen: "Our tyre strategy was absolutely right and everything was going fantastically until the track started to dry and I had to push hard to keep the other drivers behind me. I just got on the power too early coming out of Rivage and lost the back of the car. It was completely my fault and I am really disappointed about it, especially from the team point of view, but we were racing well today which is good for everyone. I always give 100% and I'm afraid I gave too much today."

• Diniz: "It was quite an exciting race with the rain at the beginning of the race. The car was feeling good and I was felling competitive with the front runners I overtook a Williams. It is a shame that at my first pit-stop there was a problem with the wheelnut because I lost a lot of time and positions. So it's really a shame because I could have been in the points!"

Drivers Championship table

M. Schumacher (Ferrari)	66
Villeneuve (Williams)	54
Alesi (Benetton)	22
Berger (Benetton)	20
Frentzen(Williams)	22
Hakkinen (McLaren)	18
Irvine (Ferrari)	18
Panis (Prost)	15
Coulthard (McLaren)	14
Fisichella (Jordan)	14
Herbert (Sauber)	13
R. Schumacher (Jordan)	11
Hill (Arrows)	7
Barrichello (Stewart)	6
Wurz (Benetton)	4
Trulli (Prost)	3
Salo (Tyrrell)	2
Nakano (Prost)	2
Larini (Sauber)	1

Constructors Championship table

Ferrari G	84
Williams-Renault G	76
Benetton-Renault G	46
McLaren-Mercedes G	32
Jordan-Peugeot G	25
Prost-Mugen B	20
Sauber-Petronas G	14
Arrows-Yamaha B	7
Stewart-Ford B	6
Tyrrell-Ford G	2
B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear