Hakkinen Wins the Belgian GP (updated)

After a luke warm start to the Belgian Grand Prix behind a pace car because of a wet track surface, Mika Hakkinen made it a red hot finish when he performed one of the bravest overtaking moves in recent F1 history to take the lead of the Belgian GP from Michael Schumacher just four laps from the checkered flag.

For the first twelve laps of this 44-lap race it looked as though Mika Hakkinen was going to run away from everyone as he pitted for dry weather tyres on lap 7 with a comfortable 16 seconds lead over Michael Schumacher who had moved from fourth to second place by lap 5. It looked as though it was going to stay that way as Hakkinen pulled away again, but on lap 13 the race took a dramatic turn as Hakkinen got a wheel on a damp kerb at Stavelot and made a half spin for several hundred yards along the circuit. "The rear end just snapped away and I managed to keep the engine going and keep going," said Mika, but it had cost him the lead to Schumacher who had no intentions of relinquishing it.

Schumacher was handed a five second lead by Hakkinen and he added another six seconds to it before a routine stop for tyres, which temporarily put Hakkinen back into the lead again. There was tension as Hakkinen finally made his stop with a 15 seconds lead over the Ferrari, but it wasn't enough to keep him there, and Schumacher swept back into the lead on lap 28 as Hakkinen made his way out of the pits.

On the now dry track, the two Championship leaders began an epic duel for the lead, the McLaren slowly clawing back the gap as Hakkinen pushed harder. Schumacher, who had added more downforce for the damp conditions, made an adjustment to the wing settings at his stop but the Ferrari was no match for the McLaren's speed. "Hakkinen was simply much faster today, even though we improved the car from yesterday to today and from the last race to this one," admitted Schumacher after the race.

With five laps to go Hakkinen was right on the Ferrari's tail and clearly quicker on the main straight up the hill. At around 300 kph he made a move to pass Schumacher into the braking area at the end of the straight, but Schumacher moved across to block the move in a heart stopping action that almost caused a collision. Hakkinen, unnerved by the incident and unsure if he had actually touched wheels with the Ferrari, fell back momentarily, but at the same spot next time around he saw another chance as the pair of them came up to lap Ricardo Zonta in the BAR.

Schumacher moved to the left and Hakkinen took advantage of the slipstream of the BAR to dive to the inside. Normally there is only room for two cars and I did not expect Mika to pass on the other side. It was an outstanding maneuver," said Michael after Mika had gone inside and snatched the lead. "To be honest, I think he would have passed me anyway before the end of the race," he added.

A distant 38 seconds behind the leaders, Ralf Schumacher made it two brothers on the podium when he took third place for Williams-BMW after a steady and not very spectacular race, his biggest worry being the last six laps when he thought his engine was dying, a throttle problem almost ending his race. His team-mate Jenson Button ended up in fifth spot after starting third behind Jarno Trulli's Jordan.

Unfortunately their chances of glory ended early when Button, frustrated by a slower Trulli who had allowed Schumacher to get by them both, also tried a move on Trulli as they went into the La Source hairpin. Button found his road full of Jordan and drove into Trulli's rear wheel which put the Jordan into a spin and out of the race, Button managing to continue, but with front wing and slight steering damage.

David Coulthard also went ahead of Button in the confusion, but a late stop for Hakkinen to take dry tyres saw an even later stop for Coulthard which put him at the back of a bunch of cars for most of the race. He finally made it back to fourth place by the flag pushing Button back to fifth.

Heinz Harald Frentzen took the final point of the day after losing a place to David Coulthard at the pit stops, although he was well clear of Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR who took seventh complaining of poor handling throughout the race.

Rubens Barrichello was driving a strong race after a change of tactics when he got stuck behind Villeneuve. He might have taken a point at the end of the day, but as the team awaited him for a second stop, he rolled to a stop in the pit lane with a fuel pressure problem and retired from the race with 12 laps to go.

Seventeen of the 22 starters made it to the flag, although all eyes were on the leading pair at the finish as Hakkinen obviously discussed Schumacher's driving style as they talked in the parc ferme. They both ended up smiling, Hakkinen happy to have extended his lead over Schumacher to six points now and Schumacher to have limited the damage that could have been much worse.

"My second place has kept the Championship alive. Today's result has made it more difficult, but we are still going for it. I might be six points behind but its not over yet and I am still optimistic," he said.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS The Belgian Grand Prix Spa Francorchamps; 44 laps; 306.577km; Weather: Wet, dry at the end. Classified: Pos Driver Team 1. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1h28:14.494 2. M.Schumacher Ferrari + 1.100 3. R.Schumacher Williams BMW + 38.000 4. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 43.200 5. Button Williams BMW + 49.900 6. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 55.900 7. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1:12.300 8. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 1:27.800 9. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1:28.600 10. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:31.500 11. Diniz Sauber Petronas + 1:34.100 12. Zonta BAR Honda + 1 Lap 13. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1 Lap 14. Gene Minardi Fondmetal + 1 Lap 15. Verstappen Arrows Supertec + 1 Lap 16. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec + 2 Laps 17. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal + 2 Laps Fastest Lap: R.Barrichello, 1:53.803, lap 30 Not Classified/Retirements: Driver Team On Lap Reason Barrichello Ferrari 32 fuel Pressure Alesi Prost Peugeot 32 fuel Pressure Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 12 engine Fisichella Benetton Playlife 8 electrical Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 4 accident World Championship Standing, Round 13: Drivers: Constructors: 1. Hakkinen 74 1. McLaren 125 2. M.Schumacher 68 2. Ferrari 117 3. Coulthard 61 3. Williams-BMW 30 4. Barrichello 49 4. Benetton-Playlife 18 5. R.Schumacher 20 5. Jordan-Mugen Honda 13 6. Fisichella 18 6. BAR-Honda 12 7. Villeneuve 11 7. Sauber 6 8. Button 10 8. Arrows 4 9. Frentzen 7 9. Jaguar 3 10. Trulli 6 = Salo 6 12. Irvine 3 13. Verstappen 2 = de la Rosa 2 15. Zonta 1 All timing unofficial