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<\/a><\/p>\nIn his McLaren H\u04d3kkinen was on pole position that afternoon, and by almost a full second, but as any driver knows, a crucial aspect of any race at Spa is surviving the first few seconds, as everyone brakes hard for La Source. And what slightly concerned Mika was that the drivers closest to him on the grid were not the usual suspects: Jarno Trulli\u2019s Jordan lined up second, with the Williams-BMW of rookie Jenson Button a stunning third.<\/p>\n
Patrick Head, never a man given to hyperbole, raved to me about Jenson\u2019s performance: \u201cHe drives this circuit like Alain (Prost) used to drive it, and I can\u2019t really offer higher praise than that…\u201d<\/p>\n
True enough \u2013 but still, to some degree, Button and Trulli were an unknown quantity in H\u04d3kkinen\u2019s mind. \u201cI haven\u2019t been in this position with these two guys before,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019ll be fine, but at least with Michael I know what to expect at the first corner\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Would the two youngsters be trying to wrest the lead from H\u04d3kkinen in the opening seconds? Of course, said Trulli at the press conference; he was here to race. Button was a bit more light-hearted: \u201cOh, certainly! We\u2019re going to go either side of him, aren\u2019t we, Jarno?\u201d<\/p>\n That phrase would have a particular resonance 24 hours on, although in connection not with Trulli or Button, but Schumacher, who qualified fourth, disappointed with a Ferrari that had tested well, in low-downforce spec, at Mugello, but had fallen short of his expectations at Spa. His best hope, Michael said, was for a wet race, and initially it seemed that his prayers had been answered, for there was rain for much of race morning, and although it abated by noon, the track was still damp when the race began \u2013 inevitably behind the Safety Car.<\/p>\n Once they were unleashed, H\u04d3kkinen duly took the lead, and \u2013 following a coming-together between Trulli and Button \u2013 Schumacher was soon into second place. So quickly did the track begin to dry out that, after five and six laps, the leaders pitted.<\/p>\n Running dry tyres on a not completely dry track, Schumacher was quicker than H\u04d3kkinen, and he began to close in at the rate of half a second a lap. On lap 13 Mika had a colossal slide at Stavelot, which ultimately became a lazy spin, and allowed Michael into a lead which at one point grew to nearly 12 seconds.<\/p>\n By the time of their second stops the track was bone dry, the sun shining, and now H\u04d3kkinen began hunting Schumacher down. As they began lap 40, with four to go, he was almost on Michael\u2019s tail, and through Eau Rouge was visibly closing. Up the hill the McLaren was right on the Ferrari, and inevitably Mika was going to slingshot by into Les Combes\u2026<\/p>\n Or maybe not. Before the race he had said what he expected from Schumacher \u2013 but perhaps even he was surprised on this occasion. As he jinked to Michael\u2019s right, the Ferrari chopped him, and at over 190mph the cars momentarily touched. Mika had no option but to back off, but he was not impressed.<\/p>\n Once confident that his McLaren was fundamentally sound, Mika bent himself to the task of catching Michael again, and there was a cold fury in the way he got after him. On the next lap he again took yards out of Schumacher through Eau Rouge, then stalked him up the hill \u2013 at which point they came upon the BAR of Ricardo Zonta, which was in the middle of the track.<\/p>\n When Zonta looked in his mirrors, all he could see was the scarlet of Schumacher, for H\u04d3kkinen\u2019s grey McLaren was directly behind the Ferrari. As they neared Les Combes, Michael went left to pass the BAR \u2013 and a fraction later Mika went right, passing both of them in the process. Later Zonta admitted that he had no idea the McLaren was anywhere in the vicinity; that being so, it was good he kept his car arrow straight. Probably he slept with the lights on for a while afterwards.<\/p>\n Mika\u2019s was a move of stunning audacity, and perfectly executed. As he followed him into the corner, Schumacher knew that the race was lost. \u201cMika did an outstanding manoeuvre,\u201d he said. \u201cI really didn\u2019t expect it \u2013 but if he hadn\u2019t passed me then, he\u2019d have done it a lap or two later…\u201d<\/p>\n The pair of them completed the last three laps, H\u04d3kkinen taking it comparatively easily now, knowing he was safe. As he took the flag, Ron Dennis showed more emotion than anyone could remember, tearfully embracing his daughter before going to greet his driver.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure,\u201d he said, \u201cMika\u2019s overtaking manoeuvre will go down as one of the greatest in Formula 1 history.\u201d No one could reasonably take issue with that.<\/p>\n As they climbed from their cars, H\u04d3kkinen went over to Schumacher, and had a quiet word with him. Never one to get into public spats, at the post-race press conference he was measured in his words as he described the incident: \u201cMmm, Michael\u2019s car was… too wide on that lap. It was hectic. Not a pleasant moment. When something like that happens, you tend to lose concentration briefly. I wasn\u2019t sure if we\u2019d touched or not, and wondered if maybe my front wing was damaged. For a few corners I didn\u2019t run at the maximum, just making sure the car was OK.\u201d<\/p>\n The cars had indeed touched \u2013 to this day the damaged front wing endplate from H\u04d3kkinen\u2019s car sits in Martin Whitmarsh\u2019s office.<\/p>\n Years later, after he had retired, I asked Mika what he said to Michael in parc ferm\u00e9<\/em>. He smiled at the memory: \u201cOh, I just said I didn\u2019t want him ever<\/em> to try something like that with me again. I think he understood.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople always said to me, \u2018How can you be so calm?\u2019 Well, I was educated by my parents that way \u2013 I learned to control my emotions when I was a kid. I did karting for years, but if you didn\u2019t win a race, you didn\u2019t complain to mummy and daddy about it. My father said, \u2018OK, there\u2019s a forest over there \u2013 go and kick some trees, get your rid of your frustrations, and then come back\u2019. For a while it seemed to me there were not enough trees \u2013 not enough forests<\/em>! \u2013 but in the end I realised my dad was right: there\u2019s no point in getting upset. It doesn\u2019t do any good, doesn\u2019t achieve anything\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n As for Schumacher, he indeed took on board what had been said to him at Spa. Not for nothing did Michael consider Mika a driver apart, the only one who ever really worried him.<\/p>\n Click here to read more on Formula 1<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Click here to read more from Nigel Roebuck<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n