The Spa Challenge

Angel

Race Winner
Contributor
I hope I'm not stepping on cider_and_toast's toes here when he does the Spa race thread, but it's 20 years since that major accident at the start of Spa which David Coulthard inadvertantly caused. If you saw the carnage that day it's something I am guessing most people wouldn't ever forget, I sure haven't. How no one was seriously injured that day or worse I have no clue. Of course then they had T cars and some drivers only made it to the restart thanks to them. These days even fewer people would make it.

The BBC have done a piece on it on their website and I think it's an interesting read, also there is a quiz at the bottom of the page. You have six minutes to try and recall all 22 drivers who were on the grid that day. It's harder than you'd think, I got 15. Here's the link if you want a go.

Belgian GP: Why Spa 1998 remains one of the most remarkable F1 races ever

I'm not sure if anyone outside the UK can access it, sorry if that is the case.
 
Can confirm, not in UK and I can access the article.

Interesting read, I didn't watch F1 yet in 98, and had heard of the Spa carnage but the rest of the race seems to have been very exciting as well!

As for the challenge, I started watching in 99 and this grid is pretty similar - only drivers I didn't know were the backmarkers Rosset, Nakano and Tuero, of which two were mentioned in the write-up previously. But then I managed to forget Alesi and Wurz so got a 19/22.
 
Still think the best one was at Silverstone Woodcote in the dry coming up to the end of the first lap 1973 British GP no excuses there, best example of you can't win a race in the first lap 11 cars out, of course there were spare cars but some teams lost both cars. I think that race started the end of the F1 Surtees Team
 
Still think the best one was at Silverstone Woodcote in the dry coming up to the end of the first lap 1973 British GP no excuses there, best example of you can't win a race in the first lap 11 cars out, of course there were spare cars but some teams lost both cars. I think that race started the end of the F1 Surtees Team

i was just watching footage of that here (may be better quality elsewhere?). I love the commentary "the marshalls very well in control of the situation" where it looks like a hundred or so people including kids are running around on the track! Different times.

 
Wow, I hadn't seen that from 1973. Sheesh, you're right about it being a different time though.

One thing I will say, it was a McLaren that caused that crash too :snigger:

I read up on it after seeing it, shame about Andrea de Adamich getting a broken ankle that ended his career, but how lucky no one else was seriously hurt in that crash either. Still that is part of F1 isn't it? The drivers all know the risks when they get in the cars.
 
18/22 + full top 10. I was happy more than i thought. As it is the 1st race i can remember fully, despite have vague memories of wet British gp 1 that finished in Pit lane
 
The story of Spa 18 should probably story of two drivers, however I fear of what's probably coming at the periphery of paddock in form of a few hand-grenades. Demise of FI and papa Stroll's ideas, Alonso's midlife crisis, no more musical chairs to sit on, etc.
 
The story of Spa 18 should be probably story of two drivers, however I fear what's coming at the periphery of paddock is in form of a few hand-grenades. Demise of FI and papa Stroll's ideas, Alonso's midlife crisis, no more musical chairs to sit on, etc.
Apology for a messy post.
 
All 22 :yesss:

Can’t forget Riccardo Rosset’s part in the crash - one of the most stupid things I think has ever been seen in a motorsport context.
 
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