David Coulthard shares why he wasn’t afraid of Michael Schumacher ‘punch’ in famous Spa incident

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David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher were involved in one of the most memorable bust-ups in F1 history at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix.

Schumacher was leading the race by over 30 seconds when he tried to lap Coulthard’s McLaren. With the spray limiting visibility following a typically torrential Spa downpour, a misunderstanding between the two led to a collision.

The Ferrari driver lost his front wing and right front tyre, forcing him to retire from the race. Afterwards, as he marched to the McLaren garage to confront his rival, Murray Walker famously announced that Schumacher was going to ‘fight’ Coulthard.

David Coulthard: My helmet would have protected me from Michael Schumacher

Speaking on the Up to Speed podcast, Coulthard recalled that he was still wearing his helmet at the time so, if the confrontation had become physical, he had a layer of protection.

Seven drivers had already retired from the race on the opening lap, including Coulthard’s teammate Mika Hakkinen, after a now-infamous pile-up.

Damon Hill went on to take Jordan’s first-ever victory in a one-two finish ahead of Ralf Schumacher. It was also the last of his 22 victories in F1.

Coulthard would win the iconic race a year later after passing Hakkinen at the start.

“That was ’99, which came off the back of ’98, the multiple-car crash on the first lap exiting La Source,” he remembered.

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tyler.rowlinsonJul 12

Verstappen is the only driver that stop Schumacher from dominating. Maybe Hamilton and Alonso in their prime could battle him, but they’re not there anymore

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“Michael came looking for a fight, but I still had my helmet on, so I could have taken a punch for sure!”

McLaren mechanics separated Coulthard and Schumacher, but the Scotsman suspects it would only ever have been a verbal confrontation anyway.

When the two drivers met at the following race in Italy, Schumacher apparently refused to take any of the blame, even though Coulthard was willing to accept some fault.

Even though McLaren fought Schumacher and Ferrari for multiple titles at the turn of the century, the German eventually became good friends with Coulthard.