World champion elect Michael Schumacher cruised to a record-breaking 52nd career win at Spa Francorchamps, but only after the legendary Ardennes circuit had been thrown into chaos by a massive smash involving Ireland's Eddie Irvine and Brazilian Luciano Burti.

The seeds of an incident-filled afternoon in Belgium were sown even before the race proper began when, with four of the five race start lights lit, Heinz-Harald Frentzen thrust his arms out of the cockpit of his Prost and indicated that he had stalled.

It was cruel luck for Frentzen, who had brilliantly qualified his uncompetitive Prost fourth. As a new formation lap began the German was forced to allow the rest of the field to pass him by so that he could grid at the back of the pack. Or almost at the back.

As the second formation lap began, pole winner Juan Pablo Montoya raised a wary hand towards a marshal and pointed towards his steering wheel. As Frentzen flashed by, Williams mechanics were on the grid firing up the Colombian so he could join the German at the tail of the field.

This time they got away without incident, Michael Schumacher beating Ralf Schumacher to the punch out of La Source and taking the lead from his brother with Ferrari team-mate Rubens Barrichello third. In their rearview mirrors though was a surprise interloper into the top-four club - Giancarlo Fisichella, the Jordan-bound driver having leapt from eighth to fourth with a spectacular start. It was the shape of things to come later in the race from Fisichella, but before he could again demonstrate his and his revised Benetton's skills the seeds of incident sown by the start-line failures blossomed horribly.

As the leaders powered towards the Bus Stop chicane, back at Stavelot Eddie Irvine was trying to shake off Luciano Burti. As the Irishman exited the long right-hander for the run-up to the flat-out 195 m.p.h. Blanchimont left-hander, Burti crept inside the Irishman's line. It was the catalyst for disaster.

"Midway through the corner I felt an impact on the rear and after that I was a passenger," said Irvine. The Irishman's shattered Jaguar spun off, coming to rest in the gravel traps, leaving him shaken but able to clamber from the car. Burti, however, fared worse. His front wing lost and with two wheels on the grass, the Brazilian lost all control and ploughed off track at 180 m.p.h.

As the dust settled, Burti's Prost was clearly visible under a mountain of tyres. With Irvine desperately helping to remove the debris it seemed certain that Burti was in serious trouble. But as the screens were removed from around his wrecked Prost and the Brazilian was rushed to the medical centre, Irvine was reporting his former Jaguar team-mate as conscious and breathing normally.

"He hit the wall very hard and I'm really glad he's okay," said Irvine. "I was first on the scene and his head was pushed over to one side by the weight of the tyres. The head and neck restraint system obviously absorbed the impact of the tyres."

It is the second major accident in two months from which Burti has miraculously escaped. At the German GP five weeks ago, the Brazilian collided with a slowed Michael Schumacher immediately after the start and was launched through the air into the gravel traps where he barrel-rolled to a halt by the barriers. The Brazilian was taken to hospital where he was found to be concussed, but only sore.

After one lap under the safety car the race was red flagged and the remaining runners, with Michael Schumacher still at the head of the field, were reformed in their new order on the grid for a another start. And that was the cue for yet more mayhem.

As this latest formation lap was begun, and Michael Schumacher powered away, his brother remained rooted to the grid, his Williams comically still sitting on the jacks the mechanics had hoisted the car on to in the time before the new start was decreed. He joined Montoya at the back, and Williams' nightmare was complete.

On the second start, the field finally got away cleanly, with Fisichella, who had, prior to Burti's accident, been relegated from fourth to sixth by the twin McLarens of David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen, making a second lightning quick start, leaping from sixth to second, ahead of Coulthard.

Michael Schumacher, though, held his lead and with Coulthard blocked by the slower but crafty Fisichella, the champion was given free rein to claim his eighth victory of the season.

"I had to push flat out until second pit stop then I eased off. I was faster than Giancarlo and David couldn't get by him. That certainly helped."

Coulthard, too, admitted that getting by Fisichella had been a tough prospect.

"Giancarlo drove an amazing race," the Scot admitted. "I almost got him in the pit stop but it didn't quite work. Then Giancarlo came up against a back marker and it seemed to put him off a little and gave me an opportunity."

The Italian, though, held on for a remarkable third place, his first podium finish since Brazil last year and a real sign that, just as he heads for pastures new at Jordan, the hard work he has put in over the last year for Renault is beginning to bear fruit.

With Fisichella third and Mika Hakkinen solid in fourth, the remaining two points positions were there for the taking and for the bulk of the race it was Jordan that looked like grabbing the three points as Jarno Trulli held fifth, followed by Jean Alesi. A remarkable achievement given the disastrous 16th and 13th the pair had taken in qualifying.

But in the closing stage of the race the pair were put under severe pressure by Rubens Barrichello, who had recovered from an earlier incident at the Bus Stop and by a resurgent Ralf Schumacher.

For lap after lap, Alesi fended off the challenges but something had to give and in true 2001 Jordan style two things gave at once.

First, Alesi was forced to surrender sixth, the Frenchman unable to hold off the much more powerful Ferrari of Barrichello and then, seconds later, the pair were racing through a mist of white smoke pouring from the engine of Trulli's car.

With Barrichello now fifth and Alesi promoted to sixth by his Trulli's retirement, a point still looked possible - if Alesi could hold off Ralf Schumacher, who was pushing hard. For six nail-biting laps the German looked certain to prevail as he dived left and right of Alesi in search of the slimmest of opportunities to exploit.

But Alesi is nothing if not a seasoned campaigner, and despite suffering a power deficit to the Williams, used every bit of craft developed over 12 years in Formula One to hold off the younger Schumacher.

"To come away from this race with a point is incredible and far more than I expected given our poor qualifying performance," said Eddie Jordan afterwards.

"With the exception of Michael (Schumacher), the outstanding drivers today were Jarno, Jean and Giancarlo. It was great to see Giancarlo on the podium and it proves his true racing talent."