1963 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Jim Clark produced a commanding wet-weather victory at Spa, recovering from eighth on the grid to finish almost five minutes ahead of Bruce McLaren. Dan Gurney completed the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Graham Hill	BRM
Pole time	3:54.1
Fastest lap	Jim Clark	Lotus
Fastest-lap time	3:58.100 on lap 16
First	Jim Clark	Lotus
Second	Bruce McLaren	Cooper
Third	Dan Gurney	Brabham

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 June 1963	Friday timed practice	17:00; finish unconfirmed
8 June 1963	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
9 June 1963	Race	15:30

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Graham Hill arrived at round 2 leading the 1963 F1 World Championship on 9 points, with Richie Ginther on 6. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 9 points.

Race entries

ATS made its championship debut with Phil Hill and Baghetti, while Scirocco and BRP also introduced their own cars. Ireland drove the new BRP, with Hall retaining a Lotus. Parnell entered Amon and Bianchi in Lolas, and de Beaufort brought his familiar Porsche.

Friday timed practice

Damp patches remained despite otherwise dry conditions. Clark lost extensive running to gearbox problems, while Ferrari struggled with high oil temperatures. Maggs initially set the pace before Mairesse went fastest. Ireland’s new BRP needed gear-selection work, and ATS arrived only just in time for a handful of exploratory laps.

Saturday final qualifying

Hill took pole ahead of Gurney as the pace increased. BRP’s suspension changes helped Ireland, but Clark continued waiting for gearbox repairs and could manage only eighth. Taylor crashed heavily after a mechanical failure and switched to the spare Lotus. De Beaufort’s engine failed, prompting an overnight trip for a replacement, while ATS remained short of power.

Qualifying Classification

The best lap across two sessions determined the grid. New cars also had to complete sufficient practice running, which mattered when Taylor switched to the spare Lotus.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Timed session 1	Timed session 2	Best Time
1	7	Graham Hill	BRM	4:01.6	3:54.1	3:54.1
2	18	Dan Gurney	Brabham	4:28.8	3:55.0	3:55.0
3	10	Willy Mairesse	Ferrari	3:56.2	3:55.3	3:55.3
4	15	Tony Maggs	Cooper	3:57.1	3:56.0	3:56.0
5	14	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	3:58.3	3:56.2	3:56.2
6	17	Jack Brabham	Brabham	3:56.6	4:00.7	3:56.6
7	4	Innes Ireland	BRP	4:05.3	3:56.9	3:56.9
8	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	4:06.7	3:57.1	3:57.1
9	8	Richie Ginther	BRM	4:04.5	3:57.6	3:57.6
10	9	John Surtees	Ferrari	3:57.9	3:57.9	3:57.9
11	2	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	4:02.7	3:58.1	3:58.1
12	5	Jim Hall	Lotus	4:05.4	4:00.1	4:00.1
13	12	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	4:01.4	4:00.1	4:00.1
14	28	Jo Siffert	Lotus	4:03.9	4:02.3	4:02.3
15	21	Chris Amon	Lola	4:17.2	4:04.9	4:04.9
16	22	Lucien Bianchi	Lola	4:08.5	4:06.5	4:06.5
17	26	Phil Hill	ATS	4:26.1	4:06.7	4:06.7
18	29	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	4:14.6	6:55.2	4:14.6
19	24	Tony Settember	Scirocco	4:31.7	4:25.2	4:25.2
20	27	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	8:34.8	4:33.6	4:33.6

What happened in the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix?

Clark surged through the field at the start and soon took command. Rain and spray made the fast circuit exceptionally demanding, yet he steadily extended his lead over the opposition.

His gearbox still required careful handling, including holding the lever in position when using top gear. As conditions worsened, Clark avoided that gear and continued with four, maintaining a remarkable advantage.

McLaren finished second, almost five minutes behind, and Gurney third. Ginther, Bonnier and de Beaufort completed the points. Clark’s first win of the season established the pace that would define his championship campaign.

After the race, Bruce McLaren headed the drivers’ standings with 10 points, followed by Jim Clark on 9. BRM led the constructors’ table on 12, with Lotus – Climax on 10.

1963 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1963 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 9 June 1963, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	32	2:27:47.6	9
2	14	Bruce McLaren	Cooper	32	+ 4:54.0	6
3	18	Dan Gurney	Brabham	31	+ 1 lap	4
4	8	Richie Ginther	BRM	31	+ 1 lap	3
5	12	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	30	+ 2 laps	2
6	29	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	30	+ 2 laps	1
7	15	Tony Maggs	Cooper	27	Accident	0
8	24	Tony Settember	Scirocco	25	Accident	0
Ret	9	John Surtees	Ferrari	19	Injection	0
Ret	7	Graham Hill	BRM	17	Gearbox	0
Ret	22	Lucien Bianchi	Lola	17	Accident	0
Ret	5	Jim Hall	Lotus	16	Accident	0
Ret	28	Jo Siffert	Lotus	16	Accident	0
Ret	26	Phil Hill	ATS	13	Gearbox	0
Ret	17	Jack Brabham	Brabham	12	Injection	0
Ret	21	Chris Amon	Lola	10	Oil Leak	0
Ret	4	Innes Ireland	BRP	9	Gearbox	0
Ret	10	Willy Mairesse	Ferrari	7	Injection	0
Ret	27	Giancarlo Baghetti	ATS	7	Gearbox	0
Ret	2	Trevor Taylor	Lotus	5	Physical	0
WD	3	Peter Arundell	Lotus		No car	0
WD	11	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Ferrari		No car	0
WD	19	Lorenzo Bandini	BRM		Car retained by BRM	0
WD	25	Ian Burgess	Scirocco		Car not ready	0

1963 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Jim Clark	Lotus	16	3:58.100

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1963 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1963 Belgian Grand Prix.

1963 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	Cooper	10
2	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
3	Graham Hill	British	BRM	9
4	Richie Ginther	American	BRM	9
5	Dan Gurney	American	Brabham	4
6	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	3
7	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper	2
8	Tony Maggs	South African	Cooper	2
9	Trevor Taylor	British	Lotus	1
10	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Dutch	Porsche	1
–	Tony Settember	American	Scirocco	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Lotus / Brabham	0
–	Innes Ireland	British	Lotus / BRP	0
–	Willy Mairesse	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Lola	0
–	Jim Hall	American	Lotus	0
–	Maurice Trintignant	French	Lola	0
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Lotus	0
–	Phil Hill	American	ATS	0
–	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Lola	0
–	Giancarlo Baghetti	Italian	ATS	0
–	John Campbell-Jones	British	Lotus	0
–	Ian Burgess	British	Scirocco	0
–	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	0
–	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	BRM	0
–	Nasif Estéfano	Argentine	De Tomaso	0

1963 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	BRM	12
2	Lotus – Climax	10
3	Cooper – Climax	10
4	Brabham – Climax	4
5	Ferrari	3
6	Porsche	1
—	Scirocco – BRM	0
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	Lola – Climax	0
—	ATS	0
—	BRP – BRM	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 6 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1963 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1963 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
2	1963 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	9 June
3	1963 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	23 June
4	1963 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	30 June
5	1963 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	20 July
6	1963 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	4 August
7	1963 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
8	1963 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	6 October
9	1963 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	27 October
10	1963 South African Grand Prix	Prince George Circuit, East London	28 December