1966 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

John Surtees won at Spa for Ferrari after a sudden downpour devastated the field on the opening lap. Jochen Rindt finished second and Lorenzo Bandini third, while Jackie Stewart’s serious accident exposed the dangers of inadequate rescue arrangements.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	John Surtees	Ferrari
Pole time	3:38.0
Fastest lap	John Surtees	Ferrari
Fastest-lap time	4:18.700 on lap 18
First	John Surtees	Ferrari
Second	Jochen Rindt	Cooper
Third	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
10 June 1966	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
11 June 1966	Saturday final qualifying	Delayed 45 minutes; finished 18:30
12 June 1966	Sunday morning testing	Morning; start unconfirmed
12 June 1966	Race	15:30

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

Championship background

Jackie Stewart arrived at round 2 leading the 1966 F1 World Championship on 9 points, with Lorenzo Bandini on 6. BRM headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 9 points.

Race entries

Gurney introduced the Eagle chassis with a temporary Climax engine, while McLaren fitted a Serenissima V8. Lotus and BRM brought H16-powered machinery, but both relied on smaller-engined cars when the new designs proved unready. Ferrari again paired Surtees’s V12 with Bandini’s V6.

Friday timed practice

Stewart set the early pace before Surtees demonstrated the Ferrari V12’s strength on Spa’s fast sections. Cooper suffered differential and engine failures, while Clark encountered gearing and engine problems. Lotus’s H16 car broke after only exploratory running. McLaren and Gurney struggled with oil leaks and other development issues in their new combinations.

Saturday final qualifying

A nearby forest fire delayed the session, but Surtees immediately set a pole-winning lap once running began. Rindt recovered to take second ahead of Stewart. Lotus missed the session while seeking parts, and McLaren’s engine failure ended his hopes of starting. BRM concentrated on its established V8 cars rather than the troublesome H16s.

Qualifying Classification

Surtees took pole ahead of Rindt and Stewart. McLaren withdrew after engine failure, while Clark’s repairs allowed him to start despite missing the final timed session.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	6	John Surtees	Ferrari	3:38.0
2	19	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	3:41.2
3	15	Jackie Stewart	BRM	3:41.5
4	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham	3:41.8
5	7	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	3:43.8
6	20	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	3:44.3
7	16	Mike Spence	Lotus	3:45.2
8	18	Richie Ginther	Cooper	3:45.4
9	14	Graham Hill	BRM	3:45.6
10	10	Jim Clark	Lotus	3:45.8
11	8	Bob Bondurant	BRM	3:50.5
12	22	Guy Ligier	Cooper	3:51.1
13	4	Denny Hulme	Brabham	3:51.4
14	21	Jo Siffert	Cooper	3:53.8
15	27	Dan Gurney	Eagle	3:57.6
16	28	Phil Hill	McLaren	4:01.7
DNS	24	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	3:57.6
DNS	8	Vic Wilson	BRM	4:26.0
DNS	11	Peter Arundell	Lotus	5:01.2

Sunday morning testing

Clark tried the repaired Lotus on Sunday morning, only for a rear-suspension component to fail. Another urgent repair followed, and the car reached the pits late before the scheduled race start. This running was a mechanical check rather than a further qualifying session.

What happened in the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix?

A heavy rainstorm caught the field on the opening lap. Several cars crashed, and Clark’s engine stopped in the water. Stewart was trapped in his damaged BRM with fuel leaking around him; Hill and Bondurant helped free him. The experience became central to Stewart’s subsequent campaign for improved safety.

Surtees and Rindt emerged as the leading contenders as the depleted race continued. The Ferrari driver eventually established a decisive advantage and won by more than forty seconds.

Rindt secured his first championship podium, with Bandini third. Brabham, Ginther and Spence completed the points. Bandini’s second consecutive podium moved him into the championship lead, but the opening-lap accidents overshadowed the sporting result.

After the race, Lorenzo Bandini headed the drivers’ standings with 10 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 9. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 15, with BRM on 9.

1966 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1966 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 12 June 1966, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	6	John Surtees	Ferrari	28	2:09:11.3	9
2	19	Jochen Rindt	Cooper	28	+ 42.1	6
3	7	Lorenzo Bandini	Ferrari	27	+ 1 lap	4
4	3	Jack Brabham	Brabham	26	+ 2 laps	3
5	18	Richie Ginther	Cooper	25	+ 3 laps	2
NC	22	Guy Ligier	Cooper	24	+ 4 laps	0
NC	27	Dan Gurney	Eagle	23	+ 5 laps	0
Ret	15	Jackie Stewart	BRM	0	Accident	0
Ret	20	Jo Bonnier	Cooper	0	Accident	0
Ret	16	Mike Spence	Lotus	0	Accident	0
Ret	14	Graham Hill	BRM	0	Accident	0
Ret	10	Jim Clark	Lotus	0	Engine	0
Ret	24	Bob Bondurant	BRM	0	Accident	0
Ret	4	Denny Hulme	Brabham	0	Accident	0
Ret	21	Jo Siffert	Cooper	0	Accident	0
Ret	28	Phil Hill	McLaren	0	Withdrawn (camera car)	0
DNS	24	Bruce McLaren	McLaren		Wheel bearing in practice	0
DNS	11	Peter Arundell	Lotus		Engine	0
DNS	8	Vic Wilson	BRM		Car raced by Bondurant	0

1966 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	6	John Surtees	Ferrari	18	4:18.700

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

1966 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix.

1966 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lorenzo Bandini	Italian	Ferrari	10
2	Jackie Stewart	British	BRM	9
3	John Surtees	British	Ferrari	9
4	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Cooper	6
5	Graham Hill	British	BRM	4
6	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	3
7	Bob Bondurant	American	BRM	3
8	Richie Ginther	American	Cooper	2
–	Guy Ligier	French	Cooper	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle	0
–	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	0
–	Mike Spence	British	Lotus	0
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Brabham / Cooper	0
–	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	Brabham	0
–	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	0
–	Bob Anderson	British	Brabham	0
–	Peter Arundell	British	Lotus	0
–	Vic Wilson	British	BRM	0

1966 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	15
2	BRM	9
3	Cooper – Maserati	6
4	Brabham – Repco	3
—	Lotus – Climax	0
—	Brabham – BRM	0
—	Lotus – BRM	0
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	McLaren – Ford	0
—	Eagle – Climax	0
—	McLaren – Serenissima	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1966 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1966 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
2	1966 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	12 June
3	1966 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	3 July
4	1966 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	16 July
5	1966 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	24 July
6	1966 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	7 August
7	1966 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	4 September
8	1966 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	2 October
9	1966 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	23 October