1968 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Bruce McLaren delivered his team’s first World Championship victory at Spa after Jackie Stewart lost the lead with a late fuel stop. Pedro Rodriguez finished second and Jacky Ickx third in a race shaped by mechanical trouble.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Chris Amon	Ferrari
Pole time	3:28.6
Fastest lap	John Surtees	Honda
Fastest-lap time	3:30.500 on lap 5
First	Bruce McLaren	McLaren
Second	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM
Third	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
7 June 1968	Friday timed practice	17:00–19:00
8 June 1968	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
9 June 1968	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 4 leading the 1968 F1 World Championship on 24 points, with Denny Hulme on 10. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 27 points.

Race entries

Stewart returned with his injured wrist supported, while Bianchi remained alongside Redman at Cooper. Lotus hurried a new car to Belgium for Oliver, and Rindt received Brabham’s latest chassis and four-cam Repco engine. Gurney’s Eagle team was absent without a race-ready engine. Ferrari and Brabham brought conspicuous rear wings as aerodynamic experimentation accelerated.

Friday timed practice

Amon set a commanding pace in the wing-equipped Ferrari, while Stewart impressed on his return. Hill lost much of the session to a gearbox bearing failure, and Brabham suffered another destructive engine problem. Oliver’s car arrived only as practice ended. With a flying lap requiring a lengthy run around Spa, those interruptions left little opportunity to recover lost preparation.

Saturday final qualifying

Rain prevented improvements and effectively fixed the grid from Friday’s times. Oliver began learning both a new car and the circuit in difficult conditions, while Surtees and Rodriguez gained useful wet-weather experience. Brabham was away securing a replacement engine. Organisers and teams agreed a contingency for a delayed, interval-start race if Sunday remained wet, but it was not needed.

Qualifying Classification

Amon’s dry Friday lap secured pole ahead of Stewart and Ickx. Saturday’s rain prevented a representative final challenge.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	22	Chris Amon	Ferrari	3:28.6
2	7	Jackie Stewart	Matra	3:32.3
3	23	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	3:34.3
4	20	John Surtees	Honda	3:35.0
5	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren	3:35.4
6	5	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	3:37.1
7	14	Piers Courage	BRM	3:37.2
8	11	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	3:37.8
9	3	Jo Siffert	Lotus	3:39.0
10	16	Brian Redman	Cooper	3:41.4
11	12	Richard Attwood	BRM	3:45.2
12	15	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	3:45.9
13	10	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	3:52.9
14	1	Graham Hill	Lotus	4:06.1
15	2	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	4:30.8
16	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	4:34.3
17	19	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	4:46.7
18	18	Jack Brabham	Brabham	No time

What happened in the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix?

Surtees emerged in front on the opening lap, but Amon retired after a stone damaged his oil cooler and the Honda later suffered a rear-suspension failure. Stewart and Hulme then disputed the lead until the McLaren’s driveshaft failed. Redman crashed after a suspension failure and sustained a badly broken arm.

Stewart appeared set to win before running short of fuel near the finish. His pit stop handed the lead to McLaren, who had spent much of the race battling Rodriguez. McLaren took the flag without initially realising that he had won.

Rodriguez finished second and Ickx salvaged third despite engine trouble. Stewart was fourth, followed by Oliver and Bianchi. Stewart’s slow final circuit, including his fuel stop, exceeded the permitted time and was not counted, leaving him officially credited with 27 laps.

After the race, Graham Hill headed the drivers’ standings with 24 points, followed by Denny Hulme on 10. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 29, with McLaren – Ford on 17.

1968 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 9 June 1968, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Bruce McLaren	McLaren	28	1:40:02.1	9
2	11	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	28	+ 12.1	6
3	23	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	28	+ 39.6	4
4	7	Jackie Stewart	Matra	27	Out of fuel	3
5	2	Jackie Oliver	Lotus	26	Transmission	2
6	15	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper	26	+ 2 Laps	1
7	3	Jo Siffert	Lotus	25	Oil pressure	0
8	10	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	25	+ 3 Laps	0
Ret	14	Piers Courage	BRM	22	Engine	0
Ret	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren	18	Halfshaft	0
Ret	20	John Surtees	Honda	11	Suspension	0
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Ferrari	8	Radiator	0
Ret	16	Brian Redman	Cooper	6	Spun Off	0
Ret	12	Richard Attwood	BRM	6	Oil Pipe	0
Ret	18	Jack Brabham	Brabham	6	Throttle	0
Ret	1	Graham Hill	Lotus	5	Halfshaft	0
Ret	19	Jochen Rindt	Brabham	5	Engine	0
Ret	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren	1	Wheel	0

1968 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	20	John Surtees	Honda	5	3:30.500

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

1968 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1968 Belgian Grand Prix.

1968 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	24
2	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren / McLaren	10
3	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	9
4	Jim Clark	British	Lotus	9
5	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	6
6	Richard Attwood	British	BRM	6
7	Ludovico Scarfiotti	Italian	Cooper	6
8	Lucien Bianchi	Belgian	Cooper	5
9	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	4
10	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Brabham	4
11	Brian Redman	British	Cooper / Cooper	4
12	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Ferrari	3
13	Jackie Stewart	British	Matra	3
14	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra / Matra	3
15	Jackie Oliver	British	Lotus	2
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	Cooper / Lotus	0
–	John Surtees	British	Honda	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Brabham	0
–	Piers Courage	British	BRM	0
–	Jackie Pretorius	South African	Brabham	0
–	Dan Gurney	American	Eagle	0
–	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	0
–	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Cooper / McLaren	0
–	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	Matra	0
–	Sam Tingle	Rhodesian	LDS	0
–	Basil van Rooyen	South African	Cooper	0
–	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Ferrari	0
–	Mike Spence	British	BRM	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Brabham	0

1968 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	29
2	McLaren – Ford	17
3	BRM	12
4	Cooper – BRM	9
5	Ferrari	7
6	Matra – Ford	6
7	Brabham – Repco	4
8	McLaren – BRM	2
—	Cooper – Maserati	0
—	Honda	0
—	Matra	0
—	Brabham – Climax	0
—	Eagle – Weslake	0
—	LDS – Repco	0
—	Cooper – Climax	0

Drivers and constructors counted their best 5 results from rounds 1–6 and their best 5 from rounds 7–12. Only the highest-placed eligible car for each constructor could score constructor points.

1968 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1968 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	1 January
2	1968 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	12 May
3	1968 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	26 May
4	1968 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	9 June
5	1968 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	23 June
6	1968 French Grand Prix	Rouen-les-Essarts, Rouen	7 July
7	1968 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	20 July
8	1968 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	4 August
9	1968 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	8 September
10	1968 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite	22 September
11	1968 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	6 October
12	1968 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	3 November