1970 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Pedro Rodríguez ended BRM’s long wait for a championship victory with a superb drive at Spa. Chris Amon pursued him to the flag and set fastest lap, but the Mexican held firm, with Jean-Pierre Beltoise completing the podium in the final Formula One Grand Prix on the original circuit.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jackie Stewart	March
Pole time	3:28.0
Fastest lap	Chris Amon	March
Fastest-lap time	3:27.400 on lap 28
First	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM
Second	Chris Amon	March
Third	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
5 June 1970	Friday timed practice	17:00–19:00
6 June 1970	Saturday first timed practice	14:00
6 June 1970	Saturday final qualifying	18:00–19:00
7 June 1970	Race	13:00

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

Championship background

Jack Brabham arrived at round 4 leading the 1970 F1 World Championship on 15 points, with Jackie Stewart on 13. Brabham – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 15 points.

A slower route through Malmedy altered the lap, although Spa remained an exceptionally fast challenge. Teams balanced aerodynamic drag against stability and paid close attention to fuel delivery during prolonged full-throttle running.

Race entries

McLaren withdrew following Bruce McLaren’s death in testing. Servoz-Gavin had retired from racing, leaving Tyrrell with Stewart alone. Giunti made his championship debut in a second Ferrari, while Bell drove a Brabham. Soler-Roig’s limited practice in the new Lotus eventually left him unable to start.

Friday timed practice

Brabham narrowly beat Stewart at the end of the session. Teams experimented with reduced wings and fuel systems, while Rindt switched to the older Lotus after a rear hub seized on the 72. BRM struggled with gearbox selection, and Peterson learned the circuit while initially using only four gears because his March was over-geared.

Saturday first timed practice

Stewart secured the eventual pole time, more than two seconds clear of his nearest rival. Engine problems affected Rindt, Amon and Oliver, while Pescarolo stopped after losing oil pressure. The latest De Tomaso and Lotus were still being completed, limiting Courage and Soler-Roig’s opportunities.

Saturday final qualifying

Rodríguez broke an engine, adding to BRM’s overnight workload, but Oliver returned with a replacement and improved. Ickx headed the session while Stewart concentrated on checking his car. Soler-Roig completed too few qualifying laps to meet the minimum requirement and was refused a start, leaving 17 cars for Sunday.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	11	Jackie Stewart	March	3:28.0
2	20	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	3:30.1
3	10	Chris Amon	March	3:30.3
4	27	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	3:30.7
5	18	Jack Brabham	Brabham	3:31.5
6	1	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	3:31.6
7	19	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	3:32.0
8	28	Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari	3:32.4
9	14	Ronnie Peterson	March	3:32.8
10	9	Jo Siffert	March	3:32.9
11	25	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	3:32.9
12	7	Piers Courage	De Tomaso	3:33.0
13	21	John Miles	Lotus	3:33.8
14	2	Jackie Oliver	BRM	3:34.2
15	8	Derek Bell	Brabham	3:36.2
16	23	Graham Hill	Lotus	3:37.0
17	26	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	3:37.1
DNQ	22	Alex Soler-Roig	Lotus	3:52.7

What happened in the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix?

Amon and Stewart exchanged the early lead before Rodríguez worked through and took control. Amon stayed close, briefly drawing alongside after the BRM slid out of La Source, but Rodríguez regained the advantage. Stewart and Rindt both retired with engine trouble.

Brabham’s challenge ended with clutch trouble, while Ickx stopped to address a fuel leak and change his overalls. The Matras advanced, and Giunti continued steadily despite a precautionary stop after an incorrect oil-leak report. Amon kept increasing the pressure at the front.

Rodríguez won by little more than a second, with Amon setting the lap record on his final tour. Beltoise finished third, followed by Giunti and Stommelen. Pescarolo was classified sixth after electrical trouble halted him near the finish. BRM’s first championship win since 1966 also ended a long sequence of victories for Ford-powered cars.

After the race, Jack Brabham headed the drivers’ standings with 15 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 13. March – Ford led the constructors’ table on 19, with Brabham – Ford on 17.

1970 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1970 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 7 June 1970, with a scheduled start of 13:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	28	1:38:09.9	9
2	10	Chris Amon	March	28	+ 1.1	6
3	25	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	28	+ 1:43.7	4
4	28	Ignazio Giunti	Ferrari	28	+ 2:38.5	3
5	19	Rolf Stommelen	Brabham	28	+ 3:31.8	2
6	26	Henri Pescarolo	Matra	27	Electrical	1
7	9	Jo Siffert	March	26	Fuel pressure	0
8	27	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	26	+ 2 laps	0
NC	14	Ronnie Peterson	March	20	+ 8 laps	0
Ret	18	Jack Brabham	Brabham	19	Clutch	0
Ret	23	Graham Hill	Lotus	19	Engine	0
Ret	11	Jackie Stewart	March	14	Engine	0
Ret	21	John Miles	Lotus	13	Gearbox	0
Ret	20	Jochen Rindt	Lotus	10	Engine	0
Ret	2	Jackie Oliver	BRM	7	Engine	0
Ret	7	Piers Courage	De Tomaso	4	Oil pressure	0
Ret	8	Derek Bell	Brabham	1	Gearbox	0
DNS	22	Alex Soler-Roig	Lotus		Completed insufficient laps in practice	0

1970 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	10	Chris Amon	March	28	3:27.400

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

1970 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix.

1970 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Jack Brabham	Australian	Brabham	15
2	Jackie Stewart	British	March	13
3	Pedro Rodríguez	Mexican	BRM	10
4	Jochen Rindt	Austrian	Lotus	9
5	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	9
6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	Matra	7
7	Chris Amon	New Zealander	March	6
8	Bruce McLaren	New Zealander	McLaren	6
9	Graham Hill	British	Lotus	6
10	Henri Pescarolo	French	Matra	5
11	Mario Andretti	American	March	4
12	Ignazio Giunti	Italian	Ferrari	3
13	Rolf Stommelen	German	Brabham	2
14	John Miles	British	Lotus	2
15	Johnny Servoz-Gavin	French	March	2
–	Jo Siffert	Swiss	March	0
–	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	0
–	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Lotus	0
–	Peter de Klerk	South African	Brabham	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	John Surtees	British	McLaren	0
–	Piers Courage	British	De Tomaso	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	BRM	0
–	George Eaton	Canadian	BRM	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Brabham	0

1970 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	March – Ford	19
2	Brabham – Ford	17
3	McLaren – Ford	15
4	Lotus – Ford	14
5	Matra	11
6	BRM	10
7	Ferrari	3
—	De Tomaso – Ford	0
—	McLaren – Alfa Romeo	0

Drivers counted their best 6 results from rounds 1–7 and their best 5 from rounds 8–13. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1970 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1970 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	7 March
2	1970 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	19 April
3	1970 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	10 May
4	1970 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	7 June
5	1970 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	21 June
6	1970 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand	5 July
7	1970 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	18 July
8	1970 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	2 August
9	1970 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	16 August
10	1970 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	6 September
11	1970 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Mont-Tremblant, Saint-Jovite	20 September
12	1970 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	4 October
13	1970 Mexican Grand Prix	Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City	25 October