1968 Belgian Grand Prix

  1968 Belgian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 4 of 12 in the 1968 Formula One season
Date	9 June 1968
Official name	XXVIII Grand Prix de Belgique
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	14.100 km (8.761 mi)
Distance	28 laps, 394.800 km (245.317 mi)
Weather	Overcast, Dry
Pole position
Driver	Chris Amon	Ferrari
Time	3:28.6
Fastest lap
Driver	John Surtees	Honda
Time	3:30.5 on lap 5
Podium
First	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford
Second	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM
Third	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari

The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on 9 June 1968. It was the fourth round of the 1968 Formula One season. The 28-lap race was won by McLaren driver Bruce McLaren after he started from sixth position. Pedro Rodríguez finished second for the BRM team and Ferrari driver Jacky Ickx came in third.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	5	Bruce McLaren	McLaren-Ford	28	1:40:02.1	6	9
2	11	Pedro Rodríguez	BRM	28	+ 12.1	8	6
3	23	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	28	+ 39.6	3	4
4	7	Jackie Stewart	Matra-Ford	27	Out of fuel	2	3
5	2	Jackie Oliver	Lotus-Ford	26	Transmission	15	2
6	15	Lucien Bianchi	Cooper-BRM	26	+ 2 Laps	12	1
7	3	Jo Siffert	Lotus-Ford	25	Oil Pressure	9
8	10	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	Matra	25	+ 3 Laps	13
Ret	14	Piers Courage	BRM	22	Engine	7
Ret	6	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	18	Halfshaft	5
Ret	20	John Surtees	Honda	11	Suspension	4
Ret	22	Chris Amon	Ferrari	8	Radiator	1
Ret	16	Brian Redman	Cooper-BRM	6	Spun Off	11
Ret	12	Richard Attwood	BRM	6	Oil Pipe	18
Ret	18	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	6	Throttle	10
Ret	1	Graham Hill	Lotus-Ford	5	Halfshaft	14
Ret	19	Jochen Rindt	Brabham-Repco	5	Engine	17
Ret	17	Jo Bonnier	McLaren-BRM	1	Wheel	16
Source:[1]

Notes

• This was the first race where wings were used on an F1 car. Ferrari added wings to their lead driver Chris Amon's car and he nabbed pole position, and was 4 seconds faster in qualifying than the next fastest car of Jackie Stewart. Amon's teammate Jacky Ickx did not have wings on his car.^[2] The Brabham team also fitted a rear wing to Jack Brabham's car, paired with dive planes on the nose to counteract lift; he qualified 10th.^[3] Wings were added to Ickx's car (and many other teams copied the idea for their cars) for the next race at Zandvoort.
• On the seventh lap Brian Redman went off the circuit when his suspension failed and he crashed into and over a concrete barrier and into a parked car. His Cooper caught fire but Redman escaped with a broken right arm and a few minor burns.
• Records:
  • Fastest Fastest Lap Speed - John Surtees (241.140 km/h)
  • Most Races Contested - Jack Brabham (100)
  • Fastest Average Race Speed - Bruce McLaren (236.797 km/h)
• Milestones:
  • 100th Race Entry Jack Brabham (Driver)
  • 10th Fastest Lap John Surtees (Driver)
  • 1st Win - McLaren (Car Manufacturer)
• Last win: Bruce McLaren

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Graham Hill 24 2 Denny Hulme 10 14 3 Bruce McLaren 9 1 4 Jim Clark 9 10 5 Pedro Rodríguez 6

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 29 2 McLaren-Ford 17 1 3 BRM 12 1 4 Cooper-BRM 9 1 5 Ferrari 7

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. "1968 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
2. Lawrence (1999) p.100
3. Nye (1986) p.72

Further reading

• Lang, Mike (1982). Grand Prix! Vol 2. Haynes Publishing Group. pp. 66–67. ISBN 0-85429-321-3.
• Lawrence, Mike (1999). Brabham+Ralt+Honda: The Ron Tauranac story. Motor Racing Publications. ISBN 1-899870-35-0.
• Nye, Doug (1986). Autocourse history of the Grand Prix car 1966–85. Hazleton publishing. ISBN 0-905138-37-6.