| 1968 Belgian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | 9 June 1968 | ||
| Official name | XXVIIIGrand Prix de Belgique | ||
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps,Spa,Belgium | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 14.100 km (8.761 miles) | ||
| Distance | 28 laps, 394.800 km (245.317 miles) | ||
| Weather | Overcast, Dry | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 3:28.6 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  John Surtees | Honda | |
| Time | 3:30.5 on lap 5 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Ford | ||
| Second | BRM | ||
| Third | Ferrari | ||
Lap leaders | |||
The1968 Belgian Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held at theSpa-Francorchamps Circuit on 9 June 1968. It was race 4 of 12 in both the1968 World Championship of Drivers and the1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 28-lap race was won byMcLaren driverBruce McLaren after he started from sixth position.Pedro Rodríguez finished second for theBRM team andFerrari driverJacky Ickx came in third.
On the seventh lapBrian Redman went off the circuit when his suspension failed and he crashed into and over a concrete barrier and into a parked car. HisCooper caught fire but Redman escaped with a severely broken right arm and a few minor burns.
After the introduction of 'dive plane' wings on the nosecone on aFormula One car byLotus at the previous race, the1968 Monaco Grand Prix,Ferrari added a strut mounted negative incidence wing - to their lead driverChris Amon's car[1] and he nabbed pole position, and was 4 seconds faster in qualifying than the next fastest car ofJackie Stewart, though Amon claimed to have performed similar lap times without the wings.[2] Amon's teammateJacky Ickx did not have wings on his car.[3] TheBrabham team also fitted a rear wing toJack Brabham's car, paired with dive planes on the nose to counteract lift. Wings were added to Ickx's car (and many other teams copied the idea for their cars) for the next race, the1968 Dutch Grand Prix atZandvoort. As 1968 season progressed many F1 teams utilized strut mounted wings attached directly to suspension elements - copying Chaparral sports car practice - to increase cornering speeds, reducing lap times. Ferrari never utilized strut mounted wings attached to suspension, asEnzo Ferrari considered it far too dangerous,[4] continuing with strut mounted wings mounted directly to the chassis.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 |  Chris Amon | Ferrari | 3:28.6 | — |
| 2 | 7 | Jackie Stewart | Matra-Ford | 3:32.3 | +3.7 |
| 3 | 23 |  Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 3:34.3 | +5.7 |
| 4 | 20 | John Surtees | Honda | 3:35.0 | +6.4 |
| 5 | 6 | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford | 3:35.4 | +6.8 |
| 6 | 5 | Bruce McLaren | McLaren-Ford | 3:37.1 | +8.5 |
| 7 | 14 | Piers Courage | BRM | 3:37.2 | +8.6 |
| 8 | 11 |  Pedro Rodríguez | BRM | 3:37.8 | +9.2 |
| 9 | 3 |  Jo Siffert | Lotus-Ford | 3:39.0 | +10.4 |
| 10 | 16 | Brian Redman | Cooper-BRM | 3:41.4 | +12.8 |
| 11 | 12 | Richard Attwood | BRM | 3:45.2 | +16.6 |
| 12 | 15 | Lucien Bianchi | Cooper-BRM | 3:45.9 | +17.3 |
| 13 | 10 |  Jean-Pierre Beltoise | Matra | 3:52.9 | +24.3 |
| 14 | 1 | Graham Hill | Lotus-Ford | 4:06.1 | +37.5 |
| 15 | 2 | Jackie Oliver | Lotus-Ford | 4:30.8 | +1:02.2 |
| 16 | 17 |  Jo Bonnier | McLaren-BRM | 4:34.3 | +1:05.7 |
| 17 | 19 |  Jochen Rindt | Brabham-Repco | 4:46.7 | +1:18.1 |
| 18 | 18 |  Jack Brabham | Brabham-Repco | ||
| Source:[5][6] | |||||
| 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 | 10 | |
| Ret | 12 | Richard Attwood | BRM | 6 | Oil Pipe | 11 | |
| Ret | 18 | Jack Brabham | Brabham-Repco | 6 | Throttle | 18 | |
| 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:[7] | |||||||
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| Previous race: 1968 Monaco Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1968 season | Next race: 1968 Dutch Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1967 Belgian Grand Prix | Belgian Grand Prix | Next race: 1970 Belgian Grand Prix |
