The 1968 Belgian Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race held at the Spa-Francorchamps Circuit on 9 June 1968. It was race 4 of 12 in both the

1968 World Championship of Drivers The 1968 Formula One season was the 22nd season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 19th World Championship of Drivers, the 11th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and three non-championship races open to Formula O ...

and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 28-lap race was won by

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

driver

Bruce McLaren Bruce Leslie McLaren (30 August 1937 – 2 June 1970) was a New Zealand racing driver, automotive designer, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . McLaren was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Champ ...

after he started from sixth position. Pedro Rodríguez finished second for the BRM team and

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

driver

Jacky Ickx Jacques Bernard Edmon Martin Henri "Jacky" Ickx (; born 1 January 1945) is a Belgian former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ickx twice finished runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in and , and won eig ...

came in third. On the seventh lap

Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937) is a British retired racing driver. Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '75 and '76 SCCA Formula 5000 series and has raced in nearly every category of ...

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 severely broken right arm and a few minor burns.

Background

After the introduction of 'dive plane' wings on the nosecone on a

Formula One car A Formula One car or F1 car is a single-seat, open-cockpit, open-wheel racing car, open-wheel formula racing car used to compete in Formula One racing events. It has substantial front and rear wings, large wheels, and a turbocharged engine mid ...

by Lotus at the previous race, the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix,

added a strut mounted negative incidence wing - to their lead driver

Chris Amon Christopher Arthur Amon (; 20 July 1943 – 3 August 2016) was a New Zealand racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win a Formula One Grands Prix, ...

's car and he nabbed pole position, and was 4 seconds faster in qualifying than the next fastest car of

Jackie Stewart Sir John Young "Jackie" Stewart (born 11 June 1939) is a British former racing driver, sports broadcasting, broadcaster and motorsport executive from Scotland, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Scottish people, Scot" ...

, though Amon claimed to have performed similar lap times without the wings. Amon's teammate

did not have wings on his car. The

Brabham Motor Racing Developments Ltd., commonly known as Brabham ( ), was a British race car, racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. It was founded in 1960 by the Australian driver Jack Brabham and the British-Australian designer Ron Ta ...

team also fitted a rear wing to

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Brabham won three Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in , and , ...

'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, the

1968 Dutch Grand Prix The 1968 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort Circuit on 23 June 1968. It was race 5 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufactur ...

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

. 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, as

Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; ; 18 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of Scuderia Ferrari in Grand Prix motor racing, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobile marque. Under h ...

considered it far too dangerous, continuing with strut mounted wings mounted directly to the chassis.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Notes

* This was the first of many Grand Prix wins for

. Also,

was the third driver to win in a car of his own making, after

and

Dan Gurney Daniel Sexton Gurney (April 13, 1931 – January 14, 2018) was an American racing driver, engineer and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of motorspo ...

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.