1966 Belgian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Jackie Stewart leads the championship after Monaco, with most teams — including Brabham and Ferrari — still to score a point in the new 3-litre era.

Previous race

At Monaco, the new 90% classification rule made its mark immediately: only four cars were classified. Stewart won after Surtees, who had led, retired with a differential failure on lap 16. Bandini finished second, Graham Hill third. Three Coopers were still running at the flag but none were classified, and Surtees’ lead had lasted fourteen laps before it ended.

Entrants

Dan Gurney’s All American Racers makes its Formula One World Championship debut with the Eagle Mk1, running a Climax FPF engine while the Weslake V12 is completed. Serenissima also makes its championship debut as an engine supplier.

McLaren has withdrawn from this round. The Grand Prix film crew, shooting alongside the season, repainted Bob Bondurant’s BRM white overnight to substitute for the fictional Yamura car after McLaren’s withdrawal. Phil Hill completed one lap of the circuit with a camera mounted on his car’s nose for additional race footage.

Practice

Stewart set the early pace in practice at Spa-Francorchamps. The race distance has been shortened from 32 to 28 laps compared to the previous year.