Race
The win, Senna's seventh of the season and fourth in succession, gave him a three-point lead over Prost in the Drivers' Championship. Riccardo Patrese did a fine job to be 5th on the grid in his naturally aspirated Williams - Judd , but his time of 1:57.138 was still 3.420 seconds slower than pole man Senna. Local driver Thierry Boutsen gave the Belgian crowd something to cheer when he put his Benetton - Ford in 6th place on the grid.
Qualifying
The Minardis of Luis Pérez-Sala and Pierluigi Martini , Stefano Modena in the EuroBrun and Julian Bailey in the Tyrrell all failed to qualify while Modena's teammate Oscar Larrauri failed to pre-qualify.
Race summary
Throughout 1988, Senna had copied Prost's car settings feeling that the Frenchman had a better handle on setting up the McLaren (after driving Prost's spare car in Brazil he found that his teammates settings actually suited his own driving style, plus they were easier on the car). At Spa Prost decided at the last minute to alter the settings on his car by taking off some wing for more straight line speed in a bid to gain an advantage. Unfortunately for the Frenchman this had a detrimental result... Gerhard Berger managed to get his Ferrari up to 3rd, challenging Prost briefly before pitting on lap 3 with electrical problems. He managed to rejoin and set the fastest lap before retiring on lap 12. Due to Berger's retirement, Boutsen climbed to 4th behind Alboreto and ahead of a thrilling battle between Alessandro Nannini (Benetton), Nakajima, Nelson Piquet (Lotus), and the two Arrows - Megatrons of Derek Warwick and Eddie Cheever . Piquet passed teammate Nakajima on lap 17, before the Japane...
Post-race
Both Benettons were later disqualified for using irregular fuel, so the third podium spot went to Ivan Capelli. It was his first podium finish in Formula One and March 's first podium finish since Ronnie Peterson had won the 1976 Italian Grand Prix . The post race disqualification of the Benettons also meant that the two Arrows of Warwick and Cheever went into the points. The disqualification of the Benettons was not made official until long after the season had finished, so many published records list them as having finished third and fourth. The three points Arrows gained from the disqualification brought the team to fifth in the Constructors' Championship.
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36 | Alex Caffi | Dallara-Ford | 2:01.068 | — |
| 2 | 31 | Gabriele Tarquini | Coloni-Ford | 2:02.101 | +1.033 |
| 3 | 21 | Nicola Larini | Osella | 2:02.347 | +1.279 |
| 4 | 33 | Stefano Modena | EuroBrun-Ford | 2:02.933 | +1.865 |
| DNPQ | 32 | Oscar Larrauri | EuroBrun-Ford | 2:04.208 | +3.140 |
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 | Q2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Ayrton Senna | McLaren-Honda | 1:53.718 | 2:15.196 |
| 2 | 11 | Alain Prost | McLaren-Honda | 1:54.128 | no time |
| 3 | 28 | Gerhard Berger | Ferrari | 1:54.581 | 2:17.115 |
| 4 | 27 | Michele Alboreto | Ferrari | 1:55.665 | 2:15.667 |
| 5 | 6 | Riccardo Patrese | Williams-Judd | 1:57.138 | 2:15.358 |
| 6 | 20 | Thierry Boutsen | Benetton-Ford | 1:57.455 | 2:15.236 |
| 7 | 19 | Alessandro Nannini | Benetton-Ford | 1:57.535 | 2:17.077 |
| 8 | 2 | Satoru Nakajima | Lotus-Honda | 1:57.616 | 2:14.739 |
| 9 | 1 | Nelson Piquet | Lotus-Honda | 1:57.821 | 2:15.027 |
| 10 | 17 | Derek Warwick | Arrows-Megatron | 1:57.925 | 2:16.770 |
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
The air at Spa hangs heavy, doesn't it? A palpable grief clings to the paddock – a silence born of Enzo's absence. But Senna, predictably, doesn't dwell. The McLaren-Honda's 1. 5-liter V6, churning out 660 horsepower, felt utterly ruthless on that track, a machine built to conquer, not mourn. Prost, predictably, shadowed him, a tactical master studying the Brazilian's every move, while Capelli's March – Judd – was a frantic, desperate gamble.
The rain, a persistent, sullen guest, mirrored the mood around the paddock. Senna's victory, predictably, solidified his stranglehold – seven wins now, a dizzying three points advantage over Prost. But look closer. Seven wins in eleven races? That's a 63. 6% win rate, a figure that, frankly, borders on obsessive for McLaren-Honda. It's a statistical anomaly, isn't it? A cold, hard number reflecting the dominance, but also hinting at a potential vulnerability if the car falters, or worse, if the Frenchman can find a sliver of redemption.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
The rain hadn't stopped, of course. A miserable curtain call for Enzo. Mansell, spitting gravel and frustration, nearly took out Boutsen in Sector One – a primal scream of a moment, mirroring the unspoken grief hanging over the track. Fuel irregularities, predictably, were the final insult. Capelli, a man perpetually on the precipice, held onto third, but the whispers are that March's engine woes were far more profound than anyone is letting on. Prost, ever the strategist, was already calculating the damage, the championship lead now a precarious thing, bought with a dose of chaos and a blatant disregard for the rules. Don't be surprised if this becomes a recurring theme.
The rain, a sullen grey smear across the Ardennes, mirrored the mood in the McLaren garage. Senna, meticulously adjusting his helmet visor, didn't glance at Prost, who was nursing a cup of something dark and bitter. A palpable tension hung in the air, thicker than the damp asphalt. You could practically taste the unspoken calculations – a championship fight distilled into a single, brutal weekend. Mansell, predictably, was a whirlwind of frustrated energy, muttering about "that bloody gearbox" and the ghosts of Maranello. It's a curious thing, isn't it, watching a driver meticulously prepare for a triumph while simultaneously bracing for the storm that follows.