The 1984 Belgian Grand Prix was a
Formula One motor race held at
Circuit Zolder
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.
History
Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...
on 29 April 1984. It was the third race of the
1984 Formula One World Championship
The 1984 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 38th season of Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Formula One motor racing. Drivers and teams competed in sixteen Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors ...
. It was the 42nd
Belgian Grand Prix, and the tenth and last to be held at Zolder. The race was held over 70 laps of the circuit for a race distance of .
The race was won from
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
by Italian driver
Michele Alboreto, driving a
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
. It was the third Grand Prix victory for Alboreto, who also became the first Italian driver to win for Ferrari since
Ludovico Scarfiotti at the
1966 Italian Grand Prix
The 1966 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 4 September 1966. It was race 7 of 9 in both the 1966 World Championship of Drivers and the 1966 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the 36th Itali ...
. British driver
Derek Warwick finished second in a
Renault, some 42 seconds behind, with Alboreto's French teammate
René Arnoux third.
Warwick moved into second place in the Drivers' Championship, five points behind Frenchman
Alain Prost, who failed to finish in his
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
-
TAG.
Report
Qualifying
Goodyear dominated qualifying filling six of the top seven places with
Michele Alboreto securing his first career pole position.
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
Teammate
René Arnoux was second, followed by
Keke Rosberg in the
Williams FW09
The Williams FW09 was a Formula One car designed by Frank Dernie and Neil Oatley. It was the first Williams chassis to be powered by a turbocharged Honda V6 engine, for which Frank Williams negotiated a deal towards the end of 1982 and the begi ...
-
Honda.
Derek Warwick, the first
Michelin
Michelin (; ; full name: ) is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes ''région'' of France. It is the second largest tyre manufacturer in the world behind Bridgestone and la ...
runner, was fourth ahead of
Elio de Angelis in the
Lotus 95T-
Renault and the surprisingly fast
ATS D7-
BMW in Formula One
BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s (often under Formula Two regulations), before building th ...
of
Manfred Winkelhock. The
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
s were off the pace with points leader
Alain Prost in eighth and
Niki Lauda in 14th. Reigning world champion
Nelson Piquet qualified his
Brabham BT53-
BMW ninth. The best of the
Pirelli
Pirelli & C. S.p.A. is a multinational tyre manufacturer based in Milan, Italy. The company, which has been listed on the Milan Stock Exchange since 1922, is the 6th-largest tyre manufacturer and is focused on the consumer production of tyre ...
runners was
Johnny Cecotto in 16th in his
Toleman TG183B
The Toleman TG183 was a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and built and raced by Toleman Motorsport.
Design
The TG183 was distinctive in that it had twin rear wings and front wing mounted radiators. Unfortunately the front wing co ...
-
Hart. The only non-qualifier was
Philippe Alliot in his
RAM-
Hart.
Race
Alboreto led all 70 laps and was even able to retain the lead during pit stops, despite Piquet pushing through without stopping. Warwick started well to run second for much of the race with Arnoux, Winkelhock and de Angelis pursuing. Prost and
Riccardo Patrese were early retirements with
Johnny Cecotto dropping out on lap 1 with a broken clutch.
Lauda's
McLaren MP4/2 broke its water pump at half-distance, the second such failure for the
TAG-
Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
engine after Prost suffered the same fate on the warm up lap in
South Africa. Shortly afterwards Winkelhock stopped and
Andrea de Cesaris crashed his
Ligier JS23
The Ligier JS23 was a Formula One car designed by Michel Beaujon and Claude Galopin for the Ligier team for use in the 1984 Formula One season. The car was powered by a turbocharged Renault V6 engine and ran on Michelin tyres. Drivers of the car ...
-
Renault. Piquet found himself third after the stops, but faded as the race neared its conclusion. Arnoux moved into third until he was caught by Rosberg. Piquet's
BMW engine blew and with a lap to go and Rosberg ran out of fuel, allowing Arnoux to join Alboreto and Warwick on the podium. Rosberg was classified fourth, with de Angelis fifth and
Stefan Bellof completing the top six in his
Tyrrell 012-
Ford.
Aftermath
The results would change months later as the impact of
Tyrrell Racing's disqualification from the 1984 season saw
Stefan Bellof removed from sixth position, promoting
Ayrton Senna's
Toleman TG183B
The Toleman TG183 was a Formula One racing car designed by Rory Byrne and built and raced by Toleman Motorsport.
Design
The TG183 was distinctive in that it had twin rear wings and front wing mounted radiators. Unfortunately the front wing co ...
into the points.
The Belgian Grand Prix would return to traditional home at
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held ...
in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
. The shortened version of the home of Belgian motorsport had its Formula One debut the
previous year and proven instantly popular as
Gilles Villeneuve's death two years earlier at Zolder was still fresh.
Classification
Qualifying
Race
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*
References
{{F1GP 80-89
Belgian Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Belgian Grand Prix
Circuit Zolder