There was no pre-qualifying session at this race after the Brabham team did not arrive due to financial problems and the impending sale of the team. This left thirty cars, the maximum allowed in the main qualifying sessions.[5]Emanuele Naspetti made his Grand Prix debut for the March team, replacing Paul Belmondo.[5]
Qualifying
Qualifying report
Ligier driver Érik Comas was injured and briefly knocked unconscious in a heavy crash during practice on Friday and was advised by doctors not to drive again over the weekend, so he was withdrawn from qualifying. Ayrton Senna encountered Comas's car on the race track, stopped to help him, and cut off the car's engine to reduce the risk of fire. Comas later credited this with likely having saved his life.[6]Gerhard Berger had a 160mph crash down the hill in the wet during practice on the entrance to Eau Rouge with the back of the car catching fire, although he was uninjured.[5]
Aside from Comas, the other three non-qualifiers included Minardi driver Christian Fittipaldi, returning after four races missed through injury. Also failing to qualify were the two Andrea Moda cars, this being the first time both cars had been present in the main qualifying sessions. Roberto Moreno could only manage 28th fastest, over five seconds slower than Fittipaldi, with Perry McCarthy 29th after he went off the track at the 170mph Eau Rouge section. McCarthy reported to his team that the car's steering had jammed, and that he suspected the steering rack was flexing. Team boss Andrea Sassetti replied that the team already knew the rack was faulty because it had previously been fitted to Moreno's car, and he had reported the same problem. McCarthy quit the team after the Friday qualifying session. Moreno was a sole entry in a wet Saturday qualifying session.
Sassetti was subsequently arrested in the paddock on Saturday afternoon on allegations of forging documents and fraud.[5][7][8]
At the start before La Source, Gerhard Berger failed to get away from sixth position and retired after an immediate transmission problem which put him out straight away. Mansell attacked and passed Senna at the end of the second lap with Patrese following suit. Then it began to rain and almost everybody pitted for wets. In the early stages of the race, Senna showed strong pace, briefly leading from the Williams. Then, when rain fell and the other front-runners made pit stops for rain tyres, the Brazilian gambled on the rain stopping and thus stayed out. He pitted late and rejoined down in 12th as Alesi went out with a puncture after colliding with Mansell at La Source. Ivan Capelli suffered a dramatic engine failure on lap 26 as he went straight off into the gravel trap at Blanchimont whilst battling Herbert for sixth position.[12]
By the time Thierry Boutsen spun off on lap 28, the track was beginning to dry, which meant the Brazilian's gamble had failed, and the subsequent pit stop dropped him to twelfth. He then made a charge through the field, passing Mika Häkkinen's Lotus for fifth on the penultimate lap. Johnny Herbert retired once again with engine problems on lap 43, and was classified 13th. Schumacher took his first Grand Prix win for Benetton by a comfortable margin over both the Williamses of Mansell and Patrese after they both suffered engine problems in the closing laps (Mansell with a broken exhaust). The Williams duo were able to finish second and third ahead of Brundle in the other Benetton, Senna in the remaining McLaren and Häkkinen in the remaining Lotus securing the final point. Eighteen cars were classified as finishers, the highest number for the season.[12] In what was his 18th race a year after his debut in 1991, Schumacher achieved his first Grand Prix win, the first of 91 career wins, and the first of a record six-Belgian Grand Prix wins.[13][14][15]
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
^Ferrari did not participate in the 1950 French Grand Prix, and Peter Whitehead's privateer entry in this race does not count towards the team's participation tally. Ferrari celebrated its 500th entry at the 1992 Hungarian Grand Prix due to counting Alberto Ascari entry at the 1952 Indy 500. Until 1960, the Indianapolis 500 was considered a round of the World Championship, albeit for reasons more symbolic than logical.[3]
