| 1956 Belgian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 Spa-Francorchamps layout | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | June 3, 1956 | ||||
| Official name | XVIII Grote Prijs Van Belgie | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 14.120 km (8.774 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 36 laps, 508.320 km (315.855 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Wet and overcast, later drying | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 4:09.8 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Stirling Moss | Maserati | |||
| Time | 4:14.7 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Maserati | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 June 1956 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 4 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers.
After the first day of practice on Thursday, Fangio was on pole with a time almost 5 sec faster than second place Moss. These times would not be touched with wet conditions on Friday and windy conditions on Saturday.
It was raining when the race began and Fangio made a poor start and settled in fifth with Moss well in the lead. But by lap 3 Fangio would be in second having passed Behra, Collins, and then Castellotti. By the fifth lap he was in the lead and had opened up an 8-second lead on Moss by lap 10 with Collins third on a drying track. Collins took second when Moss lost a back wheel on the climb after the Eau Rouge bridge. He was able to safely stop and sprint back to the pits and take over Perdisa's car. He resumed in sixth but a lap down to the leaders. Collins took the lead for good when Fangio lost his transmission on lap 24. A tight battle for second between Behra and Frere ended when Behra's engine began to misfire. This allowed Moss to move to third as he had passed Schell earlier. Moss ended the race on a furious pace but the two leaders were too far ahead to make up the gap.
This was the first Formula One podium for a Belgian driver.