A fortnight after the Dutch GP the Formula 1 teams were back in action again at Spa-Francorchamps. Johnny Claes was signed up to drive for the Maserati factory alongside Froilan Gonzalez, Juan-Manuel Fangio and Onofre Marimon. Ferrari ran its usual four drivers with Alberto Ascari teamed with Mike Hawthorn, Giuseppe Farina and Gigi Villoresi. Gordini had three factory cars for Jean Behra, Maurice Trintignant and Harry Schell while HWM ran Paul Frere alongside Peter Collins and Lance Macklin. The field was completed by a few privateers, notably Baron Emanuel de Graffenried in a Maserati.

Fangio and Gonzalez made a Maserati sandwich for Ferrari's Ascari on the front row with Farina and Villoresi on the second.

At the start the two Maseratis took off into the lead with Gonzalez ahead of Fangio. But then things started to go wrong. Gonzalez broke his throttle pedal and stopped at Stavelot and then Fangio suffered an engine failure and so Ascari found himself in the lead with Hawthorn second and Marimon third although he soon dropped behind Villoresi with engine problems. Hawthorn dropped back with a fuel leak in the closing stages. Fangio, who had taken over Claes's car and charged hard, crashed heavily when his steering failed on the final lap and so Marimon was classified third.