The 40-lap race was won from pole position by Alain Prost, driving a factory Renault.

Piquet got a good exit out of La Source, and powered down the hill to overtake Arnoux before Eau Rouge, leaving him in the attention of the non-turbo powered Williams cars who don't get a chance to pass before Arnoux's turbo failed, putting an end to his race a few laps later.

De Cesaris's sluggish pit stop would come to be the prologue for his retirement when injection problems made him pull up on the side of the road on lap 25.

The last two points places were with the underpowered Williams cars who were running a lonely and quiet race at significant distance from each other and also from the rest of the field.

In the latter stages Piquet lost 5th (highest) gear and went dramatically slower on the straights as his Brabham could not reach top speed.