The XXI Grand Prix de Belgique was run over 30 laps of the 14.1-kilometre Spa-Francorchamps circuit, covering 423 kilometres. The 1961 season had introduced new 1.5-litre Formula One regulations, and Ferrari's 156 model — known informally as the "sharknose" — comprehensively outclassed the opposition in the early races. Of the four Ferrari entries, three were works cars in traditional rosso corsa red. Olivier Gendebien's fourth Ferrari was privately entered and carried Belgian racing yellow — the last time a Ferrari would race in non-red colours in Formula One until two NART entries in 1964.
Entry complications marked the build-up. UDT Laystall had a single car for both Cliff Allison and Henry Taylor, with the faster qualifier to race; Allison crashed the car on his very first practice lap. The Emeryson team abandoned their cars after discovering terminal chassis damage on one entry, though Willy Mairesse and Lucien Bianchi were eventually accommodated in older Lotus 18s from non-starters Marsh and Seidel. Three further entries without guaranteed starting money chose not to race after practice. Tony Marsh, Wolfgang Seidel and Ian Burgess all withdrew over the starting money dispute.
Phil Hill put his Ferrari on pole with a time of 3:59.3, with teammate Wolfgang von Trips alongside at 4:00.1. Gendebien's private Ferrari was third, John Surtees's Cooper-Climax fourth, and Richie Ginther's works Ferrari fifth. Graham Hill's BRM started sixth.
Graham Hill led at the start from sixth on the grid but could not sustain the pace against the Italian cars. By the end of the first lap all four Ferraris had passed him. Hill fought Surtees for fifth before retiring with ignition failure on lap 24.
Phil Hill won from pole in 2 hours 3 minutes 3.8 seconds. Von Trips finished 0.7 seconds behind in second — the narrow margin reflecting the pace that neither car needed to be pressed hard. Ginther was third at 19.5 seconds, Gendebien fourth at 45.6 seconds. John Surtees finished fifth for Cooper-Climax, a lap and a half back. Dan Gurney was sixth in a Porsche, completing the points. Stirling Moss finished eighth in his Lotus-Climax, four laps down, having managed the gap to the Ferraris throughout.
Fastest lap was set by Ginther in 3:59.8 on lap 20. Jim Clark, making only his second Formula One appearance, was classified twelfth after completing 24 laps.
After three rounds, Phil Hill led the Drivers' Championship with 19 points and Von Trips held 18. Ferrari led the Constructors' Championship with 22 points, well clear of Lotus-Climax on 12. The result set the stage for the season-long title duel between Hill and Von Trips that would conclude tragically at Monza in September.