The first attempt to get the race underway was waved off. The entire field drove around the circuit and lined up again before a second, successful start was made.
Andrea de Cesaris jumped from third to first at the start, overtaking both Prost and Tambay to build a lead. Behind him, Prost faced pressure from the Ferraris, while René Arnoux initially challenged Tambay for the final podium place before beginning to fall back. Nelson Piquet caught Arnoux, with Keke Rosberg following in sixth. Piquet used a strong exit from La Source to overhaul Arnoux before Eau Rouge; shortly after, Arnoux's turbo failed and he retired, sparing the non-turbocharged Williams cars the difficulty of finding a way past.
De Cesaris pitted from the lead but lost more than 25 seconds at the stop, leaving Prost ahead by almost ten seconds when the second stint began. Prost's own mechanics responded with a 14.4-second stop at a time when the standing pit-stop record was approximately 13 seconds. Piquet and Tambay swapped positions during their stops, with Piquet's crew completing a 15.2-second stop including refuelling as part of an overcut strategy.
De Cesaris's slow pit stop proved a prelude to his retirement: injection problems brought his car to a halt on lap 25. Piquet inherited second place with Tambay less than three seconds behind, and Cheever, who had worked his way forward from eighth on the grid, emerged as a threat to both. The final two points positions belonged to the Williams cars, running a quiet race well separated from the rest of the field and from each other.
In the closing stages, Piquet lost fifth — his highest available — gear, forcing his Brabham dramatically slower on the straights. Tambay and Cheever quickly profited, passing the 1981 champion and dropping him to fourth. The top six positions remained unchanged from that point to the flag. Prost won and extended his championship lead over Piquet to four points.
The return of Formula One to Spa after thirteen years was itself a landmark, reestablishing what would become one of the most enduring venues on the calendar. Prost's victory from pole continued his strong 1983 title challenge. De Cesaris's race — leading convincingly before being undone by a slow pit stop and mechanical failure — illustrated the precarious balance between performance and reliability in the turbo era. Boutsen's debut on home ground added local interest, foreshadowing victories he would go on to achieve at the circuit.