Michele Alboreto won the race from pole position driving a Ferrari 126C4, leading every lap of the 70-lap contest. This victory was Alboreto's third career Grand Prix win and established him as the first Italian driver to win for Ferrari since Ludovico Scarfiotti in 1966. Derek Warwick finished in second place for Renault, while Alboreto's teammate René Arnoux completed the podium in third.
Goodyear tires dominated the qualifying sessions, securing six of the top seven grid positions. Michele Alboreto achieved his first career pole position, leading a Ferrari front-row lockout with teammate René Arnoux in second. Keke Rosberg qualified third for Williams-Honda, followed by Derek Warwick, who was the highest-placed runner using Michelin tires.
Manfred Winkelhock qualified a surprisingly fast sixth in the ATS-BMW, ahead of championship leader Alain Prost, whose McLaren-TAG was off the pace in eighth. Reigning world champion Nelson Piquet qualified ninth in his Brabham-BMW, while Niki Lauda started 14th. Johnny Cecotto was the fastest Pirelli runner in 16th, and Philippe Alliot was the sole driver who failed to qualify.
Michele Alboreto maintained the lead from the start and held the position for the duration of the 298.3-kilometre race. He successfully retained the lead even during his pit stop sequence, despite pressure from Nelson Piquet, who attempted to complete the race without stopping. Behind the leader, Derek Warwick held second place for the majority of the afternoon, pursued by Arnoux, Winkelhock, and Elio de Angelis.
The race saw several high-profile retirements. Alain Prost and Riccardo Patrese exited early, while Johnny Cecotto suffered a broken clutch on the opening lap. At the halfway point, Niki Lauda retired when his McLaren's water pump failed—the second such failure for the TAG-Porsche engine that season. Manfred Winkelhock also retired shortly after, and Andrea de Cesaris crashed his Ligier.
In the closing stages, Piquet moved into third place following the pit stops but began to lose pace as the race neared its end. His BMW engine eventually failed with one lap remaining. Keke Rosberg moved up to challenge Arnoux for third, but the Williams ran out of fuel on the final lap. This allowed Arnoux to secure the final podium spot. Rosberg was classified fourth, followed by de Angelis in fifth.
The initial race results were altered months later following the disqualification of Tyrrell Racing from the 1984 season. Stefan Bellof, who had finished sixth in his Tyrrell-Ford, was stripped of his result. This promoted Ayrton Senna, driving a Toleman-Hart, into the final points-scoring position.
The 1984 event was the final Formula One race held at Zolder. The circuit had become less popular following the death of Gilles Villeneuve there two years earlier, and the Belgian Grand Prix moved permanently to the shortened Spa-Francorchamps circuit starting in 1985. Following his second-place finish, Derek Warwick moved into second in the Drivers' Championship, trailing Alain Prost by five points.