1972 Belgian Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Belgium
Grand Prix:Belgian
Date:June 4
Year:1972
Location:Nivelles-Baulers, Nivelles, Belgium
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:2.314
Course Km:3.72
Distance Laps:85
Distance Mi:196.69
Distance Km:316.2
Pole Driver:Emerson Fittipaldi
Pole Team:Lotus-Ford
Pole Country:Brazil
Pole Time:1:11.43
Fast Driver:Chris Amon
Fast Team:Matra
Fast Country:New Zealand
Fast Time:1:12.12
Fast Lap:66
First Driver:Emerson Fittipaldi
First Team:Lotus-Ford
First Country:Brazil
Second Driver:François Cevert
Second Team:Tyrrell-Ford
Second Country:France
Third Driver:Denny Hulme
Third Team:McLaren-Ford
Third Country:New Zealand

The 1972 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on 4 June 1972. It was race 5 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 85-lap race was won by Lotus driver Emerson Fittipaldi after he started from pole position. François Cevert finished second for the Tyrrell team and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.

Reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart was a notable absence – his gruelling schedule of racing in Formula 1, Can-Am and European touring cars, plus promotional events for Tyrrell sponsors Elf and Ford, as well as a sideline of sports commentating on television in the US led to what was originally diagnosed as an ulcer, but was later confirmed as gastritis. Under doctor's orders, he took about three weeks off from everything, canceled his involvement with the Can-Am series and US TV for the remainder of 1972, and was restricting his schedule of everything else.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos.DriverConstructorTimeNo
1Emerson FittipaldiLotus-Ford1:11.431
2Clay RegazzoniFerrari1:11.582
3Denis HulmeMcLaren-Ford1:11.803
4Jacky IckxFerrari1:11.844
5François CevertTyrrell-Ford1:11.935
6Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM1:12.126
7Peter RevsonMcLaren-Ford1:12.197
8Mike HailwoodSurtees-Ford1:12.358
9Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford1:12.509
10Andrea de AdamichSurtees-Ford1:12.5410
11Carlos PaceMarch-Ford1:12.6411
12Dave WalkerLotus-Ford1:12.7612
13Chris AmonMatra1:12.8013
14Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford1:13.0014
15Howden GanleyBRM1:13.0115
16Graham HillBrabham-Ford1:13.1016
17Peter GethinBRM1:13.1517
18Wilson FittipaldiBrabham-Ford1:13.2018
19Henri PescaroloMarch-Ford1:13.4019
20Rolf StommelenEifelland-Ford1:13.4320
21Tim SchenkenSurtees-Ford1:13.6021
22Mike BeuttlerMarch-Ford1:13.7022
23Helmut MarkoBRM1:14.1023
24Nanni GalliTecno1:14.6024
25Niki LaudaMarch-Ford1:16.5025
26Vern SchuppanBRM1:16.90DNS

Race

Classification

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
132 Emerson FittipaldiLotus-Ford851:44:07.319
28 François CevertTyrrell-Ford85+ 26.656
39 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford85+ 58.134
434 Mike HailwoodSurtees-Ford85+ 1:12.083
516 Carlos PaceMarch-Ford84+ 1 Lap112
65 Chris AmonMatra84+ 1 Lap131
710 Peter RevsonMcLaren-Ford83+ 2 Laps7 
825 Howden GanleyBRM83+ 2 Laps15 
911 Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford83+ 2 Laps14 
1027 Helmut MarkoBRM83+ 2 Laps23 
116 Rolf StommelenEifelland-Ford83+ 2 Laps20 
1212 Niki LaudaMarch-Ford82+ 3 Laps25 
1319 Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford81+ 4 Laps9 
1433 Dave WalkerLotus-Ford79+ 6 Laps12 
Ret17 Graham HillBrabham-Ford73Suspension16 
NC15 Henri PescaroloMarch-Ford59+ 26 Laps19 
Ret30 Clay RegazzoniFerrari57Accident2 
Ret36 Andrea de AdamichSurtees-Ford55Engine10 
Ret22 Nanni GalliTecno54Accident24 
Ret29 Jacky IckxFerrari47Injection4 
Ret14 Mike BeuttlerMarch-Ford31Halfshaft22 
Ret18 Wilson FittipaldiBrabham-Ford28Gearbox18 
Ret24 Peter GethinBRM27Fuel Pump17 
Ret23 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM15Overheating6 
Ret35 Tim SchenkenSurtees-Ford11Overheating21 
DNS26 Vern SchuppanBRM Driven by Marko  

Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Emerson Fittipaldi28
12 Denny Hulme19
13 Jacky Ickx16
4 Jackie Stewart12
5 Jean-Pierre Beltoise9
Source: [1]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1 Lotus-Ford28
2 McLaren-Ford23
3 Ferrari19
4 Tyrrell-Ford18
5 BRM9
Source:

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Belgium 1972 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 12 March 2019.