1972 F1 World Championship Season
23rd F1 World Championship Season
Fact File
| Drivers’ Champion: |  Emerson Fittipaldi (1st title, 13th different world champion, 1st Brazilian champion) |
|---|---|
| Constructors’ Champion: |  Lotus (5th title) |
| Races: | 12 |
| Winning drivers: | Emerson Fittipaldi (5) Jackie Stewart (4)  Denny Hulme (1)  Jean-Pierre Beltoise (1)  Jacky Ickx (1) |
| Winning constructors: | Lotus (5) Tyrrell (4) McLaren (1) BRM (1)  Ferrari (1) |
| First-time winners (driver): | Jean-Pierre Beltoise |
| First-time winners (constructor): | none |
1972 F1 World Championship Grands Prix
Calendar
- DT: Drivers’ title decider
- CT: Constructors’ title decider
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date | Race Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Argentina | Buenos Aires | 23 January | 1972 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 2 |  South Africa | Kyalami | 4 March | 1972 South African Grand Prix |
| 3 |  Spain | Jarama | 1 May | 1972 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 4 |  Monaco | Monte Carlo | 14 May | 1972 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 5 | Belgium | Nivelles | 4 June | 1972 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 6 | France | Clermont-Ferrand | 2 July | 1972 French Grand Prix |
| 7 | Britain | Brands Hatch | 15 July | 1972 British Grand Prix |
| 8 |  Germany | Nurburgring | 30 July | 1972 German Grand Prix |
| 9 |  Austria | Osterreichring | 13 August | 1972 Austrian Grand Prix |
| 10 | Italy DT CT | Monza | 10 September | 1972 Italian Grand Prix |
| 11 |  Canada | Mosport | 24 September | 1972 Canadian Grand Prix |
| 12 |  USA | Watkins Glen | 8 October | 1972 United States Grand Prix |
Race Winners
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor | Start | Win Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | Buenos Aires | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 2 | 25.960s |
| 2 | South Africa | Kyalami | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 5 | 14.100s |
| 3 | Spain | Jarama | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 3 | 18.920s |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 4 | 38.200s |
| 5 | Belgium | Nivelles | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 26.600s |
| 6 | France | Clermont-Ferrand | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 3 | 27.700s |
| 7 | Britain | Brands Hatch | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 2 | 4.100s |
| 8 | Germany | Nurburgring | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 1 | 48.300s |
| 9 | Austria | Osterreichring | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 1.180s |
| 10 | Italy | Monza | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 6 | 14.500s |
| 11 | Canada | Mosport | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 5 | 48.200s |
| 12 | USA | Watkins Glen | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 32.268s |
Polesitters
- Highlight: Home driver polesitter
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor | Race | Pole Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | Buenos Aires | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 7 | 0.220s |
| 2 | South Africa | Kyalami | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | DNF | 0.300s |
| 3 | Spain | Jarama | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 2 | 0.750s |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 3 | 0.200s |
| 5 | Belgium | Nivelles | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 0.150s |
| 6 | France | Clermont-Ferrand | Chris Amon | Matra | 3 | 0.800s |
| 7 | Britain | Brands Hatch | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | DNF | 0.400s |
| 8 | Germany | Nurburgring | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 1 | 1.700s |
| 9 | Austria | Osterreichring | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 0.070s |
| 10 | Italy | Monza | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | DNF | 0.040s |
| 11 | Canada | Mosport | Peter Revson | McLaren-Ford Cosworth | 2 | 0.300s |
| 12 | USA | Watkins Glen | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth | 1 | 0.046s |
Fastest Laps
- Highlight: Home driver fastest lap setter
| No. | Grand Prix | Circuit | Driver | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | Buenos Aires | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 2 | South Africa | Kyalami | Mike Hailwood | Surtees-Ford Cosworth |
| 3 | Spain | Jarama | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari |
| 4 | Monaco | Monte Carlo | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM |
| 5 | Belgium | Nivelles | Chris Amon | Matra |
| 6 | France | Clermont-Ferrand | Chris Amon | Matra |
| 7 | Britain | Brands Hatch | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 8 | Germany | Nurburgring | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari |
| 9 | Austria | Osterreichring | Denny Hulme | McLaren-Ford Cosworth |
| 10 | Italy | Monza | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari |
| 11 | Canada | Mosport | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
| 12 | USA | Watkins Glen | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell-Ford Cosworth |
1972 F1 World Championship Standings
Driver
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Points | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus | 61 | |
| 2 | Jackie Stewart | Tyrrell | 45 | -16 |
| 3 | Denny Hulme | McLaren | 39 | -22 |
| 4 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | 27 | -34 |
| 5 | Peter Revson | McLaren | 23 | -38 |
| 6 | Francois Cevert | Tyrrell | 15 | -46 |
| = |  Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | 15 | -46 |
| 8 | Mike Hailwood | Surtees | 13 | -48 |
| 9 |  Ronnie Peterson | March | 12 | -49 |
| = | Chris Amon | Matra | 12 | -49 |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | 9 | -52 |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | Ferrari | 4 | -57 |
| = | Howden Ganley | BRM | 4 | -57 |
| = | Brian Redman | McLaren BRM | 4 | -57 |
| = | Graham Hill | Brabham | 4 | -57 |
| 16 | Andrea de
Adamich | Surtees | 3 | -58 |
| = | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham | 3 | -58 |
| = | Carlos Pace | March | 3 | -58 |
| 19 |  Tim Schenken | Surtees | 2 | -59 |
| 20 | Arturo Merzario | Ferrari | 1 | -60 |
| = | Peter Gethin | BRM | 1 | -60 |
Points scoring system used:
- 1st: 9 points
- 2nd: 6 points
- 3rd: 4 points
- 4th: 3 points
- 5th: 2 points
- 6th: 1 point
- Only the best five results from the first six races and best five results from last six races counted towards the championship.
- Numbers shown without parentheses are the points scored that counted towards the championship; numbers in parentheses are the total number of points scored.
Constructor
Points scoring system used:
- 1st: 9 points
- 2nd: 6 points
- 3rd: 4 points
- 4th: 3 points
- 5th: 2 points
- 6th: 1 point
- Constructors only received points for their highest placed car.
- Only the best five results from the first six races and best five results from last six races counted towards the championship.
- Numbers shown without parentheses are the points scored that counted towards the championship; numbers in parentheses are the total number of points scored.
Qualifying Results Overview
| Pos | Driver | ARG | ZAF | ESP | MCO | BEL | FRA | GBR | DEU | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA | Avg. | Best |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jackie Stewart | 2 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 3.27 | 1 | |
| 2 | Emerson Fittipaldi | 5 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 3.83 | 1 |
| 3 | Clay Regazzoni | 6 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 4.70 | 2 | ||
| 4 | Jacky Ickx | 8 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 8 | 12 | 4.83 | 1 |
| 5 | Denny Hulme | 4 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5.08 | 2 |
| 6 | Peter Revson | 3 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5.67 | 1 | |||
| 7 | Mario Andretti | 9 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 7.40 | 5 | |||||||
| 8 | Jody Scheckter | 8 | 8.00 | 8 | |||||||||||
| 9 | Chris Amon | 12 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 13 | 1 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 10 | 7 | 8.42 | 1 |
| 10 | Carlos Reutemann | 1 | 15 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 8.90 | 1 | ||
| 11 | Francois Cevert | 7 | 8 | 12 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 5 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 9.33 | 4 |
| 12 | Mike Hailwood | 4 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 10.60 | 4 | ||
| 13 | Ronnie Peterson | 10 | 9 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 24 | 3 | 27 | 11.92 | 3 |
| 14 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | 11 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 28 | 6 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 20 | 18 | 13.64 | 4 | |
| 15 | Patrick Depailler | 17 | 11 | 14.00 | 11 | ||||||||||
| 16 | Jackie Oliver | 14 | 14.00 | 14 | |||||||||||
| 17 | Tim Schenken | 11 | 10 | 18 | 13 | 21 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 8 | 22 | 13 | 32 | 14.17 | 5 |
| 18 | Reine Wisell | 17 | 10 | 16 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 16 | 16 | 15.13 | 10 | ||||
| 19 | Arturo Merzario | 9 | 22 | 15.50 | 9 | ||||||||||
| 20 | Carlos Pace | 24 | 16 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 15 | 16.27 | 11 | |
| 21 | Andrea de Adamich | 14 | 20 | 13 | 18 | 10 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 13 | 21 | 15 | 19 | 16.33 | 10 |
| 22 | Howden Ganley | 13 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 21 | 18 | 10 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 16.45 | 10 | |
| 23 | Wilson Fittipaldi | 14 | 21 | 18 | 15 | 22 | 21 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 16.50 | 11 | ||
| 24 | Brian Redman | 10 | 14 | 19 | 24 | 16.75 | 10 | ||||||||
| 25 | Peter Gethin | 18 | 18 | 21 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 12 | 29 | 16.91 | 5 | |
| 26 | Helmut Marko | 19 | 23 | 17 | 23 | 6 | 17.60 | 6 | |||||||
| 27 | Graham Hill | 16 | 14 | 23 | 19 | 16 | 23 | 21 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 17 | 28 | 18.25 | 13 |
| 28 | Henri Pescarolo | 15 | 22 | 19 | 9 | 19 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 25 | 26 | 21 | 22 | 18.75 | 9 |
| 29 | Rolf Stommelen | 25 | 17 | 25 | 20 | 16 | 25 | 14 | 17 | 19.88 | 14 | ||||
| 30 | Dave Walker | 20 | 19 | 24 | 14 | 12 | 25 | 15 | 23 | 19 | 31 | 20.20 | 12 | ||
| 31 | Skip Barber | 22 | 20 | 21.00 | 20 | ||||||||||
| 32 | Alex Soler-Roig | 21 | 22 | 21.50 | 21 | ||||||||||
| 33 | Nanni Galli | 24 | 20 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 21.60 | 18 | |||||||
| 34 | John Surtees | 19 | 25 | 22.00 | 19 | ||||||||||
| 35 | Niki Lauda | 22 | 21 | 25 | 22 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 26 | 22.42 | 19 |
| 36 | Bill Brack | 23 | 23.00 | 23 | |||||||||||
| 37 | Sam Posey | 23 | 23.00 | 23 | |||||||||||
| 38 | Dave Charlton | 17 | 29 | 24 | 26 | 24.00 | 17 | ||||||||
| 39 | Mike Beuttler | 26 | 23 | 22 | 26 | 23 | 27 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 24.10 | 21 | ||
| 40 |  John Love | 26 | 26.00 | 26 | |||||||||||
| 41 | Vern Schuppan | 26 | 26.00 | 26 | |||||||||||
| 42 | Francois Mignault | 27 | 26 | 26.50 | 26 | ||||||||||
| 43 | Derek Bell | 27 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 30 | 26.80 | 25 | |||||||
| 44 | William Ferguson | 27 | 27.00 | 27 |
Race Results Overview
| Pos | Driver | ARG | ZAF | ESP | MCO | BEL | FRA | GBR | DEU | AUT | ITA | CAN | USA | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi | R | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | R | 1 | 1 | 11 | R | 61 |
| 2 | Jackie Stewart | 1 | R | R | 4 | 1 | 2 | 11R | 7 | R | 1 | 1 | 45 | |
| 3 | Denny Hulme | 2 | 1 | R | 15 | 3 | 7 | 5 | R | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 39 |
| 4 | Jacky Ickx | 3 | 8 | 2 | 2 | R | 11 | R | 1 | R | R | 12 | 5 | 27 |
| 5 | Peter Revson | R | 3 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 18R | 23 | |||
| 6 | Francois Cevert | R | 9 | R | NC | 2 | 4 | R | 10 | 9 | R | R | 2 | 15 |
| = | Clay Regazzoni | 4 | 12 | 3 | R | R | 2 | R | R | 5 | 8 | 15 | ||
| 8 | Mike Hailwood | R | R | R | 4 | 6 | R | R | 4 | 2 | 17R | 13 | ||
| 9 | Ronnie Peterson | 6 | 5 | R | 11 | 9 | 5 | 7R | 3 | 12 | 9 | DSQ | 4 | 12 |
| = | Chris Amon | DNS | 15 | R | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 5 | R | 6 | 15 | 12 |
| 11 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | R | R | 1 | R | 15 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 8 | R | R | 9 | |
| 12 | Mario Andretti | R | 4 | R | 7 | 6 | 4 | |||||||
| = | Howden Ganley | 9 | NC | R | R | 8 | DNS | 4 | 6 | 11 | 10 | R | 4 | |
| = | Brian Redman | 5 | 9 | 5 | R | 4 | ||||||||
| = | Graham Hill | R | 6 | 10 | 12 | R | 10 | R | 6 | R | 5 | 8 | 11 | 4 |
| 16 | Andrea de Adamich | R | NC | 4 | 7 | R | 14 | R | 13 | 14 | R | R | R | 3 |
| = | Carlos Reutemann | 7 | R | 13 | 12 | 8 | R | R | R | 4 | R | 3 | ||
| = | Carlos Pace | 17 | 6 | 17 | 5 | R | R | NC | NC | R | 9R | R | 3 | |
| 19 | Tim Schenken | 5 | R | 8 | R | R | 17 | R | 14 | 11 | R | 7 | R | 2 |
| 20 | Arturo Merzario | 6 | 12 | 1 | ||||||||||
| = | Peter Gethin | R | NC | R | DSQ | R | DNS | R | 13 | 6 | R | R | 1 | |
| Wilson Fittipaldi | 7 | 9 | R | 8 | 12R | 7 | R | R | R | R | ||||
| Niki Lauda | 11 | 7 | R | 16 | 12 | R | 9 | R | 10 | 13 | DSQ | NC | ||
| Patrick Depailler | NC | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Helmut Marko | 10 | 14 | 8 | 10 | R | |||||||||
| Mike Beuttler | DNQ | 13 | R | 19R | 13 | 8 | R | 10 | NC | 13 | ||||
| Henri Pescarolo | 8 | 11 | 11 | R | NC | DNS | R | R | DNS | DNQ | 13 | 14 | ||
| Dave Walker | DSQ | 10 | 9R | 14 | 14 | 18R | R | R | R | R | ||||
| Jody Scheckter | 9 | |||||||||||||
| Rolf Stommelen | 13 | R | 10 | 11 | 16 | 10 | R | NC | ||||||
| Reine Wisell | R | R | R | R | R | 12 | R | 10 | ||||||
| Sam Posey | 12 | |||||||||||||
| Nanni Galli | R | 13 | R | NC | R | |||||||||
| Skip Barber | NC | 16 | ||||||||||||
| John Love | 16R | |||||||||||||
| Dave Charlton | R | DNQ | R | R | ||||||||||
| Derek Bell | DNS | R | DNQ | DNS | R | |||||||||
| Alex Soler-Roig | R | R | ||||||||||||
| Jackie Oliver | R | |||||||||||||
| Francois Mignault | DNS | R | ||||||||||||
| John Surtees | R | DNS | ||||||||||||
| Bill Brack | R | |||||||||||||
| William Ferguson | DNS | |||||||||||||
| Vern Schuppan | DNS |
Race To The Title
The Race To The Title graph shows how the title race played out over the course of the season.