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The 1972 British Grand Prix was held on July 15 at Brands Hatch, southeast of London. It was won by Emerson Fittipaldi in a Lotus, who finished four seconds ahead of Jackie Stewart in a Tyrrell, with McLaren's Peter Revson driving a solid race to third. Ferrari's Jacky Ickx had led Fittipaldi and Stewart in a tight three car battle for the first 2/3 of the race before his engine broke.

Background[]

The teams convened at the very bumpy Brands Hatch circuit, in the suburbs southeast of London. The abnormally large number of accidents at Charade, plus the retirement of Helmut Marko due to his eye injury, meant that a reduced number of cars would be appearing, so none of the entries were facing a failure to qualify.

  • Brabham: All three cars had the modified rear suspension that appeared on Carlos Reutemann's car in France.
  • BRM: The rash of accidents in France had hit BRM particularly hard, and even with the enforced retirement of Helmut Marko, the team was very short of cars. Jean-Pierre Beltoise had his P160C rebuilt, and the team had three other P160Bs running. One of those was for Peter Gethin, and a third was used by Jackie Oliver, due to his reputation as a 'Brands specialist'. But the need for a spare left both Howden Ganley and Reine Wisell out in the cold. Wisell in particular thought that he had the option of either a BRM or Lotus drive, and wound up without any drive at all.
  • Connew: Peter Connew was a former draftsman and designer for Surtees, who quit after a falling out with John Surtees. He then decided to create his own F1 car, which was built over the winter of 1970-71. This car was never intended to be anything other than a test vehicle, and construction on the second car commenced. After more than a year of construction (and searching for funding), and after having been entered in France (but the transporter broke down), the car was finally present at Brands, with François Migault behind the wheel and powered by a used Ford Cosworth engine purchased from McLaren. The car looked well built and attractive in the red and yellow colors of their sponsor, but everything was still chronically underfunded.
  • Ferrari: Clay Regazzoni was still nursing his broken wrist, and Mario Andretti was at a USAC event, so Ferrari gave the second car to one of their prototype drivers, Arturo Merzario. The cars themselves were unchanged.
  • Lotus: Lotus had planned to field a third car at home (possibly for Reine Wisell), but what was turning into the annual Cosworth engine shortage thwarted those plans.
  • March: Niki Lauda was driving a brand new chassis, and the car he drove in France was now being used as the test car for possible 1973 developments.
  • Matra: Chris Amon had his old MS120C as a backup, and would up using it in the race after a crash in the MS120D.
  • McLaren: The M19C that Brian Redman crunched in France had not been fully repaired, so Peter Revson was using the original M19A, and the team was without a spare. Denny Hulme had crashed heavily the previous weekend in the Road America CanAm race, and was still very stiff and sore.
  • Surtees: Mike Hailwood's car had a new design of rear wing.
  • Tecno: The car had a new rear suspension, designed by Ron Tauranac on a freelance basis. The single cross member and vertical dampers had been replaced with more conventional parts to provide greater wheel movement.
  • Tyrrell: Jackie Stewart was entered in the repaired 005, with François Cevert in his usual 002, and Stewart's old 003 as the spare. Stewart wound up using 003 in the race, as he crashed 005 in almost exactly the same manner as Cevert had in France, leading the team to believe that there was a problem with either the inboard front brakes or the suspension.
  • Williams: Frank Williams joined the ranks of constructors, with a new car called the Politoys FX3. The team had not planned to enter it yet, but Henri Pescarolo's accident damaged the old 721 so severely that the team decided to go ahead and run it. Pescarolo himself was still feeling rather sore from his two major accidents in the past month. The car was a basic kit car with a Ford Cosworth engine, designed by Len Bailey with some assistance from Ron Tauranac, and was clearly a work in progress. While the car was officially described as Politoys being the manufacturer, by tracking backwards from the 1979 FW07, the team later counted this as the first of the "FW" cars.


Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1972 British Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart United Kingdom Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 003 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
2 France François Cevert United Kingdom Elf Team Tyrrell Tyrrell 002 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
3 Sweden Ronnie Peterson United Kingdom STP March Racing Team March 721G Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
4 Austria Niki Lauda United Kingdom STP March Racing Team March 721G Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
5 Belgium Jacky Ickx Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari 001/1 F12 3.0 F
6 Italy Arturo Merzario Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari 001/1 F12 3.0 F
7 United States Mario Andretti Italy Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari 001/1 F12 3.0 F
8 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 72D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
9 Australia Dave Walker United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 72D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
10 United Kingdom Tony Trimmer United Kingdom John Player Team Lotus Lotus 72D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
11 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise United Kingdom Marlboro BRM BRM P160C BRM P142 V12 3.0 F
12 United Kingdom Peter Gethin United Kingdom Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 V12 3.0 F
14 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver United Kingdom Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 V12 3.0 F
15 Sweden Reine Wisell United Kingdom Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 V12 3.0 F
16 Austria Helmut Marko United Kingdom Austria Marlboro BRM BRM P160B BRM P142 V12 3.0 F
17 New Zealand Chris Amon France Equipe Matra Sports Matra MS120C Matra MS72 V12 3.0 G
18 New Zealand Denny Hulme United Kingdom Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19C Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
19 United States Peter Revson United Kingdom Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19A Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
20 United Kingdom Brian Redman United Kingdom Yardley Team McLaren McLaren M19A Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
21 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood United Kingdom Brooke Bond Oxo Team Surtees Surtees TS9B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
22 Australia Tim Schenken United Kingdom Flame Out Team Surtees Surtees TS9B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
23 Italy Andrea de Adamich United Kingdom Ceramica Pagnossin Team Surtees Surtees TS9B Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
24 France Henri Pescarolo United Kingdom Team Williams Motul Politoys FX3 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
25 Brazil Carlos Pace United Kingdom Team Williams Motul March 711 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
26 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Brabham BT37 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
27 Argentina Carlos Reutemann United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Brabham BT37 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
28 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi United Kingdom Motor Racing Developments Brabham BT34 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
29 South Africa Dave Charlton South Africa Scribante Lucky Strike Racing Lotus 72D Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
30 Italy Nanni Galli Italy Martini Racing Tecno PA123/3 Tecno Series-P F12 3.0 F
31 United Kingdom Mike Beuttler United Kingdom Clarke-Mordaunt-Guthrie Racing March 721G Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F
32 United Kingdom Ray Allen United Kingdom Speed International March 711 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
33 West Germany Rolf Stommelen West Germany Team Eifelland Caravans Eifelland 21 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 G
34 France François Migault United Kingdom Darnval Connew Racing Team Connew PC1 Ford Cosworth DFV V8 3.0 F

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos No. Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 5 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:22.2
2 8 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 1:22.6 +0.4
3 19 United States Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 1:22.7 +0.5
4 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 1:22.9 +0.7
5 27 Australia Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 1:23.2 +1.0
6 11 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 1:23.4 +1.2
7 21 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 1:23.5 +1.3
8 3 Sweden Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 1:23.7 +1.5
9 6 Italy Arturo Merzario Ferrari 1:23.7 +1.5
10 27 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 1:23.8 +1.6
11 18 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 1:23.9 +1.7
12 2 France François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 1:23.9 +1.7
13 25 Brazil Carlos Pace March-Ford 1:24.0 +1.8
14 23 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 1:24.4 +2.2
15 9 Australia Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 1:24.4 +2.2
16 12 United Kingdom Peter Gethin BRM 1:24.5 +2.3
17 17 New Zealand Chris Amon Matra 1:24.6 +2.4
18 30 Italy Nanni Galli Tecno 1:25.1 +2.9
19 4 Austria Niki Lauda March-Ford 1:25.1 +2.9
20 23 Italy Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 1:25.2 +3.0
21 26 United Kingdom Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 1:25.2 +3.0
22 28 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 1:25.5 +3.3
23 31 United Kingdom Mike Beuttler March-Ford 1:25.6 +3.4
24 29 South Africa Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 1:25.6 +3.4
25 33 Germany Rolf Stommelen March-Ford 1:26.3 +4.1
26 24 France Henri Pescarolo Politoys-Ford 1:27.4 +5.2
27 34 France François Migault Connew-Ford 1:30.3 +7.1

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Jacky Ickx
Emerson Fittipaldi ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Peter Revson
Jackie Stewart ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Tim Schenken
Jean-Pierre Beltoise ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Mike Hailwood
Ronnie Peterson ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Arturo Merzario
Carlos Reutemann ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Denny Hulme
François Cevert ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Carlos Pace
Jackie Oliver ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Dave Walker
Peter Gethin ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Chris Amon
Nanni Galli ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Niki Lauda
Andrea de Adamich ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Graham Hill
Wilson Fittipaldi ______________
Row 12 ______________ 23
24 Mike Beuttler
Dave Charlton ______________
Row 13 ______________ 25
26 Rolf Stommelen
Henri Pescarolo ______________

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Pts
1 8 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 76 1:47:50.2 2 9
2 1 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 76 +4.1 4 6
3 19 United States Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 76 +1:12.5 3 4
4 17 New Zealand Chris Amon Matra 75 +1 Lap 17 3
5 18 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 75 +1 Lap 11 2
6 6 Italy Arturo Merzario Ferrari 75 +1 Lap 9 1
7 3 Sweden Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 74 Out of fuel/Accident 8  
8 27 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 73 +3 Laps 10  
9 4 Austria Niki Lauda March-Ford 73 +3 Laps 19  
10 33 Germany Rolf Stommelen March-Ford 71 +5 Laps 25  
11 11 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 70 +6 Laps 6  
12 29 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 69 Suspension 22  
13 31 United Kingdom Mike Beuttler March-Ford 69 +7 Laps 23  
Ret 22 Australia Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 64 Suspension 5  
Ret 2 France François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 60 Flat tire/Accident 12  
Ret 9 Australia Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 59 Suspension 15  
Ret 5 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 49 Engine 1  
Ret 26 United Kingdom Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 47 Accident 21  
Ret 25 Brazil Carlos Pace March-Ford 39 Transmission 13  
Ret 14 United Kingdom Jackie Oliver BRM 37 Suspension 14  
Ret 21 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 31 Gearbox 7  
Ret 29 South Africa Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 22 Gearbox 24  
Ret 30 Italy Nanni Galli Tecno 21 Accident 18  
Ret 24 France Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 7 Accident 26  
Ret 12 United Kingdom Peter Gethin BRM 6 Accident 16  
Ret 23 Italy Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 3 Accident 20  
DNS 34 France François Migault Connew-Ford   Cracks in chassis 27  

Milestones[]

First race and championship point for Arturo Merzario.

Standings after race[]

References[]

  • Pritchard, Anthony (1973). The Motor Racing Year No4. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.. pp. 90-98. ISBN 0-393-08677-1.
V T E 1972 Formula One Season
Constructors Brabham • BRM • Connew • Eifelland • Ferrari • Lotus • March • Matra • McLaren • Politoys • Surtees • Tecno • Tyrrell
Engines BRM • Ferrari • Ford Cosworth • Matra • Tecno
Drivers de Adamich • Amon • Andretti • Barber • Bell • Beltoise • Beuttler • Brack • Cevert • Charlton • Depailler • Ferguson • E. Fittipaldi • W. Fittipaldi • Galli • Ganley • Gethin • Hailwood • Hill • Hulme • Ickx • Lauda • Love • Marko • Merzario • Migault • Oliver • Pace • Pescarolo • Peterson • Posey • Redman • Regazzoni • Reutemann • Revson • J. Scheckter • Schenken • Soler-Roig • Stewart • Stommelen • Surtees • Walker • Wisell
Cars Brabham BT33 • Brabham BT34 • Brabham BT37 • BRM P153 • BRM P153B • BRM P160B • BRM P160C • BRM P180 • Connew PC1 • Eifelland E21 • Ferrari 312B2 • Lotus 72D • March 711 • March 721 • March 721G • March 721X • Matra MS120C • Matra MS120D • McLaren M19A • McLaren M19C • Politoys FX3 • Surtees TS9B • Surtees TS14 • Tecno PA123/3 • Tyrrell 002 • Tyrrell 003 • Tyrrell 004 • Tyrrell 005 • Tyrrell 006
Tyres Firestone • Goodyear
Races Argentina • South Africa • Spain • Monaco • Belgium • France • Britain • Germany • Austria • Italy • Canada • United States
Non-championship Races Race of Champions • Brazil • International Trophy • Gold Cup • Italian Republic • Rothmans 50,000 • World Championship
See also 1971 Formula One Season • 1973 Formula One Season • Category
V T E United Kingdom British Grand Prix
Circuits Brooklands (1926 - 1927), Silverstone (1948 - Present), Aintree (1955 - 1962), Brands Hatch (1963 - 1986)
SilverstoneArena2010
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1926192719481949
V T E Europe European Grand Prix
Circuits Brands Hatch (1983, 1985), Nürburgring (1984, 1995–1996, 1999–2007), Donington (1993), Jerez (1994, 1997), Valencia (2008–2012), Baku (2016) Baku City Circuit
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969–19711972197319741975197619771978–19821983198419851986–1992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013–20152016
Non-Championship Races 192319241925192619271928192919301931–1946194719481949
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