The 1972 Formula One season was the 23rd FIA Formula One season. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers and numerous non-championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on 23 January and ended on 8 October after twelve races.
Lotus took the championship by surprise in 1972 with 25-year old Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi who became the first Brazilian World Champion and the youngest world champion at that point. Jackie Stewart came second in the championship, and Denny Hulme was third.
This was the first year where all the races were run on circuits with modern safety features on them, and considerable progress had been made since 1967, the last year where all races were run on circuits without significant safety improvements.
The BRM team took its final victory when Jean-Pierre Beltoise won the rain-affected 1972 Monaco Grand Prix in a P160D.
Three races were not held: The Dutch Grand Prix was cancelled this year because of safety arrangements that were not completed for the race. It was supposed to be held between the Belgian and French races at the usual location, Zandvoort. A return of the Mexican Grand Prix was cancelled after interest dried up in the wake of the death of Pedro Rodríguez, and amid major insurance problems after the crowd control debacle in 1970. And a race at Ontario Motor Speedway was cancelled after the sponsor, Questor Corporation, ran into financial problems.
Calendar[]
Non Championship Calendar[]
| Date | Event | Circuit | Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 19 |  V Race of Champions
|
Brands Hatch | Report |
| March 30 |  I Brazilian Grand Prix
|
Interlagos | Report |
| April 23 | Daily Express International Trophy
|
Silverstone | Report |
| May 29 | Rothmans International Gold Cup
|
Oulton Park | Report |
| June 18 |  Italian Republic Grand Prix
|
Vallelunga | Report |
| August 28 | Rothmans 50,000
|
Brands Hatch | Report |
| October 22 | John Player Challenge Trophy
|
Brands Hatch | Report |
Drivers and constructors[]
Results and standings[]
Drivers[]
Points for the 1972 World Championship of Drivers were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each race. For classification, only the best five results from the first half of the season and the best five results from the second half of the season could be retained.
|
Constructors[]
Points for the 1972 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers were awarded on a 9-6-4-3-2-1 basis to the top six placegetters in each race. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points. For classification, only the best five results from the first half of the season and the best five results from the second half of the season could be retained.
| Pos. | Manufacturer | ARG
|
RSA
|
ESP
|
MON
|
BEL
|
FRA
|
GBR
|
GER
|
AUT
|
ITA
|
CAN
|
USA
|
Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lotus-Ford
|
Ret | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 11 | 10 | 61 |
| 2 | Tyrrell-Ford
|
1 | 9 | Ret | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 7 | Ret | 1 | 1 | 51 |
| 3 | McLaren-Ford
|
2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 3 | (5) | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 47 (49) |
| 4 | Ferrari
|
3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 11 | 6 | 1 | Ret | 7 | 5 | 5 | 33 |
| 5 | Surtees-Ford
|
5 | 16 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 6 | Ret | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 12 | 18 |
| 6 | March-Ford
|
6 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 15 |
| 7 | BRM
|
9 | 14 | Ret | 1 | 8 | 15 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 10 | Ret | 14 |
| 8 | Matra
|
DNS | 15 | Ret | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 5 | Ret | 6 | 15 | 12 |
| 9 | Brabham-Ford
|
7 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 6 | Ret | 5 | 4 | 11 | 7 |
| — | Tecno
|
Ret | DNQ | Ret | Ret | NC | Ret | DNS | Ret | 0 | ||||
| — | Politoys-Ford
|
Ret | 0 | |||||||||||
| — | Connew-Ford
|
DNS | Ret | 0 | ||||||||||
| Pos. | Manufacturer | ARG
|
RSA
|
ESP
|
MON
|
BEL
|
FRA
|
GBR
|
GER
|
AUT
|
ITA
|
CAN
|
USA
|
Pts. |
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