The United States Grand Prix was the 12th and final round of the 1972 Formula One Season, held on October 8. It was won by Jackie Stewart in a Tyrrell-Ford. Teammate François Cevert was second, and third was Denny Hulme in a McLaren-Ford.
Background
Frequently in the past, teams would give the final round of the season a miss, saying that it wasn't worth the effort to cross the pond. But with two races, just a short distance apart, skipping the finale was less of an option. And, just to make sure, the USGP was offering a then-unheard-of prize fund of $275,000, including $50,000 to the winner. So the race actually had a record 31 Formula 1 cars entered (larger fields had been previously attained with Formula 2 cars added).
- BRM: No changes to the cars, but Brian Redman was the fourth driver, driving the later of the two P180s. Mike Pilbeam was present as the team's new designer.
- Ferrari: No changes to the cars, but Mario Andretti was back, for what would be his final race for The Scuderia. Neither party was happy with Andretti as a part-time driver.
- Lotus: No changes to the cars, but Colin Chapman was not immune to the attraction of that much prize money, so he entered three cars, bring back Dave Walker for one final race.
- March: Both cars were back in the original configuration. After this race, Ronnie Peterson would be moving to Lotus, and Niki Lauda to BRM.
- Tyrrell: No changes to the cars, but the team added Formula 2 driver Patrick Depailler again, running in 004. Both regular drivers had signed again with Tyrrell for 1973.
Entry list
The full entry list for the 1972 United States Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview
Qualifying
Qualifying Results
Grid
Race
Results
Milestones
- First race for Jody Scheckter.
- Final race for Dave Walker, Sam Posey and Skip Barber.
- Final race for Matra as a constructor.
Standings after race
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |