1972 Austrian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Emerson Fittipaldi resisted relentless pressure from Denny Hulme to win the Austrian Grand Prix. Peter Revson completed a double podium for McLaren as Jackie Stewart’s early lead disappeared with worsening handling trouble in the new Tyrrell.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Pole time	1:35.97
Fastest lap	Denny Hulme	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:38.320 on lap 47
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Second	Denny Hulme	McLaren
Third	Peter Revson	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
10 August 1972	Familiarisation testing	Start time unconfirmed
11 August 1972	Friday first timed practice	14:30
11 August 1972	Friday second timed practice	After the half-hour break; until 18:00
12 August 1972	Saturday timed practice and final qualifying	13:00–16:30; brought forward
13 August 1972	Sunday untimed practice	Morning; start unconfirmed
13 August 1972	Race	15:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Emerson Fittipaldi arrived at round 9 leading the 1972 F1 World Championship on 43 points, with Jackie Stewart on 27. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 43 points.

Race entries

Revson returned in a new McLaren, while Stewart raced Tyrrell’s 005. Migault finally brought the Connew to a championship start. BRM’s entry changed again, with Wisell absent, and Pescarolo’s practice accident prevented the Williams driver from racing.

Thursday familiarisation

Thursday’s untimed running gave teams a relaxed opportunity to prepare. Lotus tested an engine cover directing air towards the oil cooler, March explored new nose bodywork and Tyrrell worked on the new car’s front brakes while Stewart also lapped in the older machine.

Friday first timed practice

Intense heat created fuel-vaporisation problems for Ferrari and limited engine performance more generally. Connew’s split oil tank left fluid on the circuit, and Gethin’s BRM also leaked. Stewart began establishing the new Tyrrell’s pace, while Revson immediately looked comfortable in the new McLaren.

Friday second timed practice

Conditions improved as the afternoon cooled. Lotus found a rear-wing and camber combination that suited Fittipaldi, who set the eventual pole time in the spare car. Stewart and Revson were his closest challengers. Hailwood’s clutch and Schenken’s ignition failed, while Pescarolo’s crash ruled out his March.

Saturday timed practice and final qualifying

The earlier timetable kept running in the worst of the heat, making Friday’s best laps difficult to beat. Regazzoni nevertheless produced the day’s fastest time late on when his fuel system briefly behaved properly, securing second on the grid. Beltoise suffered an engine failure and Beuttler damaged his March in a spin, requiring parts from the works spare for repairs. Fittipaldi retained pole and chose the older Lotus he preferred for the race.

Qualifying Classification

Each driver’s best eligible practice lap determined the qualifying order.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	31	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:35.97
2	19	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:36.04
3	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:36.35
4	14	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:36.63
5	17	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:37.15
6	10	Chris Amon	Matra	1:37.16
7	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:37.20
8	24	Tim Schenken	Surtees	1:37.25
9	18	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:37.33
10	9	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:37.55
11	5	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:37.58
12	25	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:37.77
13	11	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	1:38.08
14	16	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:38.14
15	28	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:38.25
16	6	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:38.48
17	27	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	1:38.62
18	23	Carlos Pace	March	1:38.62
20	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:38.85
21	7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:38.89
22	4	Niki Lauda	March	1:39.04
23	15	Nanni Galli	Tecno	1:39.13
24	3	Mike Beuttler	March	1:39.92
25	22	Henri Pescarolo	March	1:40.28
26	29	François Migault	Connew	1:43.88

Sunday untimed practice

Amon’s engine failed in the morning, leaving Matra an urgent replacement job. Beuttler’s injection trouble prevented him from checking his repaired car, while Pace’s handling problem was traced to his tyres. Stewart tested the large engine-air intake he intended to use in the race.

What happened in the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix?

Stewart made a superb start and quickly pulled clear as Regazzoni’s faltering Ferrari delayed the chasing cars. Fittipaldi passed the Ferrari and began closing, with Hulme also moving through. Both Ferraris eventually retired with persistent fuel-system problems.

Fittipaldi caught Stewart and took the lead as the Tyrrell’s handling deteriorated. Hulme followed through and pressed the Lotus relentlessly, reducing the gap to well under a second. Revson passed Peterson for third, while Migault’s Connew retired after a rear-suspension failure.

Fittipaldi remained composed to the flag and claimed another vital victory. Hulme and Revson completed the podium, followed by Hailwood, Amon and Ganley. Stewart slipped outside the points, and Peterson’s late fuel-system problems also cost him a strong result.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 52 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 27. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 52, with McLaren – Ford on 35.

1972 Austrian Grand Prix race results

The 1972 Austrian Grand Prix was held on 13 August 1972, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	31	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	54	1:29:16.66	9
2	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren	54	+ 1.18	6
3	14	Peter Revson	McLaren	54	+ 36.53	4
4	25	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	54	+ 44.76	3
5	10	Chris Amon	Matra	54	+ 45.64	2
6	9	Howden Ganley	BRM	54	+ 1:01.19	1
7	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	54	+ 1:09.09	0
8	7	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	54	+ 1:21.45	0
9	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	53	+ 1 lap	0
10	4	Niki Lauda	March	53	+ 1 lap	0
11	24	Tim Schenken	Surtees	52	+ 2 laps	0
12	5	Ronnie Peterson	March	52	+ 2 laps	0
13	6	Peter Gethin	BRM	51	+ 3 laps	0
14	11	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	51	+ 3 laps	0
15	27	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	48	Engine	0
NC	23	Carlos Pace	March	46	+ 8 laps	0
NC	15	Nanni Galli	Tecno	45	Oil leak	0
Ret	16	Graham Hill	Brabham	36	Injection	0
Ret	28	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	31	Brakes	0
Ret	3	Mike Beuttler	March	24	Fuel system	0
Ret	29	François Migault	Connew	22	Suspension	0
Ret	18	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	20	Fuel system	0
Ret	17	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	14	Injection	0
Ret	19	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	13	Fuel system	0
Ret	21	Dave Walker	Lotus	6	Engine	0
DNS	22	Henri Pescarolo	March		Accident	0

1972 Austrian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Denny Hulme	McLaren	47	1:38.320

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1972 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1972 Austrian Grand Prix.

1972 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	52
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	27
3	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	27
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	25
5	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	14
6	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	13
7	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Matra	11
8	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	9
9	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	9
10	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	9
11	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	7
12	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	4
13	Brian Redman	British	McLaren	4
14	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees	3
15	Mario Andretti	American	Ferrari	3
16	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	March	3
17	Tim Schenken	Australian	Surtees	2
18	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	2
19	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	1
–	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	0
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	0
–	Niki Lauda	Austrian	March	0
–	Helmut Marko	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March / Politoys	0
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	David Walker	Australian	Lotus	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	March	0
–	Peter Gethin	British	BRM	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Tecno / Ferrari	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Surtees	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	BRM	0
–	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	BRM	0
–	Alex Soler-Roig	Spanish	BRM	0
–	François Migault	French	Connew	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0
–	Derek Bell	British	Tecno	0

1972 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	52
2	McLaren – Ford	35
3	Tyrrell – Ford	33
4	Ferrari	29
5	BRM	13
6	March – Ford	12
7	Surtees – Ford	12
8	Matra	11
9	Brabham – Ford	2
—	Eifelland – Ford	0
—	Tecno	0
—	Politoys – Ford	0
—	Connew – Ford	0

Drivers counted their best 5 results from rounds 1–6 and their best 5 from rounds 7–12. Only the highest-placed car for each constructor could score constructor points, with the same dropped-results limits applying.

1972 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1972 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	23 January
2	1972 South African Grand Prix	Kyalami, Midrand	4 March
3	1972 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito del Jarama, San Sebastián de los Reyes	1 May
4	1972 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	14 May
5	1972 Belgian Grand Prix	Nivelles-Baulers, Nivelles	4 June
6	1972 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Charade, Clermont-Ferrand	2 July
7	1972 British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch, West Kingsdown	15 July
8	1972 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	30 July
9	1972 Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring, Spielberg	13 August
10	1972 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	10 September
11	1972 Canadian Grand Prix	Mosport Park, Bowmanville	24 September
12	1972 United States Grand Prix	Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York	8 October