1972 Belgian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Emerson Fittipaldi made Nivelles his own on the Belgian Grand Prix’s first visit to the circuit. Pole position became a convincing victory, with François Cevert second for Tyrrell in the absence of Jackie Stewart and Denny Hulme completing the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Pole time	1:11.43
Fastest lap	Chris Amon	Matra
Fastest-lap time	1:12.120 on lap 66
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell
Third	Denny Hulme	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
2 June 1972	Friday timed practice	Afternoon
3 June 1972	Saturday first timed practice	Afternoon
3 June 1972	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
4 June 1972	Sunday untimed practice	Morning; start unconfirmed
4 June 1972	Race	15:30

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 5 leading the 1972 F1 World Championship on 19 points, with Jacky Ickx on 16. McLaren – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 19 points.

Race entries

Stewart missed the race on medical advice, leaving Cevert to represent Tyrrell. Reutemann returned despite his recent ankle injury and a damaged finger. Tecno made its championship debut with Nanni Galli and its own flat-12 engine, while BRM’s available drivers and cars changed as practice problems developed.

Friday timed practice

Fittipaldi gradually displaced the Ferraris at the top as drivers learned Nivelles. Amon’s Matra engine failed before the session was half over, while Gethin crashed his BRM and triggered a reshuffle of the team’s cars. Galli explored the Tecno’s handling limits, including an excursion onto the grass, and Pace impressed in Williams’ older March.

Saturday first timed practice

Fittipaldi maintained his advantage as the teams refined their cars for the new circuit. The afternoon was divided into two periods, providing time for adjustments between runs. Several leading drivers also used spare cars, although the contemporary report criticised the published timing for failing to distinguish all of those laps clearly.

Saturday final qualifying

Fittipaldi secured pole with 1:11.43 and also spent time guiding Walker around to improve his team-mate’s pace. Hulme moved into third behind Regazzoni as conditions warmed, while Cevert placed the sole Tyrrell fifth. Reutemann’s return and Pace’s efforts further back gave their teams encouragement despite Lotus’ clear advantage.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	32	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:11.43
2	30	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:11.58
3	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:11.80
4	29	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:11.84
5	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:11.93
6	23	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:12.12
7	10	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:12.19
8	34	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:12.35
9	19	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:12.50
10	36	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	1:12.54
11	16	Carlos Pace	March	1:12.64
13	5	Chris Amon	Matra	1:12.80
14	11	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:13.00
15	25	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:13.01
16	17	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:13.10
17	24	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:13.15
18	18	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:13.20
19	15	Henri Pescarolo	March	1:13.40
20	6	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	1:13.43
21	35	Tim Schenken	Surtees	1:13.60
22	14	Mike Beuttler	March	1:13.70
23	27	Helmut Marko	BRM	1:14.10
24	22	Nanni Galli	Tecno	1:14.60
25	12	Niki Lauda	March	1:16.50
26	26	Vern Schuppan	BRM	1:16.90

Sunday untimed practice

Lotus elected not to run either car in the additional Sunday morning session, satisfied with its preparations. BRM’s mechanics faced a much busier morning getting their available cars ready. The field subsequently completed a warm-up lap before the scheduled 15:30 start.

What happened in the 1972 Belgian Grand Prix?

Regazzoni led away as Fittipaldi struggled for traction on the dusty inside of the grid. The Lotus driver studied his rival before passing on lap nine, then steadily built a commanding lead. Revson and de Adamich needed early repairs after contact, while Reutemann lost time with his gear linkage.

Cevert advanced into second as Ferrari’s challenge unravelled. Ickx suffered throttle-linkage trouble, and Regazzoni collided with Galli’s Tecno while lapping traffic. Amon ran strongly until a late fuel stop cost him places, helping Hulme secure third.

Fittipaldi controlled the closing stages to win from Cevert and Hulme. Hailwood finished fourth, while Pace’s persistent pursuit through traffic earned fifth in the Williams March. Amon recovered sixth, with Revson just outside the points after an impressive recovery from his opening-lap delay.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 28 points, followed by Denny Hulme on 19. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 28, with McLaren – Ford on 23.

1972 Belgian Grand Prix race results

The 1972 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 4 June 1972, with a scheduled start of 15:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	32	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	85	1:44:07.3	9
2	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell	85	+ 26.6	6
3	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren	85	+ 58.1	4
4	34	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	85	+ 1:12.0	3
5	16	Carlos Pace	March	84	+ 1 Lap	2
6	5	Chris Amon	Matra	84	+ 1 Lap	1
7	10	Peter Revson	McLaren	83	+ 2 Laps	0
8	25	Howden Ganley	BRM	83	+ 2 Laps	0
9	11	Ronnie Peterson	March	83	+ 2 Laps	0
10	27	Helmut Marko	BRM	83	+ 2 Laps	0
11	6	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	83	+ 2 Laps	0
12	12	Niki Lauda	March	82	+ 3 Laps	0
13	19	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	81	+ 4 Laps	0
14	33	Dave Walker	Lotus	79	+ 6 Laps	0
Ret	17	Graham Hill	Brabham	73	Suspension	0
NC	15	Henri Pescarolo	March	59	+ 26 Laps	0
Ret	30	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	57	Accident	0
Ret	36	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	55	Engine	0
Ret	22	Nanni Galli	Tecno	54	Accident	0
Ret	29	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	47	Injection	0
Ret	14	Mike Beuttler	March	31	Halfshaft	0
Ret	18	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	28	Gearbox	0
Ret	24	Peter Gethin	BRM	27	Fuel Pump	0
Ret	23	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	15	Overheating	0
Ret	35	Tim Schenken	Surtees	11	Overheating	0
DNS	26	Vern Schuppan	BRM		Driven by Marko	0

1972 Belgian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	5	Chris Amon	Matra	66	1:12.120

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 Belgian Grand Prix.

1972 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	28
2	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	19
3	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	16
4	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	12
5	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	9
6	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	7
7	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	6
8	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	6
9	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees	3
10	Mario Andretti	American	Ferrari	3
11	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	3
12	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	3
13	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	March	3
14	Tim Schenken	Australian	Surtees	2
15	Brian Redman	British	McLaren	2
16	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Matra	2
17	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	1
–	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	0
–	Niki Lauda	Austrian	March	0
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	0
–	Helmut Marko	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March	0
–	David Walker	Australian	Lotus	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	March	0
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Surtees	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	BRM	0
–	Peter Gethin	British	BRM	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Tecno	0
–	Alex Soler-Roig	Spanish	BRM	0
–	Dave Charlton	South African	Lotus	0

1972 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Lotus – Ford	28
2	McLaren – Ford	23
3	Ferrari	19
4	Tyrrell – Ford	18
5	BRM	9
6	Surtees – Ford	8
7	March – Ford	6
8	Matra	2
9	Brabham – Ford	1
—	Eifelland – Ford	0
—	Tecno	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