1972 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Emerson Fittipaldi strengthened his championship challenge with a home victory for Lotus at Brands Hatch. Jackie Stewart kept him under pressure to the finish, while Peter Revson took third after Jacky Ickx’s long spell in the lead ended with an oil leak.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari
Pole time	1:22.2
Fastest lap	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Fastest-lap time	1:24.000 on lap 58
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus
Second	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell
Third	Peter Revson	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
13 July 1972	Thursday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
13 July 1972	Thursday second timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
14 July 1972	Friday first timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
14 July 1972	Friday final qualifying	After the 14:00 break
15 July 1972	Saturday untimed practice	Morning; start unconfirmed
15 July 1972	Race	14:30

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 7 leading the 1972 F1 World Championship on 34 points, with Jackie Stewart on 21. Lotus – Ford headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 34 points.

Race entries

Arturo Merzario made his championship debut for Ferrari, replacing Galli, who returned to Tecno. Williams introduced its Politoys car for Pescarolo. The Connew appeared with François Migault but withdrew after practice damage, while BRM fielded Beltoise, Gethin and Oliver. Hulme arrived sore from a recent Can-Am accident.

Thursday first timed practice

Fittipaldi led the opening session in the spare Lotus while his regular car required oil-system attention. Lotus also discovered cracks in suspension-support structures that needed repair. Lauda waited for his new March to be completed, and the Connew damaged its underside over Brands Hatch’s dips, ending its weekend early.

Thursday second timed practice

Stewart improved strongly in the new Tyrrell 005 before a failure sent him into the barriers and interrupted running. He switched back to his older car. Revson showed excellent pace, while Hulme cautiously assessed his fitness and Lauda borrowed Beuttler’s March for a few laps.

Friday first timed practice

Lauda’s own car was finally ready, and Hulme felt stronger as the McLarens circulated together. Galli pushed the Tecno hard before its engine failed, requiring replacement. Ickx’s 1:22.2 proved the weekend’s fastest lap, while increasing heat and dust made further improvements more difficult.

Friday final qualifying

Amon crashed the new Matra at Druids, stopping practice while it was recovered and forcing him into the older spare. Fittipaldi tried a lighter fuel load and different tyres, but the official timing left him second to Ickx. Stewart and Revson remained competitive despite both using older machinery than originally intended.

Qualifying Classification

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	5	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:22.2
2	8	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	1:22.6
3	19	Peter Revson	McLaren	1:22.7
4	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	1:22.9
5	22	Tim Schenken	Surtees	1:23.2
6	11	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:23.4
7	21	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	1:23.5
8	3	Ronnie Peterson	March	1:23.7
9	6	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	1:23.7
10	27	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	1:23.8
11	18	Denny Hulme	McLaren	1:23.9
12	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	1:23.9
13	25	Carlos Pace	March	1:24.0
14	14	Jackie Oliver	BRM	1:24.4
16	12	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:24.5
17	17	Chris Amon	Matra	1:24.6
18	30	Nanni Galli	Tecno	1:25.1
19	4	Niki Lauda	March	1:25.1
20	23	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	1:25.2
21	26	Graham Hill	Brabham	1:25.2
22	28	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	1:25.5
23	31	Mike Beuttler	March	1:25.6
24	29	Dave Charlton	Lotus	1:25.6
25	33	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	1:26.3
26	24	Henri Pescarolo	Politoys	1:27.4
27	34	François Migault	Connew	1:30.3

Saturday untimed practice

A short morning session allowed final checks before the 14:30 race. Stewart and Amon prepared to race their spare cars, while Hulme’s fitness had improved. Later, on the grid, Surtees mechanics worked urgently on a radiator leak in Hailwood’s car.

What happened in the 1972 British Grand Prix?

Ickx led Fittipaldi away, with Beltoise initially holding up the pursuing group. Stewart worked through and eventually joined the leaders, briefly taking second before Fittipaldi repassed him. Pescarolo escaped injury when the new Politoys crashed after a failure.

An oil leak steadily weakened Ickx’s Ferrari until he had to retire. Fittipaldi inherited the lead and held Stewart at bay, with Revson secure in third. Further back, punctures, accidents and mechanical problems repeatedly changed the points positions, while Merzario recovered determinedly from a tyre stop.

Fittipaldi won ahead of Stewart and Revson. Peterson’s engine stopped near the finish and his March crashed into the parked cars of Cevert and Hill, promoting Amon, Hulme and debutant Merzario into the remaining points. Lotus left Brands Hatch with another important championship victory.

After the race, Emerson Fittipaldi headed the drivers’ standings with 43 points, followed by Jackie Stewart on 27. Lotus – Ford led the constructors’ table on 43, with Tyrrell – Ford on 33.

1972 British Grand Prix race results

The 1972 British Grand Prix was held on 15 July 1972, with a scheduled start of 14:30 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus	76	1:47:50.2	9
2	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	76	+ 4.1	6
3	19	Peter Revson	McLaren	76	+ 1:12.5	4
4	17	Chris Amon	Matra	75	+ 1 Lap	3
5	18	Denny Hulme	McLaren	75	+ 1 Lap	2
6	6	Arturo Merzario	Ferrari	75	+ 1 Lap	1
7	3	Ronnie Peterson	March	74	Engine/accident	0
8	27	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham	73	+ 3 Laps	0
9	4	Niki Lauda	March	73	+ 3 Laps	0
10	33	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland	71	+ 5 Laps	0
11	11	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	70	+ 6 Laps	0
12	28	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham	69	Suspension	0
13	31	Mike Beuttler	March	69	+ 7 Laps	0
Ret	22	Tim Schenken	Surtees	64	Suspension	0
Ret	2	François Cevert	Tyrrell	60	Spun off	0
Ret	9	Dave Walker	Lotus	59	Suspension	0
Ret	5	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	49	Oil pressure	0
Ret	26	Graham Hill	Brabham	47	Spun off	0
Ret	25	Carlos Pace	March	39	Differential	0
Ret	14	Jackie Oliver	BRM	36	Suspension	0
Ret	21	Mike Hailwood	Surtees	31	Gearbox	0
Ret	29	Dave Charlton	Lotus	21	Gearbox	0
Ret	30	Nanni Galli	Tecno	9	Spun off	0
Ret	24	Henri Pescarolo	Politoys	7	Accident	0
Ret	12	Peter Gethin	BRM	5	Engine	0
Ret	23	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees	3	Accident	0
DNS	34	François Migault	Connew		Suspension	0
WD	7	Mario Andretti	Ferrari			0
WD	10	Tony Trimmer	Lotus		Engine	0
WD	15	Reine Wisell	BRM			0
WD	16	Helmut Marko	BRM			0
WD	20	Brian Redman	McLaren			0
WD	32	Ray Allen	March			0

1972 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	1	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell	58	1:24.000

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 British Grand Prix.

1972 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Emerson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Lotus	43
2	Jackie Stewart	British	Tyrrell	27
3	Denny Hulme	New Zealander	McLaren	21
4	Jacky Ickx	Belgian	Ferrari	16
5	Peter Revson	American	McLaren	10
6	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	French	BRM	9
7	François Cevert	French	Tyrrell	9
8	Chris Amon	New Zealander	Matra	9
9	Clay Regazzoni	Swiss	Ferrari	7
10	Ronnie Peterson	Swedish	March	5
11	Mike Hailwood	British	Surtees	4
12	Andrea de Adamich	Italian	Surtees	3
13	Mario Andretti	American	Ferrari	3
14	Carlos Pace	Brazilian	March	3
15	Tim Schenken	Australian	Surtees	2
16	Brian Redman	British	McLaren	2
17	Graham Hill	British	Brabham	1
18	Arturo Merzario	Italian	Ferrari	1
–	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brazilian	Brabham	0
–	Carlos Reutemann	Argentine	Brabham	0
–	Niki Lauda	Austrian	March	0
–	Howden Ganley	New Zealander	BRM	0
–	Helmut Marko	Austrian	BRM	0
–	Henri Pescarolo	French	March / Politoys	0
–	David Walker	Australian	Lotus	0
–	Rolf Stommelen	German	March	0
–	Mike Beuttler	British	March	0
–	Nanni Galli	Italian	Tecno / Ferrari	0
–	John Love	Rhodesian	Surtees	0
–	Reine Wisell	Swedish	BRM	0
–	Peter Gethin	British	BRM	0
–	Patrick Depailler	French	Tyrrell	0
–	Jackie Oliver	British	BRM	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	43
2	Tyrrell – Ford	33
3	McLaren – Ford	27
4	Ferrari	20
5	BRM	9
6	Matra	9
7	Surtees – Ford	9
8	March – Ford	8
9	Brabham – Ford	1
—	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