1972 French Grand Prix
Race details
Date 2 July 1972
Location Circuit de Charade
Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France
Course Temporary street circuit
Course length 8.055 km (5.005 miles)
Distance 38 laps, 306.09 km (190.19 miles)
Pole position
Driver
Matra
Time 2:53.4
Fastest lap
Driver New Zealand Chris Amon Matra
Time 2:53.9 on lap 32
Podium
First
Tyrrell-Ford
Second
Lotus-Ford
Third
  • New Zealand Chris Amon
 Matra
Lap leaders
Poleman and third-place finisher Chris Amon in front of fourth place finisher François Cevert

The 1972 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit de Charade in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France on 2 July 1972. It was race 6 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.

The Circuit de Charade's natural setting around the base of an extinct volcano created safety concerns due to the dark, volcanic rocks which fell from the mountain onto both sides of the track.[1][2] Drivers who skirted the track edge would often send rocks flying into the middle of the road and into the path of pursuing competitors.[1][2] The hazard was highlighted when driver Helmut Marko suffered a career-ending injury during the race, when a stone thrown from Ronnie Peterson's March penetrated his helmet visor and blinded him in the left eye.[1][2][lower-alpha 1] The rocks also meant that tyre punctures were a perennial hazard on the circuit, as was shown when ten competitors suffered punctures during the race.[1][2] The French Grand Prix was moved to the new Circuit Paul Ricard for 1973.

Chris Amon achieved the fifth and final pole position of his career and was leading the race in his Matra until a puncture forced him to pit, leaving Jackie Stewart to win in his Tyrrell-Ford. Fittipaldi finished second, just ahead of a charging Amon, who shattered the circuit's lap record.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos. Driver Constructor Time No
1 Chris Amon Matra 2:53.4 1
2 Denis Hulme McLaren-Ford 2:54.2 2
3 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 2:55.0 3
4 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 2:55.1 4
5 Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 2:57.2 5
6 Helmut Marko BRM 2:57.3 6
7 François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 2:58.1 7
8 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 2:58.1 8
9 Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 2:58.2 9
10 Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 2:58.3 10
11 Carlos Pace March-Ford 2:58.6 11
12 Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 2:59.0 DNS
13 Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 2:59.1 12
14 Brian Redman McLaren-Ford 2:59.4 13
15 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 2:59.5 14
16 Rolf Stommelen Eifelland-Ford 2:59.6 15
17 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 2:59.6 16
18 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 3:00.7 17
19 Reine Wisell BRM 3:00.7 18
20 Nanni Galli Ferrari 3:00.7 19
21 Howden Ganley BRM 3:02.0 DNS
22 Peter Gethin BRM 3:02.8 DNS
23 Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 3:03.0 20
24 Niki Lauda March-Ford 3:03.1 21
25 Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 3:04.7 22
26 Mike Beuttler March-Ford 3:05.9 23
27 Derek Bell Tecno 3:06.9 DNS
— Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM no time 24
DNQ Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford 3:11.6 —

Race

Classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 4 United Kingdom Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 38 1:52:22.5 3 9
2 1 Brazil Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 38 + 27.7 8 6
3 9 New Zealand Chris Amon Matra 38 + 31.9 1 4
4 7 France François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 38 + 49.3 7 3
5 12 Sweden Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 38 + 56.8 9 2
6 26 United Kingdom Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 38 + 1:36.1 10 1
7 2 New Zealand Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 38 + 1:48.1 2  
8 19 Brazil Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 38 + 2:25.1 14  
9 11 United Kingdom Brian Redman McLaren-Ford 38 + 2:55.5 13  
10 18 United Kingdom Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 38 + 2:59.5 20  
11 3 Belgium Jacky Ickx Ferrari 37 + 1 Lap 4  
12 20 Argentina Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 17  
13 30 Italy Nanni Galli Ferrari 37 + 1 Lap 19  
14 28 Italy Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 12  
15 5 France Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 37 + 1 Lap 24  
16 10 Germany Rolf Stommelen Eifelland-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 15  
17 27 Australia Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 36 + 2 Laps 5  
18 6 Australia Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 34 Halfshaft 22  
19 15 United Kingdom Mike Beuttler March-Ford 33 Out of Fuel 23  
NC 8 France Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 33 + 5 Laps 16  
Ret 24 Sweden Reine Wisell BRM 25 Gearbox 18  
Ret 17 Brazil Carlos Pace March-Ford 18 Engine 11  
Ret 25 Austria Helmut Marko BRM 8 Driver Injured 6  
Ret 14 Austria Niki Lauda March-Ford 4 Halfshaft 21  
DNS 16 France Henri Pescarolo March-Ford   Accident    
DNS 21 United Kingdom Derek Bell Tecno   Transmission    
DNS 22 United Kingdom Peter Gethin BRM   Accident    
DNS 23 New Zealand Howden Ganley BRM   Car raced by Beltoise[3]    
DNQ 29 South Africa Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford        
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

  1. ↑ Some older sources state that the stone was thrown up by Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus, but more recent sources indicate that it was thrown up by Ronnie Peterson's March.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Charade". racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The Volcanic Rush of Clermont Ferrand". speedhunters.com. August 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  3. ↑ "French GP, 1972". www.grandprix.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "1972 French Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. 1 2 "France 1972 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
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