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. Drivers who skirted the track edge would often send rocks flying into the middle of the road and into the way of pursuing competitors. 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. 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. 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. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second, just ahead of a charging Amon, who shattered the circuit's lap record.
Qualifying
Qualifying classification Pos.NoDriverConstructorTimeGapGrid19 Chris AmonMatra2:53.4122 Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford2:54.2 +0.8234 Jackie StewartTyrrell-Ford2:55.0 +1.6343 Jacky IckxFerrari2:55.1 +1.74527 Tim SchenkenSurtees-Ford2:57.2 +3.85625 Helmut MarkoBRM2:57.3 +3.9677 François CevertTyrrell-Ford2:58.1 +4.7781 Emerson FittipaldiLotus-Ford2:58.1 +4.78912 Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford2:58.2 +4.891026 Mike HailwoodSurtees-Ford2:58.3 +4.9101117 Carlos PaceMarch-Ford2:58.6 +5.2111216 Henri PescaroloMarch-Ford2:59.0 +5.61328 Andrea de AdamichSurtees-Ford2:59.1 +5.7121411 Brian RedmanMcLaren-Ford2:59.4 +6.0131519 Wilson FittipaldiBrabham-Ford2:59.5 +6.1141610 Rolf StommelenEifelland-Ford2:59.6 +6.215178 Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford2:59.6 +6.2161820 Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford3:00.7 +7.3171924 Reine WisellBRM3:00.7 +7.3182030 Nanni GalliFerrari3:00.7 +7.3192123 Howden GanleyBRM3:02.0 +8.62222 Peter GethinBRM3:02.8 +9.42318 Graham HillBrabham-Ford3:03.0 +9.6202414 Niki LaudaMarch-Ford3:03.1 +9.721256 Dave WalkerLotus-Ford3:04.7 +11.3222615 Mike BeuttlerMarch-Ford3:05.9 +12.5232721 Derek BellTecno3:06.9 +13.5—5 Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRMno time2429 Dave CharltonLotus-Ford3:11.6 +18.2—
Race
Classification Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 4 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 38 1:52:22.5 3 9 2 1 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 38 + 27.7 8 6 3 9 Chris Amon Matra 38 + 31.9 1 4 4 7 François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 38 + 49.3 7 3 5 12 Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 38 + 56.8 9 2 6 26 Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 38 + 1:36.1 10 1 7 2 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 38 + 1:48.1 2 8 19 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 38 + 2:25.1 14 9 11 Brian Redman McLaren-Ford 38 + 2:55.5 13 10 18 Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 38 + 2:59.5 20 11 3 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 37 + 1 Lap 4 12 20 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 17 13 30 Nanni Galli Ferrari 37 + 1 Lap 19 14 28 Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 12 15 5 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 37 + 1 Lap 24 16 10 Rolf Stommelen Eifelland-Ford 37 + 1 Lap 15 17 27 Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 36 + 2 Laps 5 18 6 Dave Walker Lotus-Ford 34 Halfshaft 22 19 15 Mike Beuttler March-Ford 33 Out of Fuel 23 8 Patrick Depailler Tyrrell-Ford 33 + 5 Laps 16 24 Reine Wisell BRM 25 Gearbox 18 17 Carlos Pace March-Ford 18 Engine 11 25 Helmut Marko BRM 8 Injury 6 14 Niki Lauda March-Ford 4 Halfshaft 21 16 Henri Pescarolo March-Ford Accident 21 Derek Bell Tecno Transmission 22 Peter Gethin BRM Accident 23 Howden Ganley BRM Car raced by Beltoise 29 Dave Charlton Lotus-Ford
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emerson Fittipaldi 34 2 2 Jackie Stewart 21 1 3 Denny Hulme 19 1 4 Jacky Ickx 16 5 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 34 2 2 Tyrrell-Ford 27 1 3 McLaren-Ford 23 1 4 Ferrari 19 5 BRM 9Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
This was the Formula One World Championship debut for French driver and future Grand Prix winner Patrick Depailler. This was the 5th pole position and 10th fastest lap set by a New Zealand driver.
Additional notes
References