1972 French Grand Prix
F1
CountryFrance
Grand prixFrench
Date2 July
Year1972
LocationCircuit de Charade
Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France
CourseTemporary street circuit
Course5.005 mi
Course8.055 km
Distance laps38
Distance190.19 mi
Distance306.09 km
Pole driverChris Amon
Pole teamMatra
Pole time2:53.4
Pole countryNew Zealand
Fast driverChris Amon
Fast teamMatra
Fast time2:53.9
Fast lap32
Fast countryNew Zealand
First driverJackie Stewart
First teamTyrrell-Ford
First countryUnited Kingdom
Second driverEmerson Fittipaldi
Second teamLotus-Ford
Second countryBrazil
Third driverChris Amon
Third teamMatra
Third countryNew Zealand

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 way 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][a] 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. Emerson Fittipaldi finished second, just ahead of a charging Amon, who shattered the circuit's lap record.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos.NoDriverConstructorTimeGapGrid
19Chris AmonMatra2:53.41
22Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford2:54.2+0.82
34Jackie StewartTyrrell-Ford2:55.0+1.63
43Jacky IckxFerrari2:55.1+1.74
527Tim SchenkenSurtees-Ford2:57.2+3.85
625Helmut MarkoBRM2:57.3+3.96
77François CevertTyrrell-Ford2:58.1+4.77
81Emerson FittipaldiLotus-Ford2:58.1+4.78
912Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford2:58.2+4.89
1026Mike HailwoodSurtees-Ford2:58.3+4.910
1117Carlos PaceMarch-Ford2:58.6+5.211
1216Henri PescaroloMarch-Ford2:59.0+5.6DNS
1328Andrea de AdamichSurtees-Ford2:59.1+5.712
1411Brian RedmanMcLaren-Ford2:59.4+6.013
1519Wilson FittipaldiBrabham-Ford2:59.5+6.114
1610Rolf StommelenEifelland-Ford2:59.6+6.215
178Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford2:59.6+6.216
1820Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford3:00.7+7.317
1924Reine WisellBRM3:00.7+7.318
2030Nanni GalliFerrari3:00.7+7.319
2123Howden GanleyBRM3:02.0+8.6DNS
2222Peter GethinBRM3:02.8+9.4DNS
2318Graham HillBrabham-Ford3:03.0+9.620
2414Niki LaudaMarch-Ford3:03.1+9.721
256Dave WalkerLotus-Ford3:04.7+11.322
2615Mike BeuttlerMarch-Ford3:05.9+12.523
2721Derek BellTecno3:06.9+13.5DNS
—5Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRMno time24
DNQ29Dave CharltonLotus-Ford3:11.6+18.2—

Race

Classification

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
14Jackie StewartTyrrell-Ford381:52:22.539
21Emerson FittipaldiLotus-Ford38+ 27.786
39Chris AmonMatra38+ 31.914
47François CevertTyrrell-Ford38+ 49.373
512Ronnie PetersonMarch-Ford38+ 56.892
626Mike HailwoodSurtees-Ford38+ 1:36.1101
72Denny HulmeMcLaren-Ford38+ 1:48.12 
819Wilson FittipaldiBrabham-Ford38+ 2:25.114 
911Brian RedmanMcLaren-Ford38+ 2:55.513 
1018Graham HillBrabham-Ford38+ 2:59.520 
113Jacky IckxFerrari37+ 1 Lap4 
1220Carlos ReutemannBrabham-Ford37+ 1 Lap17 
1330Nanni GalliFerrari37+ 1 Lap19 
1428Andrea de AdamichSurtees-Ford37+ 1 Lap12 
155Jean-Pierre BeltoiseBRM37+ 1 Lap24 
1610Rolf StommelenEifelland-Ford37+ 1 Lap15 
1727Tim SchenkenSurtees-Ford36+ 2 Laps5 
186Dave WalkerLotus-Ford34Halfshaft22 
1915Mike BeuttlerMarch-Ford33Out of Fuel23 
NC8Patrick DepaillerTyrrell-Ford33+ 5 Laps16 
Ret24Reine WisellBRM25Gearbox18 
Ret17Carlos PaceMarch-Ford18Engine11 
Ret25Helmut MarkoBRM8Injury6 
Ret14Niki LaudaMarch-Ford4Halfshaft21 
DNS16Henri PescaroloMarch-Ford Accident  
DNS21Derek BellTecno Transmission  
DNS22Peter GethinBRM Accident  
DNS23Howden GanleyBRM Car raced by Beltoise[3]  
DNQ29Dave CharltonLotus-Ford    
Source:[4]

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1Emerson Fittipaldi34
22Jackie Stewart21
13Denny Hulme19
14Jacky Ickx16
5Jean-Pierre Beltoise9
Source:[5]
Constructors' Championship standings
PosConstructorPoints
1Lotus-Ford34
22Tyrrell-Ford27
13McLaren-Ford23
14Ferrari19
5BRM9
Source:[5]
  • 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

  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. ^ "Charade". racingcircuits.info. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
  2. ^ "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 7 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  5. ^ "France 1972 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.