1972 French Grand Prix

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.

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	Chris Amon	Matra
Time	2:53.4
Fastest lap
Driver	Chris Amon	Matra
Time	2:53.9 on lap 32
Podium
First	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford
Second	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford
Third	Chris Amon	Matra
Lap leaders

Poleman and third-place finisher Chris Amon in front of fourth place finisher François Cevert

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

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
NC	8	Patrick Depailler	Tyrrell-Ford	33	+ 5 Laps	16
Ret	24	Reine Wisell	BRM	25	Gearbox	18
Ret	17	Carlos Pace	March-Ford	18	Engine	11
Ret	25	Helmut Marko	BRM	8	Driver Injured	6
Ret	14	Niki Lauda	March-Ford	4	Halfshaft	21
DNS	16	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford		Accident
DNS	21	Derek Bell	Tecno		Transmission
DNS	22	Peter Gethin	BRM		Accident
DNS	23	Howden Ganley	BRM		Car raced by Beltoise[3]
DNQ	29	Dave Charlton	Lotus-Ford
Source:[4]

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 9 Source: [5]

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 9 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 from the original on 7 November 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
5. "France 1972 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 15 March 2019.

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