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1972 Belgian Grand Prix
Race details
Date	June 4, 1972
Location	Nivelles-Baulers, Nivelles, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.72 km (2.314 miles)
Distance	85 laps, 316.2 km (196.69 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford
Time	1:11.43
Fastest lap
Driver	Chris Amon	Matra
Time	1:12.12 on lap 66
Podium
First	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford
Second	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford
Third	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford
Lap leaders

The 1972 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nivelles on 4 June 1972. It was race 5 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 85-lap race was won by Lotus driver Emerson Fittipaldi after he started from pole position. François Cevert finished second for the Tyrrell team and McLaren driver Denny Hulme came in third.

Reigning World Champion Jackie Stewart was a notable absence – his gruelling schedule of racing in Formula 1, Can-Am and European touring cars, plus promotional events for Tyrrell sponsors Elf and Ford, as well as a sideline of sports commentating on television in the US led to what was originally diagnosed as an ulcer, but was later confirmed as gastritis. Under doctor's orders, he took about three weeks off from everything, canceled his involvement with the Can-Am series and US TV for the remainder of 1972, and was restricting his schedule of everything else.

Qualifying

Qualifying classification

Pos.	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	32	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	1:11.43
2	30	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	1:11.58	+0.15
3	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	1:11.80	+0.37
4	29	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	1:11.84	+0.41
5	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	1:11.93	+0.50
6	23	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	1:12.12	+0.69
7	10	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	1:12.19	+0.76
8	34	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	1:12.35	+0.92
9	19	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham–Ford	1:12.50	+1.07
10	36	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees-Ford	1:12.54	+1.11
11	16	Carlos Pace	March-Ford	1:12.64	+1.21
12	33	David Walker	Lotus-Ford	1:12.76	+1.33
13	5	Chris Amon	Matra	1:12.80	+1.37
14	11	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	1:13.00	+1.57
15	25	Howden Ganley	BRM	1:13.01	+1.58
16	17	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford	1:13.10	+1.67
17	24	Peter Gethin	BRM	1:13.15	+1.72
18	18	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	1:13.20	+1.77
19	15	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	1:13.40	+1.97
20	6	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland-Ford	1:13.43	+2.00
21	35	Tim Schenken	Surtees-Ford	1:13.60	+2.17
22	14	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	1:13.70	+2.27
23	27	Helmut Marko	BRM	1:14.10	+2.67
24	22	Nanni Galli	Tecno	1:14.60	+3.17
25	12	Niki Lauda	March-Ford	1:16.50	+5.07
26	26	Vern Schuppan	BRM	1:16.90	+5.47

Race

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	32	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	85	1:44:07.3	1	9
2	8	François Cevert	Tyrrell-Ford	85	+ 26.6	5	6
3	9	Denny Hulme	McLaren-Ford	85	+ 58.1	3	4
4	34	Mike Hailwood	Surtees-Ford	85	+ 1:12.0	8	3
5	16	Carlos Pace	March-Ford	84	+ 1 Lap	11	2
6	5	Chris Amon	Matra	84	+ 1 Lap	13	1
7	10	Peter Revson	McLaren-Ford	83	+ 2 Laps	7
8	25	Howden Ganley	BRM	83	+ 2 Laps	15
9	11	Ronnie Peterson	March-Ford	83	+ 2 Laps	14
10	27	Helmut Marko	BRM	83	+ 2 Laps	23
11	6	Rolf Stommelen	Eifelland-Ford	83	+ 2 Laps	20
12	12	Niki Lauda	March-Ford	82	+ 3 Laps	25
13	19	Carlos Reutemann	Brabham-Ford	81	+ 4 Laps	9
14	33	Dave Walker	Lotus-Ford	79	+ 6 Laps	12
Ret	17	Graham Hill	Brabham-Ford	73	Suspension	16
NC	15	Henri Pescarolo	March-Ford	59	+ 26 Laps	19
Ret	30	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	57	Accident	2
Ret	36	Andrea de Adamich	Surtees-Ford	55	Engine	10
Ret	22	Nanni Galli	Tecno	54	Accident	24
Ret	29	Jacky Ickx	Ferrari	47	Injection	4
Ret	14	Mike Beuttler	March-Ford	31	Halfshaft	22
Ret	18	Wilson Fittipaldi	Brabham-Ford	28	Gearbox	18
Ret	24	Peter Gethin	BRM	27	Fuel Pump	17
Ret	23	Jean-Pierre Beltoise	BRM	15	Overheating	6
Ret	35	Tim Schenken	Surtees-Ford	11	Overheating	21
DNS	26	Vern Schuppan	BRM		Driven by Marko
Source:

Notes

• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Australian driver Vern Schuppan.
• This was the 200th Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in which a British driver participated. Of those 200 races, British drivers won 93 Grands Prix, achieved 208 podium finishes, 93 pole positions, 90 fastest laps, 25 Grand Slams and won 8 Driver's World Championships.
• This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Italian engine supplier Tecno.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emerson Fittipaldi 28 1 2 Denny Hulme 19 1 3 Jacky Ickx 16 4 Jackie Stewart 12 5 Jean-Pierre Beltoise 9 Source:

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 28 2 McLaren-Ford 23 3 Ferrari 19 4 Tyrrell-Ford 18 5 BRM 9 Source:

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

References

1. "1972 Belgian Grand Prix". formula1.com. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
2. ^ "Belgium 1972 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 12 March 2019.

• 1972 Formula One races
• Belgian Grand Prix
• 1972 in Belgian motorsport
• Sport in Walloon Brabant
• Nivelles