Формула-1 1972: Сезон чемпионов и инноваций

26th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing

The 1972 Formula One season was the 26th season of the FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the 23rd World Championship of Drivers, the 15th International Cup for F1 Manufacturers, and numerous non championship Formula One races. The World Championship season commenced on 23 January and ended on 8 October after twelve races. Emerson Fittipaldi, driving for Lotus, became the youngest World Champion to date at 25 years. This record would stand until Fernando Alonso's title in F1 season of 2005. Reigning champion Jackie Stewart came second in the championship. The Lotus team had finished fifth in the standings of F1 season of 1971, but kept developing their innovative Lotus 72 "wedge" design to take a surprise championship victory. The car sported a striking black and gold livery for their sponsor Imperial Tobacco had introduced a new brand of John Player Special cigarettes. The British Racing Motors (BRM) team took its last victory when Jean Pierre Beltoise won the rain affected 1972 Monaco Grand Prix in a BRM P160.

The following teams and drivers contested the 1972 World Championship. Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre Driver Rounds Motor Racing Developments Brabham Ford BT33BT34BT37 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Graham Hill All Carlos Reutemann 1–2, 5–12 Wilson Fittipaldi 3–12 Marlboro BRM España Marlboro BRM Austria Marlboro BRM BRM P160BP153P180P160C BRM P142 3.0 V12 Howden Ganley 1–6, 8–12 Reine Wisell 1, 3–4, 6, 8, 10 Peter Gethin 1–7, 9–12 Alex Soler Roig 1, 3 Helmut Marko 1–2, 4–6 Jean Pierre Beltoise 2–12 Vern Schuppan 5 Jackie Oliver 7 Bill Brack 11 Brian Redman 12 Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC Ferrari 312B2 Ferrari 001/1 3.0 F12 Jacky Ickx All Clay Regazzoni 1–5, 8–12 Mario Andretti 1–3, 10, 12 Nanni Galli 6 Arturo Merzario 7–8 John Player Team Lotus World Wide Racing Lotus Ford 72D Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Emerson Fittipaldi All David Walker 1–9, 12 Reine Wisell 11–12 STP March Racing Team March Ford 721721X721G Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Ronnie Peterson All Niki Lauda All Équipe Matra Sports Matra MS120CMS120D Matra MS72 3.0 V12 Chris Amon All Yardley Team McLaren McLaren Ford M19AM19C Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Denny Hulme All Peter Revson 1–3, 5, 7, 9–12 Brian Redman 4, 6, 8 Jody Scheckter 12 Brooke Bond Oxo Rob Walker Team Surtees Ceramica Pagnossin Team Surtees Flame Out Team Surtees Team Surtees Surtees Ford TS9BTS14 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Tim Schenken All Andrea de Adamich All Mike Hailwood 2–10, 12 John Surtees 10, 12 Elf Team Tyrrell Elf Tyrrell Ford 003002004005006 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Jackie Stewart 1–4, 6–12 François Cevert All Patrick Depailler 6, 12 Team Williams Motul March FordPolitoys Ford 711721FX3 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Henri Pescarolo All Carlos Pace 2–12 Team Eifelland Caravans Eifelland Ford 21 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Rolf Stommelen 2–9 Lucky Strike Racing Lotus Ford 72D Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Dave Charlton 2, 6–8 Team Gunston Surtees Ford TS9 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 John Love 2 Brabham Ford BT33 William Ferguson 2 Clarke Mordaunt Guthrie Racing March Ford 721G Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Mike Beuttler 3–12 Martini Racing Tecno PA123/3 Tecno Series P 3.0 F12 Nanni Galli 5, 7, 9–10 Derek Bell 6, 8, 10–12 Darnval Connew Racing Team Connew Ford PC1 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 François Migault 7, 9 Gene Mason Racing March Ford 711 Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Skip Barber 11–12 Champcarr Inc. Surtees Ford TS9B Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8 Sam Posey 12

BRM hired Reine Wisell from Lotus and Jean Pierre Beltoise from Matra. The team had lost Jo Siffert when he died during the 1971 World Championship Victory Race at Brands Hatch. Still, they were a popular outfit and managed to field no less than five cars in the opening race of the championship. After a collaboration with McLaren in F1 season of 1970, Alfa Romeo had worked with March in F1 season of 1971. Both campaigns were unsuccessful and the Italian firm pulled out of the sport. (They would return with Brabham in F1 season of 1976.) March promoted their Formula Two driver Niki Lauda to the F1 team, while the Austrian kept racing in F2 as well. At Lotus, Emerson Fittipaldi was joined by David Walker, while McLaren signed 1971 Can Am champion Peter Revson. They had previously worked together for the 1971 Indianapolis 500. Matra reduced their operations to just one car, after Beltoise moved to BRM. The Surtees team signed Tim Schenken from Brabham and Andrea de Adamich from March. Mike Hailwood was promoted to a full time drive while still driving in Formula Two. He would actually win the F2 title this year. Owner John Surtees would shift focus to his management role and retired from racing at the end of the season. Brabham, in the hands of new managing director Bernie Ecclestone, promoted their F2 driver Carlos Reutemann to race besides veteran Graham Hill. Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior paid his way to a third Brabham seat. Starting his third year as a team owner in F1, Frank Williams gained sponsorship from French oil company Motul, with which he was able to buy a new March 721 for his driver Henri Pescarolo. He also promoted his F2 driver Carlos Pace to the team, giving him previous year's March 711. The Williams team tried out with a Politoys FX3, but the car's steering failed on the first run, during the British Grand Prix, and the chassis was heavily damaged.

Günther Hennerici, owner of the caravan manufacturing company Eifelland, married Formula Two driver Hannelore Werner. Together, they set up a racing team that competed in the 1971 German Formula Three Championship, before expanding to F1 in 1972. From the second race of the season on, they entered a redesigned March 721 under the Eifelland name and signed Rolf Stommelen from Surtees. Before the season was over, however, they withdrew from the championship and refocussed their efforts on Formula Three. Tecno was a successful Italian karting and racing team. With sponsorship from Martini, they built their own F1 chassis and entered the 1972 championship from the Belgian Grand Prix on. They signed Nanni Galli, coming from the March team. The Connew Racing Team had the intent to enter and compete in the whole 1972 season, but only managed to start the Austrian Grand Prix, with French driver Francois Migault at the wheel. They converted their self made chassis to meet Formula 5000 regulations for 1973, but at the end of that year, the car was crashed beyond repair and the team folded.

The Argentine Grand Prix returned to the calendar in 1972, for the first time since F1 season of 1960. The Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez would be used again. The Belgian Grand Prix returned as well, after the F1 season of 1971 race was cancelled because of the failure to bring Circuit de Spa Francorchamps up to mandatory safety standards. The 1972 race was held at the Nivelles Baulers circuit. The Spanish Grand Prix was moved from Montjuïc to Jarama, in keeping with the event sharing arrangement between the two circuits. Likewise, the French Grand Prix was moved from Circuit Paul Ricard to the Charade Circuit and the British Grand Prix was moved from Silverstone to Brands Hatch.

F1 intended to organise a second Grand Prix in the United States, dubbed the United States Grand Prix West, at the Ontario Motor Speedway near Los Angeles. It would be the third race on the calendar on 9 April. The FIA demanded the circuit's owners to hold a test event first, but they did not comply and the event was cancelled. The Dutch Grand Prix was originally scheduled for 18 June, between the Belgian and French Grand Prix, but was cancelled because of safety upgrades that were not completed at the Zandvoort Circuit in time for the race, due to lack of funds. The Mexican Grand Prix was scheduled on 22 October, to be the last race of the championship, but it was cancelled after local interest dissipated after the death of Pedro Rodríguez in a sportscar crash in 1971.

Jackie Stewart was a notable absence in the Belgian Grand Prix. His gruelling schedule of racing in F1, Can Am and touring cars, as well as promotional events for sponsors Elf and Ford, and a side job as sports commentator on United States television on top of that, resulted in
a case of gastritis. Under doctor's orders, he rested for three weeks and severely restricted his activities after that. Championship leader Emerson Fittipaldi qualified on pole position in the Lotus, ahead of Clay Regazzoni in the Ferrari and Denny Hulme in the McLaren. Regazzoni's teammate Jacky Ickx, second in the championship, lined up in fourth, with Francois Cevert, the primary Tyrrell driver for this race, in fifth. At the start, Regazzoni took the lead, but saw Fittipaldi come back past on lap 9. Both Ferraris retired: Ickx with a problem to his accelerator linkage and Regazzoni when he hit backmarker Nanni Galli in the Tecno. The order at the finish of a relatively unexciting race was Fittipaldi, Cevert, Hulme. The F1 circus moved down to France, where the French Grand Prix was held at the Circuit de Charade, a twisty and undulating stretch of public roads. While Stewart was back in his car, but his teammate Cevert was comfortably fastest in practice. He drove a new spec Tyrrell chassis, until he crashed into the guard rail, injured his hand, and was left with the old spec spare car. He would not be the last driver to spin or crash out, trying to get to grips with the challenging circuit. Matra had also brought an upgraded chassis and gave Chris Amon everything he needed to snatch pole position. Hulme and Stewart started behind him. As the race got underway, not much changed in terms of position, but Helmut Marko was hit in the eye by a stone flicked up by Jacky Ickx's Ferrari. He stopped by the side of the track and was rushed off to hospital. This would mean the end of his racing career. The rough dirt on the track resulted in more trouble: Amon got a flat left front tyre and a 50 second pit stop left him in ninth position. But he put up a valiant fight and came home in third, behind winner Jackie Stewart and second placed Emerson Fittipaldi. Coming to Brands Hatch for the British Grand Prix, Denny Hulme, third in the championship, was recovering from a high speed crash in the Can Am race of the week before. He did drive but qualified down in eleventh. Stewart and Amon, heroes of the last race, both crashed in practice and qualified in their spare cars, fourth and seventeenth, respectively. Jacky Ickx got pole position ahead of Emerson Fittipaldi and Peter Revson. At the start, Jean Pierre Beltoise jumped up to third but quickly started to hold up the pack, which meant that the front two created a big lead over the first few laps. But with Beltoise's retirement on lap 22 and the leaders having trouble getting past a backmarker, Jackie Stewart gradually closed up and, on lap 25, managed to overtake Fittipaldi. After the Brazilian got back past, the leading pack stayed in their respective order until Ickx's Ferrari started leaking oil and he had to retire on lap 49. Fittipaldi took the win ahead of Stewart and Revson, only the top three finishing on the lead lap. Ronnie Peterson was fourth until his engine and gearbox gave up, he crashed off the road and hit two cars that had retired at the same spot earlier in the race. Chris Amon finished in a surprising fourth position ahead of Denny Hulme. In the drivers' championship, Emerson Fittipaldi (Lotus) led with 43 points, ahead of Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell) with 27 and Denny Hulme (McLaren) with 21. The manufacturers' championship saw Lotus in the lead with 43 points, ahead of Tyrrell with 33 and McLaren with 27.

The German Grand Prix was held at the most demanding circuit on the calendar: the infamous Nürburgring Nordschleife. In practice, Francois Cevert got air at Pflanzgarten corner and was one of four drivers to crash off the track. All escaped unhurt, but left their respective teams with a lot of repair work. The unofficial lap record was beaten by a full ten seconds on Friday and Ferrari's Jacky Ickx went another three seconds faster on Saturday to claim pole position, ahead of championship leaders Jackie Stewart and Emerson Fittipaldi. Ronnie Peterson started in fourth in his March but was second after the start. Clay Regazzoni (Ferrari) got up to third, while Stewart fell back behind Fittipaldi. After two laps of the circuit, Ickx was out of sight of his nearest challengers and kept setting new lap records. Fittipaldi got up to second, but Stewart was stuck in fifth place. When Peterson locked up, Regazzoni and Stewart got by, and they even gained another place when Fittipaldi's gearbox blew up and caused an engine fire. On lap 10, Henri Pescarolo suffered an enormous crash at Adenau corner but was unhurt. Ickx's engine was losing a bit of power due to a split exhaust manifold, but he won the race with almost a minute to spare. By leading every lap, he actually achieved a grand chelem. On the second to last lap, Stewart saw a chance to finally get past Regazzoni, but their wheels touched and the Scot crashed off. So the Ferraris finished 1 2 ahead of Peterson in the March. The Austrian Grand Prix was held in really hot and sunny conditions. Fittipaldi scored pole position ahead of Regazzoni and Stewart. At the start of the race, they went three wide into the first corner and it was Stewart who took the lead. Fittipaldi fell back to third but overtook Regazzoni when the Ferrari's engine sputtered. The Brazilian gradually closed up to the leader. On lap 23, the lead changed hands and Denny Hulme was challenging for second. Stewart's Tyrrell looked to have trouble with its rear suspension and the Scot would eventually finish seventh, over a minute down. Fittipaldi and Hulme fought a close battle, the Lotus crossing the line just over a second ahead of the McLaren. Hulme's teammate Peter Revson finished third. The European leg of the season concluded with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza. The circuit had been slowed down by two chicanes, so for once this year, earlier lap records would not be challenged. Jacky Ickx delighted the crowd with a pole position for Ferrari, just 0.04 seconds ahead of Chris Amon in the Matra. Stewart started third, Fittipaldi in sixth. However, seconds after the start, Stewart lost all drive from his engine and had to retire. Ickx and Amon had a trouble free getaway, while dust on the track left the rest of the field blind into the first corner. No accidents happened but Niki Lauda retired, as the dust had clogged up his March's throttle system. Amon fell back to fifth place, promoting Regazzoni to second, and even to first when the Swiss driver passed his teammate for the lead. Francois Cevert retirement on lap 14 left Tyrrell's championships hopes seriously diminished. Regazzoni hit Carlos Pace when the Brazilian was recovering from a spin and both cars were out of the race. A lot of drivers retired, including Amon with overheatingbrakes and, on lap 46, leader Jacky Ickx with a failure of all the electrics. Fittipaldi took the win ahead of Hailwood in the Surtees and Hulme in the McLaren. With an unsurmountable lead of 30 points over his nearest rival, Emerson Fittipaldi clinched the 1972 Drivers' Championship. At the age of 25, he was the youngest ever World Champion, a record that would stand until 2005. Denny Hulme (McLaren) had overtaken Jackie Stewart (Tyrrell) in the championship, standing on 31 points compared to 27. Lotus secured the Manufacturers' Championship since McLaren and Tyrrell were now too far back.

The McLaren drivers were already familiar with the Mosport International Raceway, host of the Canadian Grand Prix, thanks to their experience in Can Am. They managed to secure a 1 2 on the grid, Peter Revson ahead of Denny Hulme, with a surprising Ronnie Peterson in third. And it was the Swede that actually reached the first corner first, while Hulme fell back when dirt clogged up his throttle. Coming to complete the first lap, Peterson almost crashed out, and after another mistake a few laps later, he lost the lead to Jackie Stewart. Champion Emerson Fittipaldi was challenging Revson for third. Peterson collided with Graham Hill when trying to lap him. He stopped with a bent steering column and was pushed into the pits. When he rejoined, he found Hill and made clear that the Brit knew how he felt. Peterson was later disqualified for the push up the pits. Fittipaldi fell back with damage to the nose of his car, so on the podium stood Stewart, Revson and Hulme. Coming to the final race of the championship, the United States Grand Prix, Stewart was determined to show that the loss of the title did not mean a loss of form, and it would be one of the most convincing wins of his career, achieving a hat trick of pole position, fastest lap and victory. Revson and Hulme started second and third for McLaren. At the start, Revson was caught up in a collision with Regazzoni and Reutemann, so Hulme was up to second and Fittipaldi up to third. Future champion Jody Scheckter was running fourth in his debut race and actually went past the freshly crowned Brazilian, but when a sudden shower arrived, he spun off at the first corner. Stewart was now leading 40 seconds ahead of his teammate Francois Cevert, and then the McLaren of Hulme. Emerson Fittipaldi finished on top of the standings with 61 points, ahead of Jackie Stewart with 45 and Denny Hulme with 39. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Lotus were first with 61 points. Tyrrell were now second (51), having just overtaken McLaren (47).

Points for the 1972 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points. For classification, only the best five results from the first half of the season and the best five results from the second half of the season could be retained. Pos. Manufacturer ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA Pts. 1 Lotus Ford Ret 2 1 3 1 2 1 Ret 1 1 11 10 61 2 Tyrrell Ford 1 9 Ret 4 2 1 2 10 7 Ret 1 1 51 3 McLaren Ford 2 1 5 5 3 7 3 (5) 2 3 2 3 47 (49) 4 Ferrari 3 4 2 2 Ret 11 6 1 Ret 7 5 5 33 5 Surtees Ford 5 16 4 7 4 6 Ret 13 4 2 7 12 18 6 March Ford 6 5 6 11 5 5 7 3 10 9 9 4 15 7 BRM 9 14 Ret 1 8 15 11 4 6 6 10 Ret 14 8 Matra DNS 15 Ret 6 6 3 4 15 5 Ret 6 15 12 9 Brabham Ford 7 6 7 9 13 8 8 6 Ret 5 4 11 7 — Eifelland Ford 13 Ret 10 11 16 10 Ret 15 0 — Tecno Ret DNS Ret Ret NC Ret DNS Ret 0 — Politoys Ford Ret 0 — Connew Ford DNS Ret 0 Pos. Manufacturer ARG RSA ESP MON BEL FRA GBR GER AUT ITA CAN USA Pts. Bold results counted to championship totals.