Belgian Grand Prix

Nivelles-Baulers, 4 Jun 1972

All cars are 3-litre F1 unless noted.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

3-litre Formula 1 World Championship events 1966-1985

These 1966 to 1985 results were initially compiled by Allen Brown, but these were in the very basic form required to track individual car histories. Since then further details, such as laps completed, qualifying times and so on, have been added from Rob Ryder's extensive database.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen at allen@oldracingcars.com if you can help with our research.

Individual sources for this event

Autosport 8 Jun 1972 pp8-17 (by Patrick McNally). Motoring News 8 Jun 1972 pp12-14 (by 'ARM' Andrew Marriott). Motor Sport July 1972 pp744-746 and 'Notes on the cars at Nivelles' pp746-747 (by 'DSJ' Denis Jenkinson). Sport Auto Juillet 1972 pp20-24 (by Jabby Crombac). Autocourse 1972-73 pp88-93 (by Mike Kettlewell).

There were two entries from each of McLaren, March, Ferrari, Lotus and Williams; three this time from Brabham, three from Surtees, five from BRM, only one this time from Tyrrell as Stewart was suffering from an ulcer, and one each from Matra and Tecno. The privateers were the stockbroker March, and Eifelland, bringing the total to 26 entries. Tecno's arrival made the team the 17th 3-litre F1 constructor, and the first newcomer in nearly two years.

The spare cars were Tyrrell 004 for Cevert, the second McLaren M19A for Hulme, a spare Lotus 72 for Fittipaldi, and a Ferrari 312B2 for Ickx. With Le Mans only a week away, Amon was without his spare car and half his mechanics. Marriott in MN added "A look round the paddock" and counted 31 cars, implying the 31st was Stewart's Tyrrell 003 in a corner with a dustsheet over it. The Tecno was described by the British press as "ungainly", "bulbous and unattractive" and "an interim model", but the engine caused considerable excitement.

The Belgian Grand Prix took place at Nivelles-Baulers, not at Spa, and Denis Jenkinson could not let this pass without another broadside at Jackie Stewart's "pious whinings". Following the serialisation of Stewart's book "Faster!" in the Sunday Times, there were plenty of others ready to attack him, and Bill Gavin's article in Autosport (20 Jul 1972 pp8-9) goes some way to explain why the high-profile, long-haired, high-earning, safety-campaigning tax exile was not universally popular, but it did take letters to Motor Sport to make the point that golf, for example, could still be a dramatic sport without needing to put its players in mortal danger. Mike Kettlewell, writing in Autocourse, called Jenkinson an "arch-purist". Stewart actually wrote to Motor Sport himself in the August issue to put his case, attacking Jenkinson as a "fence-sitter" and branding the people resisting change as "cranks".