The 1972 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monza on 10 September 1972. It was race 10 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers.
Before the race, the Monza circuit was modified with the addition of two chicanes, one before the Curva Grande and one at the site of the old Curva Vialone, in order to reduce speeds in the interests of safety. Team Lotus was forced to run only one car because Emerson Fittipaldi's Lotus 72D was seriously damaged in an accident while being transported to Monza. Fittipaldi raced another 72D, but with specifications very close to the 1970 model.
The 55-lap race was won by Brazilian driver Emerson Fittipaldi, driving a Lotus-Ford, after he started from sixth position. With the win, Fittipaldi sealed the Drivers' Championship, becoming both the first Brazilian Formula One World Champion and the youngest ever champion at 25 years and 273 days until superseded by Fernando Alonso at 24 years and 59 days in 2005; Lotus also secured the Manufacturers' Cup. Englishman Mike Hailwood finished second in a Surtees-Ford, with New Zealander Denny Hulme third in a McLaren-Ford.
The race marked the last win for American tyre manufacturer Firestone in Formula One. It was also the last race in which 1964 World Champion John Surtees competed.
Classification Qualifying Pos. No Driver Constructor Time/Gap 1 4 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 1:35.65 2 20 Chris Amon Matra +0.04 3 1 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell–Ford +0.14 4 5 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari +0.18 5 14 Denny Hulme McLaren–Ford +0.32 6 6 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus–Ford +0.64 7 3 Mario Andretti Ferrari +0.67 8 15 Peter Revson McLaren–Ford +0.77 9 10 Mike Hailwood Surtees–Ford +0.85 10 24 Reine Wisell BRM +1.03 11 30 Carlos Reutemann Brabham–Ford +1.47 12 23 Peter Gethin BRM +1.56 13 28 Graham Hill Brabham–Ford +1.96 14 2 François Cevert Tyrrell–Ford +2.14 15 29 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham–Ford +2.17 16 21 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM +2.21 17 22 Howden Ganley BRM +2.26 18 26 Carlos Pace March–Ford +2.33 19 7 John Surtees Surtees–Ford +2.66 20 18 Niki Lauda March–Ford +2.87 21 9 Andrea de Adamich Surtees–Ford +2.95 22 8 Tim Schenken Surtees–Ford +2.96 23 11 Nanni Galli Tecno +2.99 24 19 Ronnie Peterson March–Ford +3.05 25 16 Mike Beuttler March–Ford +4.08 26 25 Henri Pescarolo March–Ford +4.56 27 12 Derek Bell Tecno +6.42 Source: *Entries with a red background failed to qualify.
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 6 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford 55 1:29:58.4 6 9 2 10 Mike Hailwood Surtees-Ford 55 + 14.5 9 6 3 14 Denny Hulme McLaren-Ford 55 + 23.8 5 4 4 15 Peter Revson McLaren-Ford 55 + 35.7 8 3 5 28 Graham Hill Brabham-Ford 55 + 1:05.6 13 2 6 23 Peter Gethin BRM 55 + 1:21.9 12 1 7 3 Mario Andretti Ferrari 54 + 1 Lap 7 8 21 Jean-Pierre Beltoise BRM 54 + 1 Lap 16 9 19 Ronnie Peterson March-Ford 54 + 1 Lap 24 10 16 Mike Beuttler March-Ford 54 + 1 Lap 25 11 22 Howden Ganley BRM 52 + 3 Laps 17 12 24 Reine Wisell BRM 51 + 4 Laps 10 13 18 Niki Lauda March-Ford 50 + 5 Laps 20 4 Jacky Ickx Ferrari 46 Electrical 1 20 Chris Amon Matra 38 Brakes 2 9 Andrea de Adamich Surtees-Ford 33 Brakes 21 29 Wilson Fittipaldi Brabham-Ford 20 Suspension 19 7 John Surtees Surtees-Ford 20 Fuel System 22 8 Tim Schenken Surtees-Ford 20 Spun Off 15 5 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari 16 Collision 4 26 Carlos Pace March-Ford 15 Collision 18 30 Carlos Reutemann Brabham-Ford 14 Suspension 11 2 François Cevert Tyrrell-Ford 14 Engine 14 11 Nanni Galli Tecno 6 Engine 23 1 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford 0 Clutch 3 25 Henri Pescarolo March-Ford 12 Derek Bell Tecno
Notes
This race marked the first podium finish for British constructor Surtees. It was also the 25th podium finish for McLaren.
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Emerson Fittipaldi 61 1 2 Denny Hulme 31 1 3 Jackie Stewart 27 4 Jacky Ickx 25 5 Peter Revson 17Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Lotus-Ford 61 2 McLaren-Ford 39 3 Tyrrell-Ford 33 4 Ferrari 29 2 5 Surtees-Ford 18Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. Bold text indicates the 1972 World Champions.
References