1972 Belgian Grand Prix

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 for the 1972 Belgian Grand Prix at the new Nivelles circuit was dominated by Emerson Fittipaldi in the Lotus 72, who set the fastest time and looked clearly superior to the rest of the field, with Clay Regazzoni’s Ferrari and Denny Hulme’s McLaren closest behind and Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Jackie Ickx also competitive.

Race

In the race Regazzoni led initially, but Fittipaldi passed him on lap nine and then drove away in complete control to a comfortable victory, confirming his advantage shown in practice. François Cevert finished a strong second for Tyrrell and Hulme took third for McLaren, while the rest of the field was spread out by mechanical problems and attrition, making Fittipaldi’s performance the outstanding feature of both qualifying and the race.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings

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