Mario Andretti psyches himself up before a practice session in his Ferrari 312B2 prior to the 1972 Italian Grand Prix…
Andretti qualified the Ferrari seventh and finished the same way, teammates Jacky Ickx and Clay Regazzoni proved the car’s pace by popping the car on pole and fourth.
Jacky led the race after Clay Regazzoni’s car clipped the back of Carlos Pace’s March when the latter spun at the Vialone chicane. Ickx snuck back into the lead only to lose it when the Flat-12 failed; Fittipaldi took the win and title in his Lotus 72D Ford.
Background…
The Ferrari 312B2 made its debut at Brands Hatch in 1971, it was a new car rather than a development of the original car for which the Ferrari 3-litre flat-12 was designed, the 1970 312B.
Said engine had a shorter stroke, aimed to increase revs and thereby increase power. The nose cone was low and squarish, the flanks more straight than the rounded shape of the earlier cars, and the rear wing attached to an appendage on the roll-bar.
The rear suspension was redesigned with twin struts and spring/damper groups mounted above the gearbox and connected to the hub with tubular arms. The aim was to reduce unsprung weight. The coil spring-shocks were shifted towards the centre of the car above the gearbox. The car remained a handful as drivers struggled with the handling in combination with the Firestone tyres, a continuation of some of the problems of 1971.
Ferrari were struggling with direction at the time after several difficult years, the situation climaxed halfway through 1973 when Luca Di Montezemolo was brought in from Fiat to sort things and provide clear leadership.
312B2 wasn’t a great Ferrari, Jacky Ickx able to scored just a single win with the B2 in 197, the Dutch GP at Zandvoort in rainy conditions whilst teammate Clay Regazzoni placed 3rd twice.
In 1972 Ickx only won the German GP, despite four poles. Despite the disappointing results, it raced on into 1973 came in action in 1973, Merzario scored fourth at Kyalami before the B3 appeared, a lousy car. with Ickx decamping prior to the German GP. The teams resurgence began with the 1974 B3 variant and the powerful Lauda-Montezemolo-Forghieri cocktail.
Design and Specifications…
Chassis Type 621/A monocoque of the ‘aero-type’ with aluminium panels riveted onto tubular steel spaceframe structure with a partially stressed engine.
Suspension; Front Double wishbones: upper rocker arm, lower wishbone, inboard spring/damper units and anti-roll bar. Rear; Single upper radius arm, horizontal spring/damper units mounted atop the transaxle and anti-roll bar.
Engine; Type 001/1, Flat-12 derived from the 001, light alloy cylinder block and head, DOHC, four valves, Lucas fuel injection, Marelli electrnonic ignition. Aluminium wet cylinder liners, bore/stroke, 80 x 49.6 mm, 2,991cc, compression ratio 11.5:1. 480bhp@12500rpm
Gearbox; five speed Ferrai transaxle with slippery diff. Brakes; Lockheed discs and calipers, inboard at rear. Rack and pinion steering.
Tyres/Wheels; F/R 8.6-20-13″, 13.5-24.0-15″ Firestones. Wheels: cast light alloy; front 10×13″, rear 15×15″
Etcetera…
Another couple of Schlegelmilch shots of Andretti at Monza…
Credits…
Rainer Schlegelmilch, f1technical.com, Tony Matthews
Tailpiece…
1971 Monza pre-race engine changes, 312B2…
Finito…
