The BRM P180 was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

racing car, built by

BRM British Racing Motors (BRM) was a British Formula One motor racing team. Founded in 1945 and based in the market town of Bourne in Lincolnshire, it participated from 1951 to 1977, competing in 197 grands prix and winning seventeen. BRM wo ...

and designed by

Tony Southgate Tony Southgate (born 25 May 1940, Coventry, England) is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was respon ...

which raced in the

1972 Formula One season 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 ...

. It was powered by a BRM 3.0-litre

V12 engine A V12 engine is a twelve-cylinder piston engine where two banks of six cylinders are arranged in a V configuration around a common crankshaft. V12 engines are more common than V10 engines. However, they are less common than V8 engines. The fi ...

. One of the main features of the P180 was that the radiators had moved to the rear of the car, allowing the nose of the car to be very wide and flat. It competed in five World Championship Grands Prix, with a total of seven individual entries. The car scored no World Championship points, its best finish being eighth at the

1972 Italian Grand Prix 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 M ...

Race history

The car made its debut at the

1972 Spanish Grand Prix The 1972 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuito Permanente Del Jarama, Jarama on May 1, 1972. It was race 3 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers ...

with

Peter Gethin Peter Kenneth Gethin (21 February 1940 – 5 December 2011) was a British racing driver from England. He participated in 31 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 21 June 1970. He won the 1971 Italian Grand Prix in the fastes ...

but retired when the engine failed.

Howden Ganley James Howden Ganley (born 24 December 1941 in Hamilton) is a former racing driver from New Zealand. From 1971 to 1974 he participated in 41 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix. He placed 4th twice and scored points 5 times for a total of ...

drove the car at

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

and retired through accident. The car did not reappear until the

Italian Grand Prix The Italian Grand Prix ( it, Gran Premio d'Italia) is the fifth oldest national Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix (after the French Grand Prix, the United States Grand Prix, the Spanish Grand Prix and the Russian Grand Prix), having been he ...

, when it was driven by

Jean-Pierre Beltoise Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise (26 April 1937 – 5 January 2015) was a French Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. He competed in 88 Grands Prix achieving a single victory, at th ...

and finished eighth. The Frenchman was joined by Canadian

Bill Brack William Brack (born 26 December 1935) is a Canadian former racing driver. Brack raced in Formula One and the Atlantic Championship. Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Brack originally became involved in auto racing in the early 1960s, in the fo ...

for

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

but Brack retired when he spun off and Beltoise also retired when he had an oil leak. For the

United States Grand Prix The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

Brian Redman Brian Herman Thomas Redman (born 9 March 1937 in Burnley, Lancashire and educated at Rossall School, Fleetwood, Lancashire), is a retired British racing driver. Racing for Carl Haas and Jim Hall's Chaparral Cars, Brian Redman won the 1974, '7 ...

replaced Brack but he retired when his engine failed and Beltoise also retired when his ignition failed. The car won the non-championship

1972 World Championship Victory Race The 2nd World Championship Victory Race, formally the ''John Player Challenge Trophy'', was a motor race, run to Formula One rules, held on 22 October 1972 at Brands Hatch, Kent. The race was run over 40 laps of the circuit. Jean-Pierre Beltoise wo ...

with Beltoise before being retired in favour of the older P160.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

)(results in bold indicate pole position, results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^‡ All points were scored using

BRM P160 The BRM P160 was a Formula One racing car designed by Tony Southgate for the British Racing Motors team, which raced in the 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974 Formula One seasons. It was powered by a 3.0-litre V12 engine. Race history 1971 The P160 made i ...

References

{{F1 cars 1972 BRM Formula One cars