The Brabham BT34 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 designed by

Ron Tauranac Ronald Sidney Tauranac (13 January 1925 – 17 July 2020) was a British-Australian engineer and racing car designer, who with Formula One driver Jack Brabham founded the Brabham constructor and racing team in 1962. Following Brabham's retireme ...

, and used by

Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Motor Racing Developments Ltd., a British racing car manufacturer and Formula One racing team. Founded in 1960 by Australian driver Jack Brabham and British-Australian designer Ron Tauranac, the team won four ...

during part of the

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

and

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 ...

Development

In 1971,

Jack Brabham Sir John Arthur Brabham (2 April 1926 – 19 May 2014) was an Australian racing driver who was Formula One World Champion in , , and . He was a founder of the Brabham racing team and race car constructor that bore his name. Brabham was a R ...

sold his share of the team to co-owner and designer

. Englishman

Graham Hill Norman Graham Hill (15 February 1929 – 29 November 1975) was a British racing driver and team owner, who was the Formula One World Champion twice, winning in and as well as being runner up on three occasions (1963, 1964 and 1965). Despite ...

was signed to drive the BT34 and Tauranac also signed Australian

Tim Schenken Timothy Theodore Schenken (born 26 September 1943) is a former racing driver from Sydney, Australia. He participated in 36 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 August 1970. He achieved one career podium at the 1971 Austr ...

to drive the older

Brabham BT33 The list below summarizes Brabham race cars built by Motor Racing Developments in the United Kingdom. Note that many of the earlier models are badged as Repco Brabhams. References {{reflist Brabham Brabham () is the common name for Moto ...

. Tauranac designed the BT34, which was nicknamed the 'lobster claw', as derived from its twin

radiator Radiators are heat exchangers used to transfer thermal energy from one medium to another for the purpose of cooling and heating. The majority of radiators are constructed to function in cars, buildings, and electronics. A radiator is always a ...

s (claw) mounted ahead of the front wheels. Only one BT34 was built for Hill.

Racing history

1971

Brabham used the BT33 in the

1971 South African Grand Prix The 1971 South African Grand Prix, formally the Fifth AA Grand Prix of South Africa (Afrikaans: ''Vyfde AA Suid-Afrikaanse Grand Prix''), was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami Circuit on 6 March 1971. It was race 1 of 11 in both the 197 ...

. The BT34 made its debut at

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, and Hill retired with steering issues. The Englishman crashed at the

Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...

. Hill finished tenth at

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

and retired at the

French Grand Prix The French Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de France), formerly known as the Grand Prix de l'ACF (Automobile Club de France), is an auto race held as part of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's annual Formula One World Championsh ...

with a broken oil pipe. The start of

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

was a shambles, with a bungled flag drop causing a crash between Hill and

Jackie Oliver Keith Jack "Jackie" Oliver (born 14 August 1942 in Chadwell Heath, Essex) is a British former Formula One driver and team-owner from England. He became known as the founder of the Arrows team as well as a racing driver, although during his dr ...

(

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...

), for which Oliver was fined £50. Hill finished ninth at the

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Deutschland) was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history; the Nürburgring in R ...

. Hill finished fifth at

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and retired at 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 ...

with a broken gearbox. Hill crashed at a wet race in

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 ...

. The Englishman finished seventh at 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 ...

. Brabham finished the season in ninth place in the Constructors' Championship, with five points, scored by Schenken in the Brabham BT33. Only a team's best place finish in any one race counted towards the constructors' championship. Hill's fifth place at the Austrian Grand Prix did not count towards the final points total as Schenken finished third. At the end of the year, Tauranac, an engineer by choice, started to feel his Formula One budget of £100,000 was a risk he could not afford to take on his own and searched around for an experienced business partner. He sold Brabham for £100,000 at the end of the year to

Bernie Ecclestone Bernard Charles Ecclestone (born 28 October 1930) is an English business magnate. He is the former chief executive of the Formula One Group, which manages Formula One motor racing and controls the commercial rights to the sport, and part-owns ...

, former manager of

Jochen Rindt Jochen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Jochen Asche, East German luger, competed during the 1960s *Jochen Böhler (born 1969), German historian, specializing in the history of World War II *Jochen Babock (born 1953), East G ...

and former owner of

Connaught Engineering Connaught Engineering, often referred to simply as Connaught, was a Formula One, Formula Two and sports car constructor from the United Kingdom. Their cars participated in 18 Grands Prix, entering a total of 52 races with their A, B, and C Type ...

. Tauranac stayed on to design the cars and run the factory.

1972

Tauranac left the Brabham team in early

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

after Ecclestone changed the way Brabham was organised without letting him know. Ecclestone said, "In retrospect, the relationship was never going to work", noting that " on Tauranac and Iboth took the view: 'Please be reasonable, do this my way'". The 1972 season was disappointing, despite the team running three different cars, the BT33, BT34 and BT37. Brabham replaced Schenken with Argentinian

Carlos Reutemann Carlos Alberto "Lole" Reutemann (12 April 1942 – 7 July 2021) was an Argentine racing driver who raced in Formula One from to , and later became a politician in his native province of Santa Fe, for the Justicialist Party, and governor of ...

for 1972. Hill remained with the team, but Brabham put the Argentinian in the BT34. The

1972 Argentine Grand Prix The 1972 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Buenos Aires circuit on 23 January 1972. It was race 1 of 12 in both the 1972 World Championship of Drivers and the 1972 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The ...

saw Reutemann take pole in his first grand prix but finish seventh. The Argentinian retired from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

with fuel system failure. Reutemann broke his ankle after a mechanical failure on his Rondel Racing entered Brabham at Thruxton during a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

race. The BT34 was not used at the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

and Monaco Grands Prix. For

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, Brabham entered a third car for Brazilian

Wilson Fittipaldi Wilson may refer to: People * Wilson (name) ** List of people with given name Wilson ** List of people with surname Wilson * Wilson (footballer, 1927–1998), Brazilian manager and defender * Wilson (footballer, born 1984), full name Wilson R ...

, but he retired with a broken gearbox. The Brazilian finished eighth at the

. Fittipaldi finished 12th at

despite having stopped the car on lap 69 with broken suspension. The Brazilian finished seventh at the

. Fittipaldi retired from the final four races of the year, brake failure at

, broken suspension in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, broken gearbox at

and engine failure at the United States. The Brabham team had scored seven World Championship points, four by Hill and three by Reutemann, earning them ninth place in the Constructors' Championship for the second season running. The BT34 was replaced by the

Brabham BT37 The Brabham BT37 was a Formula One racing car designed by Ralph Bellamy for the Brabham team to use in the 1972 Formula One season. It was relatively unsuccessful compared to Brabham's earlier and later cars such as the BT19 or the BT44. In ...

for the 1973 season.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Points for the 1971 and 1972 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers were awarded on a 9–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the top six finishers in each race. Only the best placed car from each manufacturer was eligible to score points. For classification, only the best five results from the first half of the season and the best five results from the second half of the season could be retained. (

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) This total includes points scored by the

.
All points scored by the

and

Non-Championship Formula One results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

;Footnotes ;Sources * {{F1 cars 1972 Brabham Formula One cars