| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time | Grid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | Carlos Reutemann | Brabham-Ford | 37 | 1:37:16.248 | 2 |
| 2 | 10 | Ronnie Peterson | March-Ford | 37 | +1:27.656 | 3 |
| 3 | 9 | Wilson Fittipaldi | Brabham-Ford | 37 | +2:03.379 | 4 |
| 4 | 17 | Helmut Marko | BRM | 36 | + 1 Lap | 11 |
| 5 | 2 | Dave Walker | Lotus-Ford | 36 | + 1 Lap | 5 |
| 6 | 11 | Luiz Bueno | March-Ford | 35 | + 2 Laps | 10 |
| Ret | 1 | Emerson Fittipaldi | Lotus-Ford | 32 | Suspension | 1 |
| Ret | 18 | Alex Soler-Roig | BRM | 32 | Suspension | 12 |
| Ret | 6 | Carlos Pace | March-Ford | 1 | Throttle | 7 |
| Ret | 5 | Henri Pescarolo | March-Ford | 0 | Throttle | 8 |
| Ret | 15 | Peter Gethin | BRM | 0 | Throttle | 9 |
| DNS | 14 | Jean-Pierre Beltoise | BRM | Ignition | 6 | |
| DNQ | 12 | Andrea de Adamich | Surtees-Ford | |||
| DNQ | 7 | Reine Wisell | Surtees-Ford | |||
| WD | 3 | Jacky Ickx | Ferrari | |||
| WD | 4 | Clay Regazzoni | Ferrari | |||
| WD | 16 | Howden Ganley | BRM |
Date: March 30, 1972
Official Name: I Grande Prêmio do Brasil
Circuit: Autódromo José Carlos Pace
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Circuit Length: 7.960 km
Number of Laps: 37
Race Distance: 294.520 km
Pole Position: Emerson Fittipaldi, Lotus-Ford, 2:32.4
Fastest Lap: Emerson Fittipaldi, Lotus-Ford, 2:35.2