312 B2

Rather than a further development of the 312 B, this was a practically new car with an engine with shorter stroke which allowed it to increase its power at higher revs. The nose cone was low and squareish, the flanks straight, and the rear wing attached to an appendage of the roll-bar. The rear suspension was also innovative with twin struts and spring/dampner groups mounted above the gearbox and connected to the hub with thrust arms. The car was interesting enough but its performance was affected by other factors.

In the year before Jackie Stewart’s World title, Ferrari scored two wins in the first part of the season (one in South Africa with Andretti and the other in Holland with Ickx), but couldn’t keep up the performance in the second half. In the end, the Scuderia managed 33 points, to take fourth position in the Constructors’ classification. Fourth was also as good as the Prancing Horse drivers could manage in the Driver’s, thanks to Ickx. 1972 was an in-between season for Ferrari with the same performances in the Drivers’ and Constructors’ Championships. Its only success came in Germany where Ickx beat his team mate Regazzoni. The Belgian was the best driver that season, but still ended up way behind World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi in the rankings. The car was an update of the 312 used in 1971.