The dominant Tyrrell team remained unchanged with Jackie Stewart and Francois Cevert, Ferrari retained Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni and Mario Andretti, while Team Lotus kept Emerson Fittipaldi and signed up Dave Walker to replace Reine Wisell. The team landed a major new sponsorship deal from John Player Special. McLaren continued to field Denny Hulme and Peter Revson was hired as his team mate while the team picked up the Yardley sponsorship from BRM. Brabham had been sold again with Ron Tauranac handing over to Bernie Ecclestone. Graham Hill stayed on and was joined by rising Argentine star Carlos Reutemann, who bought backing from YPF. March Engineering continued to have STP backing and took on Niki Lauda to partner Ronnie Peterson, the Austrian buying the drive with money borrowed from an Austrian bank. Matra reduced its involvement to one car (for Chris Amon) and Jean-Pierre Beltoise was loaned out to BRM to partner Peter Gethin and Howden Ganley. The team had landed backing from Marlboro and there were plans for a huge six-car effort with three new cars and three old ones for up and coming drivers. The plans did not quite come together. John Surtees decided to cut back on his driving and hired Mike Hailwood and Brabham's Tim Schenken to drive the Brooke Bond Oxo cars, while an agreement was made for a third car to be run for Andrea de Adamich in the colors of Ceramica Pagnossin.

There were several new teams planned in 1972, notably Tecno, which had backing from Martini and nominated Derek Bell and Nanni Galli to drive the flat-12 engined cars. The team was managed by David Yorke (formerly on Vanwall and the JWA sportscar team). Frank Williams also had plans for a car of his own and contracted Ron Tauranac to build him a chassis called the Politoys, named after his new sponsor.

The arrival of Reutemann in top level racing in Europe in 1971 had created sufficient interest for the Argentines to organize a Grand Prix at the old Buenos Aires track and this opened the season in January 1972. Practice proved to be sensational as F1 debutante Reutemann beat World Champion Jackie Stewart to pole position. The two McLarens of Revson and Hulme shared the second row and the third featured Fittipaldi (Lotus) and Regazzoni (Ferrari). The top 10 was completed by Cevert, Ickx, Andretti and Peterson.

At the start of the race Stewart took the lead with Reutemann second while behind them Fittipaldi quickly moved up to third ahead of Hulme. Then came Regazzoni, the fast-starting Peterson, Cevert and Revson. On the eighth lap Fittipaldi overtook Reutemann for second place and on the 12th lap Hulme bounced Reutemann back to fourth. The order at the front then remained stable with the only change being Cevert getting ahead of Peterson to take take sixth. On lap 34 Cevert was able to pass Regazzoni for fifth. By then Fittipaldi was drifting back towards Hulme because of gear selection trouble and on lap 35 the McLaren took second place. A few laps later Reutemann dropped out of the running, having to stop for new tires, which left Cevert in fourth place. On lap 60 Cevert went out with an oil pipe problem and on the next lap third-placed Fittipaldi ground to a halt with a rear suspension problem and so Jacky Ickx found himself in third place behind Stewart and Hulme.