http://www.linux-on-laptops.com/compaq.html - says that someone has Debian working on a 1503AP and RH8 on a 1508. Since 7.2 is a fairly old version, you may want to check the system requirements for a more up to date distro.
[Edit] In fact, after viewing the specs of your laptop, I would definitely suggest going for an up to date distro - your machine should happily accomodate Fedora Core 2 (if you really want Red Hat) or Mandrake, Slackware, or any other. [/Edit]