2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Kimi Räikkönen took his first victory since returning to Formula 1 in a dramatic Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso finished second, while Sebastian Vettel recovered from the pit lane to third after a remarkable, incident-filled drive.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren
Pole time	1:40.630
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:43.964 on lap 54
First	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Second	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Third	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
2 November 2012	Practice 1	13:00 – 14:30
2 November 2012	Practice 2	17:00 – 18:30
3 November 2012	Practice 3	14:00 – 15:00
3 November 2012	Qualifying	17:00
4 November 2012	Race	17:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Sebastian Vettel arrived at round 18 leading the 2012 F1 World Championship on 240 points, with Fernando Alonso on 227. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 407 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi, Ma Qing Hua, Max Chilton, Valtteri Bottas also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Lewis Hamilton led FP1 on medium tyres in hot conditions, with a tailwind adding difficulty through the braking areas. Sergio Pérez narrowly avoided trouble while practising a fast pit entry, running into the escape area. Teams also had to account for the cooler temperatures expected when the more representative evening running began.

Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton traded the pace in FP2 as temperatures fell after sunset. Mark Webber lost time late in the session to a KERS cooling leak, compromising Red Bull’s comparison between its cars. Lotus also featured prominently as teams gathered the evening data most relevant to qualifying and the twilight race.

Lewis Hamilton led FP3 while Sebastian Vettel spent almost the entire hour in the garage with a brake-calliper problem, managing only one flying lap at the end. Romain Grosjean also lost time to brake work. Kimi Räikkönen had to react to a slow-moving Mark Webber near the pit entry as the session concluded.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP1, 2 November 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:43.285	21
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.333s	19
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.765s	23
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.081s	21
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.257s	22
6	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.409s	23
7	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.830s	26
8	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.909s	19
9	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+2.062s	25
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+2.137s	15
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.282s	24
12	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.302s	20
13	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.437s	20
14	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+2.458s	20
15	11	Jules Bianchi	Force India	+2.484s	22
16	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.526s	22
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+3.364s	24
18	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+3.423s	26
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+4.133s	23
20	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.606s	21
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+5.069s	22
22	25	Max Chilton	Marussia	+5.602s	22
23	23	Ma Qing Hua	HRT	+7.202s	20
24	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	No time	3

Free Practice 2 Classification

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP2, 2 November 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:41.751	34
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.168s	34
3	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.661s	36
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.715s	21
5	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.749s	34
6	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.781s	28
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.836s	31
8	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.072s	33
9	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.247s	37
10	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.355s	36
11	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+1.440s	34
12	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.449s	36
13	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.504s	34
14	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.516s	32
15	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.827s	34
16	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.938s	32
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.509s	27
18	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+3.254s	19
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.494s	36
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+4.031s	33
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.838s	36
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.920s	32
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.956s	26
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+5.655s	35

Free Practice 3 Classification

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix FP3, 3 November 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:42.130	18
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.290s	17
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.484s	7
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.613s	18
5	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+0.620s	19
6	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.885s	18
7	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.934s	19
8	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.003s	15
9	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.054s	22
10	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.208s	19
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.350s	17
12	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.441s	20
13	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.463s	20
14	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.505s	19
15	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.880s	22
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.895s	18
17	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+1.941s	19
18	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.019s	19
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.171s	22
20	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.749s	19
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+3.906s	19
22	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+4.131s	22
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.424s	20
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.902s	22

Qualifying

Lewis Hamilton headed qualifying for McLaren, with Mark Webber second and Pastor Maldonado third.

Lewis Hamilton took pole, but Sebastian Vettel was excluded after Red Bull could not supply the required fuel sample. The team made changes to his car for the race, resulting in a pit-lane start.

Qualifying Classification

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Qualifying, 3 November 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:41.497	1:40.901	1:40.630	15
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:41.933	1:41.277	1:40.978	17
3	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:41.981	1:41.907	1:41.226	22
4	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:42.222	1:41.532	1:41.260	20
5	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:42.342	1:41.873	1:41.290	20
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:41.939	1:41.514	1:41.582	17
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:41.926	1:41.698	1:41.603	17
8	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:41.974	1:41.846	1:41.723	17
9	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:42.046	1:41.620	1:41.778	24
10	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:42.579	1:42.019	—	16
11	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:42.624	1:42.084	—	17
12	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:42.572	1:42.218	—	16
13	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:42.735	1:42.289	—	14
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:43.298	1:42.330	—	18
15	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:43.582	1:42.606	—	17
16	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:43.280	1:42.765	—	14
17	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:44.058	—	—	9
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:44.956	—	—	11
19	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:45.089	—	—	10
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:45.151	—	—	11
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	1:45.426	—	—	9
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:45.766	—	—	8
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:46.382	—	—	9
EX	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:42.160	1:41.511	1:41.073	16

What happened in the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix?

Hamilton led as Räikkönen made a strong start into second. Vettel began recovering from the pit lane but damaged his front wing, then hit a marker board while avoiding Daniel Ricciardo behind the safety car.

The first safety car followed a heavy collision between Rosberg and Karthikeyan, both of whom escaped injury. Hamilton later retired with a fuel-pressure problem, handing Räikkönen the lead.

A further multi-car incident caused another safety car and compressed the field. Vettel, having stopped for repairs and later fresh tyres, fought back again and passed Button to claim third.

Räikkönen resisted Alonso’s late pressure to secure victory for Lotus. Button finished fourth ahead of Maldonado and Kobayashi, while Alonso trimmed Vettel’s championship lead to ten points with two races remaining.

Further down the points places, Felipe Massa, Bruno Senna, Paul di Resta and Daniel Ricciardo completed the scoring positions. Sebastian Vettel set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2012 rules.

After the race, Sebastian Vettel headed the drivers’ standings with 255 points, followed by Fernando Alonso on 245. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 422, with Ferrari on 340.

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix race results

The 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was held on 4 November 2012, with a scheduled start of 17:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	55	1:45:58.667	25
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	55	+0.852	18
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	55	+4.163	15
4	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	55	+7.787	12
5	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	55	+13.007	10
6	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	55	+20.076	8
7	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	55	+22.896	6
8	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	55	+23.542	4
9	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	55	+24.160	2
10	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	55	+27.463	1
11	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	55	+28.075	0
12	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	55	+34.906	0
13	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	55	+47.764	0
14	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	55	+56.473	0
15	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	55	+56.768	0
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	55	+1:04.595	0
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	55	+1:11.778	0
Ret	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	41	Engine	0
Ret	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	37	Collision	0
Ret	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	37	Collision	0
Ret	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	19	Fuel pressure	0
Ret	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	7	Hydraulics/Collision	0
Ret	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	7	Collision	0
Ret	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	0	Collision	0

Pedro de la Rosa failed to start the formation lap when a cord from one of his tyre blankets became caught up in the wheel, and he therefore started in the pit lane behind Sebastian Vettel.

2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	54	1:43.964	192.320
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	53	1:44.090	192.087
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	50	1:44.458	191.410
4	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	50	1:44.533	191.273
5	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	55	1:44.833	190.726
6	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	51	1:45.225	190.015
7	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	54	1:45.410	189.682
8	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	55	1:45.423	189.658
9	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	53	1:45.617	189.310
10	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	49	1:45.693	189.174
11	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	53	1:45.700	189.161
12	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	53	1:45.903	188.799
13	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	53	1:46.113	188.425
14	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	32	1:46.959	186.935
15	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	51	1:47.115	186.662
16	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	19	1:47.266	186.400
17	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	36	1:47.521	185.958
18	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	54	1:47.661	185.716
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	50	1:48.308	184.606
20	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	47	1:48.619	184.078
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	33	1:49.079	183.302
22	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	4	1:49.340	182.864
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	6	1:52.238	178.142

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2012 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

2012 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	255
2	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	245
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	198
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	167
5	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	165
6	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	153
7	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	95
8	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	93
9	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	90
10	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	66
11	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	58
12	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	49
13	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	46
14	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	43
15	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	43
16	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Williams	30
17	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	12
18	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	10
19	Timo Glock	German	Marussia	0
20	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Caterham	0
21	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Caterham	0
22	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Belgian	Lotus F1	0
23	Charles Pic	French	Marussia	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0
25	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	HRT	0

2012 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	422
2	Ferrari	340
3	McLaren	318
4	Lotus F1	288
5	Mercedes	136
6	Sauber	124
7	Force India	95
8	Williams	73
9	Toro Rosso	22
10	Marussia	0
11	Caterham	0
12	HRT	0

2012 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2012 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	18 March
2	2012 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	25 March
3	2012 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2012 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	22 April
5	2012 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2012 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2012 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2012 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	24 June
9	2012 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
10	2012 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
11	2012 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
12	2012 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	2 September
13	2012 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	2012 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	23 September
15	2012 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
16	2012 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	14 October
17	2012 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	28 October
18	2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	4 November
19	2012 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	18 November
20	2012 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	25 November