2012 Bahrain Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Sebastian Vettel returned to winning form in Bahrain, resisting Kimi Räikkönen‘s challenge as Lotus secured a double podium. The race marked Formula 1’s return after the previous year’s cancellation amid continuing unrest.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:32.422
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Fastest-lap time	1:36.379 on lap 41
First	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Third	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
20 April 2012	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
20 April 2012	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
21 April 2012	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
21 April 2012	Qualifying	14:00
22 April 2012	Race	15:00

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

Championship background

Lewis Hamilton arrived at round 4 leading the 2012 F1 World Championship on 45 points, with Jenson Button on 43. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings with 88 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Valtteri Bottas also took part in practice.

Free Practice

A sandy surface greeted FP1, with teams using installation laps and largely harder-tyre running to assess grip and setup. Ferrari and Lotus tested aerodynamic configurations before Lewis Hamilton established the fastest time. Force India switched Paul di Resta to soft tyres late on, helping him finish prominently in the opening session.

Force India sat out FP2 because of security concerns, leaving the remaining teams to explore the softer tyres on an increasingly clean circuit. Nico Rosberg set the pace after several changes at the front. Bruno Senna returned to his Williams following Valtteri Bottas’s morning outing, but finished among the lower-order runners.

Dust in the air accompanied FP3 before the wind carried it away. Force India concentrated on recovering the preparation lost by missing Friday afternoon, completing an extensive programme with both cars. Nico Rosberg remained quickest, while Red Bull followed closely as teams completed their final work before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix FP1, 20 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:33.572	11
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.305s	21
3	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.578s	26
4	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.677s	23
5	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.705s	14
6	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+0.772s	26
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.911s	17
8	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.980s	22
9	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.037s	18
10	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.275s	20
11	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.452s	22
12	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.696s	25
13	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.864s	21
14	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.925s	24
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.147s	19
16	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.357s	24
17	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.623s	20
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.758s	11
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+2.912s	18
20	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+3.019s	20
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+3.895s	18
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.434s	18
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+5.305s	19
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+6.424s	23

Free Practice 2 Classification

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix FP2, 20 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.816	35
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.446s	26
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.709s	28
4	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.931s	26
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.046s	32
6	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.430s	28
7	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.595s	34
8	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.633s	31
9	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.799s	32
10	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+2.077s	34
11	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.079s	29
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.125s	30
13	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+2.367s	33
14	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.413s	26
15	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.643s	38
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.097s	33
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.152s	35
18	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+3.353s	30
19	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.771s	33
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.987s	33
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.996s	28
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+6.833s	27

Free Practice 3 Classification

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix FP3, 21 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:33.254	14
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.147s	14
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.409s	15
4	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.528s	16
5	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.542s	16
6	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.645s	14
7	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.722s	14
8	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+0.943s	14
9	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.147s	16
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.641s	11
11	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.664s	12
12	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.723s	12
13	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.813s	17
14	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.874s	14
15	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.082s	22
16	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.282s	15
17	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+2.369s	16
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.440s	19
19	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+2.519s	21
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.278s	17
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.013s	18
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.400s	18
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+5.719s	11
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+5.967s	9

Qualifying

Sebastian Vettel headed qualifying for Red Bull Racing, with Lewis Hamilton second and Mark Webber third.

Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Mark Webber. Räikkönen was eliminated in Q2, leaving him eleventh, while Daniel Ricciardo achieved a strong sixth place for Toro Rosso.

Qualifying Classification

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix Qualifying, 21 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:34.308	1:33.527	1:32.422	18
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:34.813	1:33.209	1:32.520	13
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:34.015	1:33.311	1:32.637	17
4	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:34.792	1:33.416	1:32.711	12
5	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:34.588	1:33.219	1:32.821	10
6	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:33.988	1:33.556	1:32.912	17
7	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:34.041	1:33.246	1:33.008	13
8	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:33.814	1:33.660	1:33.394	17
9	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:34.760	1:33.403	no time	11
10	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:34.624	1:33.510	no time	15
11	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:34.552	1:33.789	—	6
12	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:34.131	1:33.806	—	13
13	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:34.601	1:33.807	—	12
14	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:34.372	1:33.912	—	14
15	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:34.466	1:34.017	—	14
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:34.852	1:36.132	—	10
17	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:34.639	no time	—	8
18	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:34.865	—	—	5
19	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:35.014	—	—	8
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:35.823	—	—	7
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:37.683	—	—	8
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:37.883	—	—	6
23	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	1:37.905	—	—	7
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:38.314	—	—	7

What happened in the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix?

Vettel led from the start, while Grosjean and Räikkönen made progress through the leading group. Grosjean passed Hamilton, and Lotus‘ strong tyre performance soon made both its drivers serious contenders.

Hamilton lost time through pit-stop problems, dropping away from the podium battle. Räikkönen continued his recovery from eleventh and eventually closed on Vettel, putting the Red Bull leader under sustained pressure.

Räikkönen had an opportunity to attack but could not complete the pass. Vettel then established enough of a margin after the final stops to protect the victory, while Grosjean held third.

Webber finished fourth for the fourth consecutive race. Rosberg took fifth and Paul di Resta sixth after an effective two-stop strategy. Vettel’s first win of the season also returned him to the championship lead.

Further down the points places, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Felipe Massa and Michael Schumacher 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 53 points, followed by Lewis Hamilton on 49. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 101, with McLaren on 92.

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix race results

The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix was held on 22 April 2012, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	57	1:35:10.990	25
2	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	57	+3.333	18
3	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	57	+10.194	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	57	+38.788	12
5	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	+55.460	10
6	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	57	+57.543	8
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	+57.803	6
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	57	+58.984	4
9	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	57	+1:04.999	2
10	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	57	+1:11.490	1
11	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	57	+1:12.702	0
12	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	57	+1:16.539	0
13	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	57	+1:30.334	0
14	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	57	+1:33.723	0
15	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	56	+1 Lap	0
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	56	+1 Lap	0
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	56	+1 Lap	0
18	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	55	Exhaust/differential	0
19	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	55	+2 Laps	0
20	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	55	+2 Laps	0
21	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	55	+2 Laps	0
22	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	54	Vibration	0
Ret	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	25	Puncture	0
Ret	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	24	Engine	0

2012 Bahrain Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	41	1:36.379	202.151
2	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	54	1:36.700	201.480
3	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	42	1:36.928	201.006
4	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	43	1:37.058	200.737
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	41	1:37.116	200.617
6	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	45	1:37.437	199.956
7	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	38	1:37.733	199.351
8	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	42	1:37.903	199.005
9	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	47	1:38.046	198.714
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	41	1:38.080	198.646
11	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	51	1:38.087	198.631
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	42	1:38.123	198.558
13	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	39	1:38.128	198.548
14	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	39	1:38.146	198.512
15	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	44	1:38.203	198.397
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	42	1:38.305	198.191
17	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	46	1:38.312	198.177
18	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	41	1:38.372	198.056
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	43	1:38.441	197.917
20	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	48	1:39.747	195.326
21	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	14	1:39.876	195.073
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	41	1:40.237	194.371
23	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	46	1:40.323	194.204
24	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	14	1:41.519	191.916

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 Bahrain Grand Prix.

2012 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	53
2	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	49
3	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	48
4	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	43
5	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	43
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	35
7	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	34
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	23
9	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	22
10	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	15
11	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Williams	14
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	9
13	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	4
14	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	4
15	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	2
16	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	2
17	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	2
18	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	2
19	Timo Glock	German	Marussia	0
20	Charles Pic	French	Marussia	0
21	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Caterham	0
22	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Caterham	0
23	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	HRT	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0

2012 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	101
2	McLaren	92
3	Lotus F1	57
4	Ferrari	45
5	Mercedes	37
6	Sauber	31
7	Williams	18
8	Force India	17
9	Toro Rosso	6
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