2012 Chinese Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Nico Rosberg claimed his first Formula 1 victory with a controlled performance in China. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton completed the podium as Mercedes celebrated its first works-team Grand Prix win since 1955.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Pole time	1:35.121
Fastest lap	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber
Fastest-lap time	1:39.960 on lap 40
First	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Second	Jenson Button	McLaren
Third	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

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

Fernando Alonso arrived at round 3 leading the 2012 F1 World Championship on 35 points, with Lewis Hamilton on 30. McLaren headed the constructors’ standings with 55 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the Chinese Grand Prix. Giedo van der Garde, Jules Bianchi, Valtteri Bottas also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Cold weather and drizzle delayed the quickest FP1 laps until a dry line developed late on. Lewis Hamilton led while Red Bull compared different exhaust layouts and Ferrari evaluated aerodynamic changes. The low temperatures made tyre warm-up a central concern, with teams needing to understand how to reach the compounds’ operating window.

Michael Schumacher led FP2, although McLaren and Red Bull also looked competitive over longer runs. Nico Rosberg was still seeking confidence under braking, while Jenson Button reported changing balance through the session. Lotus struggled in the cold conditions, with its setup suspected of contributing to an unexpectedly modest showing.

Warmer FP3 conditions helped Lotus improve, while Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button put McLaren ahead. Lewis Hamilton nevertheless faced a gearbox penalty that would alter his eventual grid position. Red Bull continued running different exhaust specifications, and Ferrari’s disappointing single-lap pace suggested a difficult qualifying session despite more encouraging longer runs on Friday.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2012 Chinese Grand Prix FP1, 13 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:37.106	7
2	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.010s	14
3	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.210s	14
4	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.478s	13
5	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.805s	12
6	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.871s	15
7	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+2.092s	12
8	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+2.093s	6
9	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.642s	16
10	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.662s	14
11	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+2.950s	14
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+3.047s	14
13	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+3.192s	8
14	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+3.222s	13
15	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+3.434s	12
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.965s	14
17	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+4.098s	14
18	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+5.224s	14
19	21	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham	+5.415s	11
20	11	Jules Bianchi	Force India	+7.012s	8
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+7.121s	10
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+7.394s	15
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+10.098s	12
24	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+13.359s	11

Free Practice 2 Classification

2012 Chinese Grand Prix FP2, 13 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:35.973	32
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.172s	29
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.187s	27
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.460s	24
5	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.644s	31
6	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.738s	28
7	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.983s	28
8	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.993s	31
9	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.218s	31
10	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.343s	32
11	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.444s	22
12	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.643s	33
13	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.863s	30
14	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.957s	32
15	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.999s	26
16	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+2.203s	35
17	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.320s	31
18	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+2.810s	37
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.017s	36
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.373s	20
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.678s	15
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.370s	25
23	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.780s	30
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+5.152s	26

Free Practice 3 Classification

2012 Chinese Grand Prix FP3, 14 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:35.940	13
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.123s	12
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.449s	16
4	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.572s	17
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.695s	16
6	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.825s	17
7	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.841s	19
8	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.940s	17
9	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.099s	15
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.121s	17
11	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.297s	16
12	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.334s	19
13	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.348s	16
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+1.485s	14
15	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+1.525s	12
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.553s	13
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.688s	14
18	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.891s	14
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+2.761s	19
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.258s	19
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.856s	18
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.108s	17
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+5.323s	14
24	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+5.559s	18

Qualifying

Nico Rosberg headed qualifying for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton second and Michael Schumacher third.

Nico Rosberg took his maiden pole. Lewis Hamilton‘s gearbox penalty promoted Michael Schumacher to the front row, while Sebastian Vettel failed to reach Q3 and started eleventh.

Qualifying Classification

2012 Chinese Grand Prix Qualifying, 14 April 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:36.875	1:35.725	1:35.121	11
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:36.763	1:35.902	1:35.626	14
3	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:36.797	1:35.794	1:35.691	13
4	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:36.863	1:35.853	1:35.784	13
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:36.850	1:35.921	1:35.898	15
6	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:36.746	1:35.942	1:36.191	16
7	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:36.682	1:35.700	1:36.290	14
8	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:36.198	1:35.831	1:36.524	17
9	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:36.292	1:35.982	1:36.622	17
10	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:36.343	1:35.903	no time	15
11	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:36.911	1:36.031	—	11
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:36.556	1:36.255	—	14
13	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:36.528	1:36.283	—	14
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:36.674	1:36.289	—	14
15	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:36.639	1:36.317	—	14
16	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:36.921	1:36.745	—	14
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:36.933	1:36.956	—	14
18	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:37.714	—	—	8
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:38.463	—	—	9
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:38.677	—	—	7
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	1:39.282	—	—	10
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:39.717	—	—	10
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:40.411	—	—	7
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:41.000	—	—	10

What happened in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix?

Rosberg and Schumacher led cleanly away, but Schumacher retired after his first stop when a front wheel was not secured correctly. Rosberg continued alone at the front as the chasing drivers split their tyre strategies.

Rosberg’s two-stop plan worked effectively, while Button, Hamilton and Webber made three stops. Button lost valuable time at his final tyre change, reducing his chance of catching the leading Mercedes.

Kimi Räikkönen attempted to finish on older tyres but fell rapidly through the order as their performance collapsed. Vettel also lost places late, while the fresher-tyred McLarens advanced into the podium positions.

Rosberg won comfortably ahead of Button and Hamilton. Webber passed Vettel to finish fourth, while Grosjean took sixth for his first championship points. Hamilton’s third consecutive podium moved him into the championship lead.

Further down the points places, Bruno Senna, Pastor Maldonado, Fernando Alonso and Kamui Kobayashi completed the scoring positions. Kamui Kobayashi set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2012 rules.

After the race, Lewis Hamilton headed the drivers’ standings with 45 points, followed by Jenson Button on 43. McLaren led the constructors’ table on 88, with Red Bull Racing on 64.

2012 Chinese Grand Prix race results

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

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	56	1:36:26.929	25
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	+20.626	18
3	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	56	+26.012	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	56	+27.924	12
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	56	+30.483	10
6	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	56	+31.491	8
7	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	56	+34.597	6
8	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	56	+35.643	4
9	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	56	+37.256	2
10	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	56	+38.720	1
11	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	56	+41.066	0
12	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	56	+42.273	0
13	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+42.779	0
14	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	56	+50.573	0
15	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	56	+51.213	0
16	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	56	+51.756	0
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	56	+1:03.156	0
18	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	55	+1 Lap	0
19	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	55	+1 Lap	0
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	55	+1 Lap	0
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	55	+1 Lap	0
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	54	+2 Laps	0
23	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	53	+3 Laps	0
Ret	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	12	Wheel	0

2012 Chinese Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	40	1:39.960	196.314
2	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	48	1:40.019	196.198
3	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	56	1:40.422	195.411
4	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	36	1:40.482	195.294
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	52	1:40.490	195.279
6	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	40	1:40.530	195.201
7	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	33	1:40.601	195.063
8	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	40	1:40.967	194.356
9	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	48	1:40.977	194.337
10	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	37	1:41.071	194.156
11	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	35	1:41.120	194.062
12	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	41	1:41.152	194.001
13	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	53	1:41.190	193.928
14	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	48	1:41.240	193.832
15	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	40	1:41.251	193.811
16	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	37	1:41.293	193.731
17	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	40	1:41.498	193.339
18	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	43	1:41.794	192.777
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	38	1:42.385	191.664
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	39	1:42.621	191.224
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	41	1:42.748	190.987
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	54	1:43.610	189.398
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	40	1:43.935	188.806
24	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	9	1:44.109	188.490

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 Chinese Grand Prix.

2012 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	45
2	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	43
3	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	37
4	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	36
5	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	28
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	25
7	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	22
8	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	16
9	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Williams	14
10	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	9
11	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	8
12	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	7
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	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	1
18	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	0
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	McLaren	88
2	Red Bull Racing	64
3	Ferrari	37
4	Sauber	31
5	Mercedes	26
6	Lotus F1	24
7	Williams	18
8	Force India	9
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