2012 European Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso produced a memorable victory from eleventh on the grid in Valencia. Kimi Räikkönen finished second, while Michael Schumacher claimed the only podium of his Formula 1 comeback after late drama reshuffled the order.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing
Pole time	1:38.086
Fastest lap	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:42.163 on lap 54
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1
Third	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
22 June 2012	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
22 June 2012	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
23 June 2012	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
23 June 2012	Qualifying	14:00
24 June 2012	Race	14:00

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 8 leading the 2012 F1 World Championship on 88 points, with Fernando Alonso on 86. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 164 points.

Race entries

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

Free Practice

Pastor Maldonado led FP1 as Williams sought to recapture the form behind its Spanish victory. McLaren also had important setup work to assess: Jenson Button’s rear suspension had been brought closer to Lewis Hamilton’s configuration after severe rear-tyre wear in Canada. The closely matched leading times suggested another competitive weekend in the Valencia heat.

Sebastian Vettel led FP2, but five different teams occupied the first five places in a tightly packed field. Force India looked particularly encouraging both on quick laps and with heavier fuel. Bruno Senna also made a competitive start to his weekend after sitting out the morning while Valtteri Bottas drove his Williams.

Jenson Button was fastest in FP3 as the leading group remained closely matched. Sebastian Vettel showed strong sector times without joining them into one complete quick lap, while Mark Webber lost most of the session to a braking problem. Lotus also looked competitive, giving the frontrunners plenty to consider before qualifying.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2012 European Grand Prix FP1, 22 June 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:40.890	22
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.083s	21
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.094s	19
4	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.104s	19
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.175s	26
6	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.215s	15
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.227s	22
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.268s	18
9	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.292s	21
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.730s	22
11	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.894s	15
12	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.948s	19
13	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.971s	16
14	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.219s	20
15	12	Jules Bianchi	Force India	+1.285s	21
16	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.409s	24
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+1.552s	26
18	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.868s	27
19	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.887s	28
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+2.319s	19
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+3.283s	19
22	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.106s	15
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.230s	23
24	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.448s	7

Free Practice 2 Classification

2012 European Grand Prix FP2, 22 June 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:39.334	33
2	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+0.131s	32
3	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.261s	20
4	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.267s	27
5	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+0.310s	34
6	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.366s	32
7	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.399s	34
8	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.534s	33
9	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.567s	30
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.592s	32
11	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.611s	34
12	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+0.656s	33
13	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.741s	29
14	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.813s	25
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.910s	35
16	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+1.177s	29
17	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+1.629s	20
18	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.787s	32
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+1.863s	38
20	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.929s	29
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.090s	21
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+3.624s	30
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.867s	33
24	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.926s	12

Free Practice 3 Classification

2012 European Grand Prix FP3, 23 June 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:38.562	17
2	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.093s	18
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.197s	18
4	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+0.257s	17
5	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+0.330s	17
6	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.522s	20
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.579s	15
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.616s	17
9	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.756s	15
10	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.795s	18
11	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.796s	19
12	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.833s	15
13	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.872s	13
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+0.981s	13
15	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.384s	20
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.475s	17
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.572s	20
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.119s	15
19	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+2.720s	4
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.369s	15
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.196s	14
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.253s	16
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.381s	14
24	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.562s	16

Qualifying

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

Sebastian Vettel took pole ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado. Alonso missed Q3, Mark Webber was hampered by hydraulic problems, and Timo Glock withdrew from qualifying and the race because of illness.

Qualifying Classification

2012 European Grand Prix Qualifying, 23 June 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:39.626	1:38.530	1:38.086	15
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:39.169	1:38.616	1:38.410	17
3	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:38.825	1:38.570	1:38.475	21
4	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:39.530	1:38.489	1:38.505	16
5	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:39.464	1:38.531	1:38.513	16
6	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:39.061	1:38.504	1:38.623	17
7	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:39.651	1:38.703	1:38.741	12
8	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:39.009	1:38.689	1:38.752	19
9	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:39.622	1:38.563	1:38.801	16
10	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:38.858	1:38.519	1:38.992	18
11	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:39.409	1:38.707	—	14
12	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:39.447	1:38.770	—	12
13	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:39.388	1:38.780	—	14
14	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:39.449	1:39.207	—	15
15	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:39.353	1:39.358	—	14
16	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:40.087	1:40.295	—	11
17	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:39.924	1:40.358	—	12
18	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:40.203	—	—	9
19	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:40.395	—	—	7
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:40.457	—	—	8
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:42.171	—	—	7
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:42.527	—	—	8
23	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:42.675	—	—	10
DNS	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	no time	—	—	—

What happened in the 2012 European Grand Prix?

Vettel quickly built a commanding lead, while Grosjean passed Hamilton to take second. Alonso made progress from the midfield and continued gaining places through committed overtaking and the pit-stop sequence.

A safety car erased Vettel’s advantage, and Alonso passed Grosjean at the restart. Vettel then retired with an alternator failure, handing the lead to the Ferrari, while Grosjean later stopped with a similar problem.

Räikkönen passed Hamilton as the McLaren‘s tyres faded. Maldonado then collided with Hamilton while attacking near the end, eliminating the championship leader and opening the way for Schumacher to reach third.

Alonso won ahead of Räikkönen and Schumacher, with Webber recovering fourth. Nico Hülkenberg and Nico Rosberg completed the top six. Alonso became the first repeat winner of the season and reclaimed the championship lead.

Further down the points places, Paul di Resta, Jenson Button, Sergio Pérez and Bruno Senna completed the scoring positions. Nico Rosberg set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2012 rules.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 111 points, followed by Mark Webber on 91. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 176, with McLaren on 137.

2012 European Grand Prix race results

The 2012 European Grand Prix was held on 24 June 2012, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	57	1:44:16.649	25
2	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	57	+6.421	18
3	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	57	+12.639	15
4	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	57	+13.628	12
5	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	57	+19.993	10
6	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	57	+21.176	8
7	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	57	+22.866	6
8	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	57	+24.653	4
9	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	57	+27.777	2
10	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	57	+35.961	1
11	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	57	+37.041	0
12	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	57	+54.630	0
13	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	57	+1:15.871	0
14	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	57	+1:34.654	0
15	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	57	+1:36.551	0
16	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	56	+1 lap	0
17	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	56	+1 lap	0
18	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	56	+1 lap	0
19	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	55	Collision	0
Ret	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	40	Alternator	0
Ret	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	33	Alternator	0
Ret	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	33	Collision damage	0
Ret	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	26	Collision damage	0
DNS	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	0	Illness	0

Pastor Maldonado finished 10th, but received a 20-second penalty for “rejoining the track in an unsafe manner” and causing a collision with Lewis Hamilton.

2012 European Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	54	1:42.163	190.953
2	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	40	1:42.717	189.923
3	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	43	1:43.099	189.220
4	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	43	1:43.526	188.439
5	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	40	1:43.666	188.185
6	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	44	1:43.674	188.170
7	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	43	1:43.686	188.148
8	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	38	1:43.764	188.007
9	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	43	1:44.007	187.568
10	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	43	1:44.064	187.465
11	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	45	1:44.101	187.398
12	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	44	1:44.111	187.380
13	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	40	1:44.226	187.174
14	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	54	1:44.253	187.125
15	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	36	1:44.431	186.806
16	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	18	1:44.555	186.585
17	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	48	1:44.806	186.138
18	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	22	1:45.082	185.649
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	40	1:45.294	185.275
20	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	22	1:45.491	184.929
21	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	42	1:46.388	183.370
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	43	1:46.701	182.832
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	36	1:46.799	182.664

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 European Grand Prix.

2012 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	111
2	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	91
3	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	88
4	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	85
5	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	75
6	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	73
7	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	53
8	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	49
9	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	39
10	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	29
11	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	27
12	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	21
13	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	17
14	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	17
15	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Williams	16
16	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	11
17	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	4
18	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	2
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Caterham	0
20	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Caterham	0
21	Timo Glock	German	Marussia	0
22	Charles Pic	French	Marussia	0
23	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0
24	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	HRT	0

2012 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	176
2	McLaren	137
3	Lotus F1	126
4	Ferrari	122
5	Mercedes	92
6	Sauber	60
7	Williams	45
8	Force India	44
9	Toro Rosso	6
10	Caterham	0
11	Marussia	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