The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship featured 20 Grand Prix, beginning with the Australian Grand Prix on 18 March and concluding with the Brazilian Grand Prix on 25 November. The season also saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the newly constructed Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas. Additionally, the Bahrain Grand Prix returned to the calendar after being cancelled in 2011 due to civil unrest in the country.
Season
The opening phase of the season proved unusually unpredictable. In a remarkable sequence of results, seven different drivers won the first seven races, setting a new record for the championship. It was not until the European Grand Prix in June that a driver achieved a second victory during the season, when Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso claimed his second win and emerged as a leading championship contender.
Alonso went on to lead the Drivers’ Championship for much of the season. During this period, he secured his third victory of the year at the German Grand Prix and produced a series of consistent results, including podium finishes in the British, Italian, and Singapore Grands Prix. However, the championship battle shifted dramatically after first-lap retirements at Belgium and Japan, allowing his rivals to close the gap in the standings.
The main beneficiary was Sebastian Vettel, the reigning two-time World Champion driving for Red Bull Racing. Vettel moved into the championship lead at the sixteenth race of the season and began building momentum toward the title. Despite his eventual success, Vettel’s campaign was not without setbacks. Contact with a backmarker left him outside the points in Malaysia, while alternator failures forced him to retire from both the European and Italian Grands Prix, costing valuable championship points. Further complications arose at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Vettel was excluded from qualifying and required to start the race from the pit lane.
Heading into the final race of the season in Brazil, Vettel held a thirteen-point advantage over Alonso. Alonso needed at least a podium finish to keep his championship hopes alive. In a dramatic and chaotic race that eventually finished behind the safety car, Vettel recovered from early difficulties to finish sixth, scoring enough points to secure his third consecutive World Drivers’ Championship. With the victory, Vettel became only the third driver in Formula One history to win three titles in succession, joining the achievements of Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher.
In the Constructors’ Championship, Red Bull Racing also continued its dominance, securing its third consecutive title at the United States Grand Prix, where Vettel finished second to clinch the championship for the team.
The 2012 season also set several notable records. The calendar featured 20 races, breaking the previous record of 19 events set in 2005. The grid also included six current or former World Drivers’ Champions at the start of the season — Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, and Michael Schumacher — surpassing the previous record of five champions competing in the same season, which had been set in 1970.
The year also marked the final Formula One season for seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher. The German driver announced his retirement from the sport for the second time following the Brazilian Grand Prix, bringing to a close one of the most celebrated careers in motorsport and F1 history.
2012 F1 Entries drivers and teams
| Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | No. | Race drivers | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Bull Racing Renault | Red Bull-Renault | RB8 | Renault RS27-2012 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | All |
| 2 | Mark Webber | All | ||||
| Vodafone McLaren Mercedes | McLaren-Mercedes | MP4-27 | Mercedes FO 108Z | 3 | Jenson Button | All |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | All | ||||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | F2012 | Ferrari Type 056 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | All |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | All | ||||
| Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team | Mercedes | F1 W03 | Mercedes FO 108Z | 7 | Michael Schumacher | All |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | All | ||||
| Lotus F1 Team | Lotus-Renault | E20 | Renault RS27-2012 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | All |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | 1–12, 14–20 | ||||
| Jérôme d’Ambrosio | 13 | |||||
| Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force India-Mercedes | VJM05 | Mercedes FO 108Z | 11 | Paul di Resta | All |
| 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | All | ||||
| Sauber F1 Team | Sauber-Ferrari | C31 | Ferrari Type 056 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | All |
| 15 | Sergio Pérez | All | ||||
| Scuderia Toro Rosso | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | STR7 | Ferrari Type 056 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | All |
| 17 | Jean-Éric Vergne | All | ||||
| Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | FW34 | Renault RS27-2012 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | All |
| 19 | Bruno Senna | All | ||||
| Caterham F1 Team | Caterham-Renault | CT01 | Renault RS27-2012 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | All |
| 21 | Vitaly Petrov | All | ||||
| HRT Formula 1 Team | HRT-Cosworth | F112 | Cosworth CA2012 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | All |
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | All | ||||
| Marussia F1 Team | Marussia-Cosworth | MR01 | Cosworth CA2012 | 24 | Timo Glock | All |
| 25 | Charles Pic | All |
2012 Formula 1 Race Calendar
2012 Formula 1 Race Results
2 Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in qualifying for the Monaco Grand Prix, but received a five-place grid penalty for causing a collision with Bruno Senna in the previous race. Mark Webber was promoted to pole position in his place.
2012 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | GER | Red Bull Racing Renault | 281 |
| 2 | Fernando Alonso | ESP | Ferrari | 278 |
| 3 | Kimi Räikkönen | FIN | Lotus Renault | 207 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | GBR | McLaren Mercedes | 190 |
| 5 | Jenson Button | GBR | McLaren Mercedes | 188 |
| 6 | Mark Webber | AUS | Red Bull Racing Renault | 179 |
| 7 | Felipe Massa | BRA | Ferrari | 122 |
| 8 | Romain Grosjean | FRA | Lotus Renault | 96 |
| 9 | Nico Rosberg | GER | Mercedes | 93 |
| 10 | Sergio Pérez | MEX | Sauber Ferrari | 66 |
| 11 | Nico Hülkenberg | GER | Force India Mercedes | 63 |
| 12 | Kamui Kobayashi | JPN | Sauber Ferrari | 60 |
| 13 | Michael Schumacher | GER | Mercedes | 49 |
| 14 | Paul di Resta | GBR | Force India Mercedes | 46 |
| 15 | Pastor Maldonado | VEN | Williams Renault | 45 |
| 16 | Bruno Senna | BRA | Williams Renault | 31 |
| 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | FRA | STR Ferrari | 16 |
| 18 | Daniel Ricciardo | AUS | STR Ferrari | 10 |
| 19 | Vitaly Petrov | RUS | Caterham Renault | 0 |
| 20 | Timo Glock | GER | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
| 21 | Charles Pic | FRA | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
| 22 | Heikki Kovalainen | FIN | Caterham Renault | 0 |
| 23 | Jerome d’Ambrosio | BEL | Lotus Renault | 0 |
| 24 | Narain Karthikeyan | IND | HRT Cosworth | 0 |
| 25 | Pedro de la Rosa | ESP | HRT Cosworth | 0 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Bull Racing Renault | 460 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 400 |
| 3 | McLaren Mercedes | 378 |
| 4 | Lotus Renault | 303 |
| 5 | McLaren Mercedes | 142 |
| 6 | Sauber Ferrari | 126 |
| 7 | Force India Mercedes | 109 |
| 8 | Williams Renault | 76 |
| 9 | STR Ferrari | 26 |
| 10 | Caterham Renault | 0 |
| 11 | Marussia Cosworth | 0 |
| 12 | HRT Cosworth | 0 |
