2012 Formula One Season

2012 FIA Formula One World Championship season
←2011	2013→

The 2012 Formula One Season is the 63rd and current season of Formula One. It will be the penultimate year of 2.4 litre V8 engines, which are due to be replaced in 2014 with 1.6 litre V6 turbo engines.

This season marks the return of the United States Grand Prix, with the race due to held in Austin, Texas. In 2013, there will also be another Grand Prix to be held in America - this will be the American Grand Prix, which is to take place at Port Imperial Street Circuit in New Jersey.

Sebastian Vettel is defending the driver's championship crown, while his team Red Bull defends the constructors title.

Teams and Drivers

Entry List

For the 2012 season, 24 cars (numbered 1-25, excl. 13) are competing, the same number as in 2011. Of the 24 drivers, six have won at least one Formula One World Championship (Vettel, Alonso, Button, Hamilton, Schumacher and Räikkönen), one more than in 2011, and once again an all-time record.

All engines are 2.4 litre V8s.

Team	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	No.	Race Drivers	Rounds	Test/Reserve Drivers
Red Bull Racing	Red Bull	RB8	Renault RS27-2012	P	1	Sebastian Vettel	1–6	Sébastien Buemi
					2	Mark Webber	1–6
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	McLaren	MP4-27	Mercedes FO 108Z	P	3	Jenson Button	1–6	Gary Paffett Oliver Turvey
					4	Lewis Hamilton	1–6
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	F2012	Ferrari 056	P	5	Fernando Alonso	1–6	Davide Rigon
					6	Felipe Massa	1–6
Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	Mercedes	F1 W03	Mercedes FO 108Z	P	7	Michael Schumacher	1–6	Sam Bird
					8	Nico Rosberg	1–6
Lotus F1 Team	Lotus	E20	Renault RS27-2012	P	9	Kimi Räikkönen	1–6	Jérôme d'Ambrosio
					10	Romain Grosjean	1–6
Sahara Force India F1 Team	Force India	VJM05	Mercedes FO 108Z	P	11	Paul di Resta	1–6	Jules Bianchi Gary Paffett Conor Daly
					12	Nico Hülkenberg	1–6
Sauber F1 Team	Sauber	C31	Ferrari 056	P	14	Kamui Kobayashi	1–6	Esteban Gutiérrez
					15	Sergio Pérez	1–6
Scuderia Toro Rosso	Toro Rosso	STR7	Ferrari 056	P	16	Daniel Ricciardo	1–6	Sébastien Buemi
					17	Jean-Éric Vergne	1–6
Williams F1	Williams	FW34	Renault RS27-2012	P	18	Pastor Maldonado	1–6	Valtteri Bottas Susie Wolff
					19	Bruno Senna	1–6
Caterham F1 Team	Caterham	CT01	Renault RS27-2012	P	20	Heikki Kovalainen	1–6	Giedo van der Garde Alexander Rossi Rodolfo González
					21	Vitaly Petrov	1–6
HRT F1 Team	HRT	F112	Cosworth CA2012	P	22	Pedro de la Rosa	1–6	Dani Clos Vitantonio Luizzi
					23	Narain Karthikeyan	1–6
Marussia F1 Team	Marussia	MR01	Cosworth CA2012	P	24	Timo Glock	1–6	María de Villota
					25	Charles Pic	1–6

Car Launch Dates

Team	Chassis	Date	Where
Caterham-Renault	CT01	January 26th	Online/Magazine
McLaren-Mercedes	MP4-27	February 1st	Woking
Ferrari	F2012	February 3rd	Online
Force India-Mercedes	VJM05	February 3rd	Silverstone
Lotus-Renault	E20	February 5th	Online
Sauber-Scuderia Ferrari	C31	February 6th	Jerez
Red Bull-Renault	RB8	February 6th	Online
Toro Rosso-Ferrari	STR7	February 6th	Jerez
Williams-Renault	FW34	February 7th	Jerez
Mercedes	F1 W03	February 21st	Barcelona
HRT-Cosworth	F112	March 5th	Barcelona
Marussia-Cosworth	MR01	March 5th	Silverstone

Notes:

• Pictures of Caterham's car, the CT01 were leaked online on January 25th, as deliveries of the magazine they launched it with (F1 Racing) arrived a day before the official launch date.
• Ferrari were due to launch their new car in Maranello, but there was a large amount of snow in the town, so it was be launched online instead.

Driver Changes

Reserve means test or third driver

• Jaime Alguersauri: Toro Rosso (driver) → Pirelli
• Jérôme d'Ambrosio: Virgin (driver) → Lotus (reserve)
• Rubens Barrichello: Williams (driver) → IndyCar
• Sébastien Buemi: Toro Rosso (driver) → Red Bull (reserve) / Toro Rosso (reserve)
• Pedro de la Rosa: McLaren (reserve) → HRT
• Romain Grosjean: GP2 / Renault (reserve) → Lotus (driver)
• Nico Hülkenberg: Force India (reserve) → Force India (driver)
• Vitantonio Luizzi: HRT (driver) → i1 Super Series / HRT (reserve)
• Vitaly Petrov: Renault (driver) → Caterham
• Charles Pic: GP2 → Marussia (driver)
• Kimi Räikkönen: Rallying → Lotus (driver)
• Daniel Ricciardo: HRT (driver) / Red Bull (reserve) / Toro Rosso (reserve) → Toro Rosso (driver)
• Bruno Senna: Renault (driver) → Williams (driver)
• Adrian Sutil: Force India (driver) → ?
• Jarno Trulli: Lotus (driver) → ?
• Jean-Éric Vergne: Toro Rosso (reserve) → Toro Rosso (driver)

Team Changes

• Three teams changed names:
  • Lotus will change to Caterham.
  • Renault will change to Lotus.
  • Virgin will change to Marussia.
• Williams will stop using Cosworth engines and begin using Renault engines.

Calendar

Race Schedule

Round	Race Title	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date	Time		Tyres
					Local	UTC	Option	Prime
1	Australian Grand Prix	Australian GP	Albert Park, Melbourne	March 18	17:00	06:00	Soft	Medium
2	Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix	Malaysian GP	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur	March 25	16:00	08:00	Medium	Hard
3	UBS Chinese Grand Prix	Chinese GP	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	April 15	15:00	07:00	Soft	Medium
4	Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain GP	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	April 22	15:00	12:00	Soft	Medium
5	Gran Premio de España Santander	Spanish GP	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona	May 13	14:00	12:00	Soft	Hard
6	Grand Prix de Monaco	Monaco GP	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	May 27	14:00	18:00	Supersoft	Soft
7	Grand Prix du Canada	Canadian GP	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	June 10	14:00	12:00	Supersoft	Soft
8	Grand Prix of Europe	European GP	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	June 24	14:00	12:00	Soft	Medium
9	Santander British Grand Prix	British GP	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	July 8	13:00	12:00	Soft	Hard
10	Großer Preis Santander von Deutschland	German GP	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	July 22	14:00	12:00
11	Eni Magyar Nadydíj	Hungarian GP	Hungaroring, Budapest	July 29	14:00	12:00
12	Shell Belgian Grand Prix	Belgian GP	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Spa	September 2	14:00	12:00
13	Gran Premio Santander d'Italia	Italian GP	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	September 9	14:00	12:00
14	SingTel Singapore Grand Prix	Singapore GP	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Marina Bay	September 23	20:00	12:00
15	Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese GP	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	October 7	15:00	06:00
16	Korean Grand Prix	Korean GP	Korean International Circuit, Yeongam	October 14	15:00	06:00
17	Airtel Indian Grand Prix	Indian GP	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	October 28	15:00	09:30
18	Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Abu Dhabi GP	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	November 4	17:00	13:00
19	United States Grand Prix	United States GP	Circuit of the Americas, Austin	November 18	13:00	19:00
20	Grande Prêmio do Brasil	Brazilian GP	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	November 25	14:00	16:00

Calendar Changes

• Races not on the 2011 Calendar:
  • The Bahrain Grand Prix returned after the 2011 race was postponed, and then cancelled, after the Arab Spring made the race a severe danger. Despite the violence in Bahrain having not subsided, the 2012 race went ahead as planned.
  • The United States Grand Prix returns for the first time since 2007.
• Race on the 2011 Calendar but not on the 2012 Calendar:
  • The Turkish Grand Prix could not negiotiate a renewed contract with Formula One Management (FOM), and as a result was not placed on the 2012 calendar.
• Circuit changes:
  • The German Grand Prix switched back to the Hockenheimring from the Nürburgring, to continue the race's policy of switching between the two circuits.
• Calendar changes:
  • Note: These do not include changes from the provisional calendar.
  • The Bahrain Grand Prix returns as the fourth round (taking Turkey's place), meaning that the Australian Grand Prix is once again the season opener.
  • The United States Grand Prix is placed as the nineteeth round.
  • As a result, the Brazilian Grand Prix is still the final round of the championship, but as round twenty.
• Disputes:
  • The United States Grand Prix has had monetary problems and the circuit may not be completed on time.
  • The Bahrain Grand Prix, as mentioned above, may be boycotted.
  • The European Grand Prix organisers have written to Bernie Ecclestone, stating that the race may not be financially viable. The organisers of the Spanish Grand Prix have expressed similar concerns.

Changes

Car Design Changes

• The height of the nose of the Front Wing has been reduced from 625mm to 550mm (a change of 75mm, or 7.5 cm).
• Exhausts must exit the bodywork upwards in a periscope manner. It must also have an internal diameter of 75mm. This is so the teams cannot take advantage of off-throttle blown diffusers for extra downforce. The operating temperatures of the exhausts are likely to fall by about 200°C from 2011.
• Exotic engine maps have also been banned, with more conventional ones put in place.
• The use of helium in air guns have been banned, for being too expensive for the competitive gain.
• The re-active ride-height system developed by Lotus has been banned as "any aerodynamic effect created by the suspension should be incidental to its primary function" and "any device that influences the car's aerodynamics must remain immobile in relation to the spring part of the car".

Results and Standings

Testing

Test	Track	Date	Fastest Driver	Team	Time
2012 Young Driver Test	Yas Marina Circuit	Nov 15 - Nov 17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Red Bull-Renault	1:38.917
2012 Jerez Test	Circuito de Jerez	Feb 7 - Feb 10	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:17.613
2012 Barcelona Test 1	Circuit de Catalunya	Feb 21 - Feb 24	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber-Ferrari	1:22.312
2012 Barcelona Test 2		Mar 1 - Mar 4	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault	1:22.030
2012 Mugello Test	Mugello Circuit	May 1 - May 3	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:21.035

The 2012 Young Driver Test took place in 2011

Results

Rnd	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning Driver	Winning Constructor	Report
1	Australian GP	Lewis Hamilton	Jenson Button	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
2	Malaysian GP	Lewis Hamilton	Kimi Räikkönen	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Report
3	Chinese GP	Nico Rosberg	Kamui Kobayashi	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Report
4	Bahrain GP	Sebastian Vettel	Sebastian Vettel	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Report
5	Spanish GP	Pastor Maldonado	Romain Grosjean	Pastor Maldonado	Williams-Renault	Report
6	Monaco GP	Mark Webber	Sergio Pérez	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	Report
7	Canadian GP					Report
8	European GP					Report
9	British GP					Report
10	German GP					Report
11	Hungarian GP					Report
12	Belgian GP					Report
13	Italian GP					Report
14	Singapore GP					Report
15	Japanese GP					Report
16	Korean GP					Report
17	Indian GP					Report
18	Abu Dhabi GP					Report
19	United States GP					Report
20	Brazilian GP					Report

Standings and Statistics

Points system: 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 from first to tenth.

Drivers on equal points are separated by number of first places, then by number of second places if on equal number of first places and so on.

As of 2012 Monaco Grand Prix

Drivers

WDC	Driver	Team	Races	Starts	Poles	FR	Wins	Podia	FLs	Laps Led	kms Led	GPs Led	DNFs	Pts	Report
1	F. Alonso	Ferrari	6	6	0	1	1	3	0	67	345	3	0	76	Report
2	S. Vettel	Red Bull	6	6	1	1	1	2	1	71	353	3	0	73	Report
3	M. Webber	Red Bull	6	6	1	1	1	1	0	61	204	1	0	73	Report
4	L. Hamilton	McLaren	6	6	2	3	0	3	0	14	77	2	0	63	Report
5	N. Rosberg	Mercedes	6	6	1	2	1	2	0	48	261	1	0	59	Report
6	K. Räikkönen	Lotus	6	6	0	0	0	2	1	2	9	1	0	51	Report
7	J. Button	McLaren	6	6	0	1	1	2	1	61	324	2	0	45	Report
8	R. Grosjean	Lotus	6	6	0	0	0	1	1	1	5	1	3	35	Report
9	P. Maldonado	Williams	6	6	1	1	1	1	0	37	172	1	2	29	Report
10	S. Pérez	Sauber	6	6	0	0	0	1	1	7	39	2	1	22	Report
11	P. di Resta	Force India	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1	0	21	Report
12	K. Kobayashi	Sauber	6	6	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	19	Report
13	B. Senna	Williams	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	15	Report
14	F. Massa	Ferrari	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	1	1	10	Report
15	N. Hülkenberg	Force India	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	Report
16	J.-É. Vergne	Toro Rosso	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	Report
17	D. Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	Report
18	M. Schumacher	Mercedes	6	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2	Report
19	H. Kovalainen	Caterham	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	Report
20	T. Glock	Marussia	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Report
21	N. Karthikeyan	HRT	6	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	Report
22	C. Pic	Marussia	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	Report
23	V. Petrov	Caterham	6	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	Report
24	P. de la Rosa	HRT	6	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	Report

Constructors

WCC	Team	Races	Starts	Poles	FR	Wins	Podia	FLs	Laps Led	kms Led	GPs Led	DNFs	Pts	Report
1	Red Bull-Renault	6	12	2	2	2	3	1	132	557	3	0	146	Report
2	McLaren-Mercedes	6	12	2	5	1	5	1	75	402	3	0	108	Report
3	Ferrari	6	12	0	1	1	3	0	68	348	3	1	86	Report
4	Lotus-Renault	6	12	0	0	0	3	2	3	15	2	3	86	Report
5	Mercedes	6	12	1	3	1	2	0	48	261	1	4	61	Report
6	Williams-Renault	6	12	1	1	1	1	0	37	172	1	3	44	Report
7	Sauber-Ferrari	6	12	0	0	0	1	2	7	39	2	3	41	Report
8	Force India-Mercedes	6	12	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1	1	28	Report
9	Toro Rosso-Ferrari	6	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	Report
10	Caterham-Renault	6	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	Report
11	Marussia-Cosworth	6	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	Report
12	HRT-Cosworth	6	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	Report