Template:Current The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix will be the 71st running of the most famous race in Formula One. Scheduled for the 27 May 2012, it will be the 6th race of the 2012 season. As in previous years, the first two free practice sessions are due to take place on a Thursday instead of Friday, so that the streets can be opened to the public on Friday.
Circuit changes
- In response to Sergio Pérez's accident at the 2011 event, the track has been flattened slightly on approach to the Nouvelle Chicane. The barrier which Pérez hit has also been moved back slightly.
- In order to improve visibility and safety, the pit-exit has been partially cleared of trees and widened.
Practice Overview
Practice Times
| No. | Driver | Constructor | Thursday 1 | Thursday 2 | Saturday | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | Time | Pos. | |||
| 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1:17.222 | 9 | 1:17.303 | 10 | 1:15.209 | 3 |
| 2 | Mark Webber | 1:18.106 | 12 | 1:17.148 | 7 | 1:16.219 | 10 | |
| 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:17.190 | 8 | 1:15.746 | 1 | 1:15.471 | 6 |
| 4 | Lewis Hamilton | 1:16.747 | 4 | 1:17.375 | 11 | 1:15.734 | 7 | |
| 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:16.265 | 1 | 1:16.661 | 4 | 1:15.210 | 4 |
| 6 | Felipe Massa | 1:16.843 | 6 | 1:16.602 | 3 | 1:15.197 | 2 | |
| 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:17.413 | 11 | 1:17.293 | 9 | 1:15.893 | 8 |
| 8 | Nico Rosberg | 1:17.261 | 10 | 1:17.021 | 6 | 1:15.159 | 1 | |
| 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | no time | 24 | 1:19.267 | 19 | 1:16.301 | 13 |
| 10 | Romain Grosjean | 1:16.630 | 2 | 1:16.138 | 2 | 1:15.445 | 5 | |
| 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:18.302 | 16 | 1:17.395 | 12 | 1:17.390 | 18 |
| 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | 1:17.361 | 12 | 1:17.800 | 14 | 1:17.027 | 15 | |
| 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:17.038 | 7 | 1:17.153 | 8 | 1:16.311 | 13 |
| 15 | Sergio Pérez | 1:16.711 | 3 | 1:18.251 | 15 | 1:16.110 | 9 | |
| 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rossso-Ferrari | 1:18.252 | 15 | 1:18.808 | 18 | 1:16.479 | 14 |
| 17 | Jean-Éric Vergne | 1:18.209 | 14 | 1:18.522 | 17 | 1:16.226 | 11 | |
| 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:16.760 | 5 | 1:16.820 | 5 | 1:18.488 | 21 |
| 19 | Bruno Senna | 1:18.617 | 17 | 1:17.655 | 13 | 1:17.055 | 16 | |
| 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:19.039 | 18 | 1:20.029 | 21 | 1:17.276 | 17 |
| 21 | Vitaly Petrov | 1:19.341 | 19 | 1:18.440 | 16 | 1:17.404 | 19 | |
| 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:22.423 | 23 | 1:20.631 | 23 | 1:19.151 | 24 |
| 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | 1:20.838 | 20 | 1:20.886 | 24 | 1:19.147 | 23 | |
| 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:21.638 | 22 | 1:19.309 | 20 | 1:18.259 | 20 |
| 25 | Charles Pic | 1:20.895 | 21 | 1:20.240 | 22 | 1:19.099 | 22 | |
Qualifying Overview
{{Grid/{{{frontrowsize}}}-{{{secondrowsize}}}/34{{{poleside}}}|Mark Webber|Nico Rosberg|Lewis Hamilton|Romain Grosjean|Fernando Alonso|Michael Schumacher*|Felipe Massa|Kimi Räikkönen|Sebastian Vettel|Nico Hülkenberg|Kamui Kobayashi|Jenson Button|Bruno Senna|Paul di Resta|Daniel Ricciardo|Jean-Éric Vergne|Heikki Kovalainen|Vitaly Petrov|Timo Glock|Pedro de la Rosa|Charles Pic|Narain Karthikeyan|Sergio Pérez†|Pastor Maldonado‡||||||||||}}
* Michael Schumacher was relegated five places on the grid for causing an avoidable accident with Bruno Senna during the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix (Qualified 1st).
† Sergio Pérez crashed in Q1 (first qualifying session) and did not set a time, meant he had to get Steward's permission to race, which he was granted permission to do so. Sauber changed his gearbox, and thus incurred a five-place grid penalty.
‡ Pastor Maldonado was relegated ten places for casuing an avoidable accident with Sergio Pérez during FP3 (Saturday's practice session) (Qualified 9th). Williams also changed his gearbox, which incurred a five-place grid penalty. Sauber notified the FIA of the gearbox change before Williams did, and as a result Maldonado's gearbox penalty was applied after Pérez's, and he started from last on the grid.
Race Overview
Race Results
* Did not finish, but completed enough laps to be classified (90% ≈ 70 laps)
Milestones
- Lotus F1's 500th Grand Prix under various guises, which started in 1981 as Toleman, which became Benetton in 1986 and Renault in 2002.
- In a race without a safety car finish (or a safety car within the last 25% of the race), this was the tightest finish between first and sixth places, just 6.195 seconds.