Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix (formally known as the 2012 Formula 1 Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 22 April 2012 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain. It was the first time Formula One had returned to Bahrain after the 2011 race was cancelled due to ongoing anti-government protests. After using the "endurance circuit" in 2010, the series reverted to using the "Grand Prix Circuit" configuration for the 2012 race.

The race was won from pole by Sebastian Vettel, followed closely by Lotus F1 driver Kimi Räikkönen with Lotus team-mate Romain Grosjean in third. The result ensured that four different drivers have won the first 4 races of the season for the first time since 2003. This race also marked the first podium for a French driver since Jean Alesi's 3rd place at the 1998 Belgian Grand Prix.

Background[]

Following the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix last year, the race this year was in doubt from day one. Originally, the event was given a berth late in the 2012 season so as to allow extra time for the civil unrest in the country to subside. This date was later revised however, moving the race to its final spot, in mid-April. The race's future was still in doubt though, up until the Chinese Grand Prix, when an official statement was made by the FIA giving the event the go-ahead. One week later, the Friday practice sessions went ahead in spite of violent clashes in Bahrain. On Thursday, a car carrying mechanics and team personnel of Force India had been attacked, forcing a number of team members to return home.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix is shown below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB8 Renault RS27-2012 P
2 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull Racing Red Bull RB8 Renault RS27-2012 P
3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes FO 108Z P
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom Vodafone McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-27 Mercedes FO 108Z P
5 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F2012 Ferrari 056 P
6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari F2012 Ferrari 056 P
7 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W03 Mercedes FO 108Z P
8 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team Mercedes W03 Mercedes FO 108Z P
9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Lotus F1 Team Lotus E20 Renault RS27-2012 P
10 France Romain Grosjean United Kingdom Lotus F1 Team Lotus E20 Renault RS27-2012 P
11 United Kingdom Paul di Resta India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM05 Mercedes FO 108Z P
12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM05 Mercedes FO 108Z P
14 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland Sauber F1 Team Sauber C31 Ferrari 056 P
15 Mexico Sergio Pérez Switzerland Sauber F1 Team Sauber C31 Ferrari 056 P
16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR7 Ferrari 056 P
17 France Jean-Éric Vergne Italy Scuderia Toro Rosso Toro Rosso STR7 Ferrari 056 P
18 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado United Kingdom Williams F1 Williams FW34 Renault RS27-2012 P
19 Brazil Bruno Senna United Kingdom Williams F1 Williams FW34 Renault RS27-2012 P
20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT01 Renault RS27-2012 P
21 Russia Vitaly Petrov Malaysia Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT01 Renault RS27-2012 P
22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT F1 Team HRT F112 Cosworth CA2012 P
23 India Narain Karthikeyan Spain HRT F1 Team HRT F112 Cosworth CA2012 P
24 Germany Timo Glock Russia Marussia F1 Team Marussia MR01 Cosworth CA2012 P
25 France Charles Pic Russia Marussia F1 Team Marussia MR01 Cosworth CA2012 P
Free Practice 1 only
19 Finland Valtteri Bottas United Kingdom Williams F1 Williams FW34 Renault RS27-2012 P

Practice[]

FP1[]

FP2[]

FP3[]

Practice results[]

Car Driver Team Friday Saturday
P1 Time P1 Pos P2 Time P2 Pos P3 Time P3 Pos
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:33.877 2 1:33.525 3 1:33.401 2
2 Mark Webber 1:34.552 8 1:33.262 2 1:33.663 3
3 Jenson Button McLaren Racing 1:34.277 5 1:34.246 6 1:33.899 6
4 Lewis Hamilton 1:33.572 1 1:33.747 4 1:33.782 4
5 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari 1:35.436 13 1:34.449 8 1:34.895 10
6 Felipe Massa 1:35.719 15 1:34.941 12 1:35.536 16
7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix 1:34.483 7 1:33.862 5 1:33.796 5
8 Nico Rosberg 1:34.249 4 1:32.816 1 1:33.254 1
9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus F1 1:34.609 9 1:35.183 13 1:33.976 7
10 Romain Grosjean 1:34.847 10 1:34.615 9 1:34.401 9
11 Paul di Resta Force India 1:34.150 3 No time[1] - 1:35.336 15
12 Nico Hülkenberg 1:34.344 6 No time[1] - 1:35.773 19
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:35.929 16 1:34.411 7 1:35.128 14
15 Sergio Pérez 1:35.024 11 1:34.893 10 1:35.067 13
16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:36.591 20 1:34.895 11 1:34.197 8
17 Jean-Éric Vergne 1:36.195 17 1:35.229 14 1:34.977 12
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:35.268 12 1:35.459 15 1:34.918 11
19 Valtteri Bottas 1:35.497 14 DNP
19 Bruno Senna DNP 1:36.169 18 1:35.623 17
20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham F1 1:36.330 18 1:35.968 17 1:35.694 18
21 Vitaly Petrov 1:36.484 19 1:35.913 16 1:36.532 20
22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1 1:38.877 23 1:37.812 21 1:38.973 23
23 Narain Karthikeyan 1:39.996 24 1:39.649 22 1:39.221 24
24 Timo Glock Marussia F1 1:38.006 22 1:36.587 19 1:37.654 22
25 Charles Pic 1:37.467 21 1:37.803 20 1:37.267 21
  1. 1.0 1.1 Force India did not participate in FP2

Qualifying[]

Qualifying results[]

Pos Car Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
1 1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:34.308 1:33.527 1:32.422 1
2 4 Lewis Hamilton McLaren Racing 1:34.813 1:33.209 1:32.520 2
3 2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:34.015 1:33.311 1:32.520 3
4 3 Jenson Button McLaren Racing 1:34.792 1:33.416 1:32.711 4
5 8 Nico Rosberg Mercedes Grand Prix 1:34.588 1:33.219 1:32.821 5
6 16 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.988 1:33.556 1:32.912 6
7 10 Romain Grosjean Lotus F1 1:34.041 1:33.246 1:33.008 7
8 15 Sergio Pérez Sauber 1:33.814 1:33.660 1:33.394 8
9 5 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari 1:34.760 1:33.403 no time 9
10 11 Paul di Resta Force India 1:34.624 1:33.510 no time 10
11 9 Kimi Räikkönen Lotus F1 1:34.552 1:33.789 11
12 14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber 1:34.131 1:33.806 12
13 12 Nico Hülkenberg Force India 1:34.601 1:33.807 13
14 6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari 1:34.372 1:33.912 14
15 19 Bruno Senna Williams F1 1:34.466 1:34.017 15
16 20 Heikki Kovalainen Caterham F1 1:34.852 1:36.132 16
17 18 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:34.639 no time 22[1]
18 7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes Grand Prix 1:34.865 23[1]
19 17 Jean-Éric Vergne Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:35.014 17
20 21 Vitaly Petrov Caterham F1 1:35.823 18
21 25 Charles Pic Marussia F1 1:37.683 19
22 22 Pedro de la Rosa HRT F1 1:37.883 20
23 24 Timo Glock Marussia F1 1:37.905 21
24 23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 1:38.314 24
  1. 1.0 1.1 Maldonado and Schumacher both drop five grid places for unscheduled gearbox changes.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Sebastian Vettel 2
______________ Lewis Hamilton
Row 2 3 ______________
Mark Webber 4
______________ Jenson Button
Row 3 5 ______________
Nico Rosberg 6
______________ Daniel Ricciardo
Row 4 7 ______________
Romain Grosjean 8
______________ Sergio Pérez
Row 5 9 ______________
Fernando Alonso 10
______________ Paul di Resta
Row 6 11 ______________
Kimi Räikkönen 12
______________ Kamui Kobayashi
Row 7 13 ______________
Nico Hülkenberg 14
______________ Felipe Massa
Row 8 15 ______________
Bruno Senna 16
______________ Heikki Kovalainen
Row 9 17 ______________
Jean-Éric Vergne 18
______________ Vitaly Petrov
Row 10 19 ______________
Charles Pic 20
______________ Pedro de la Rosa
Row 11 21 ______________
Timo Glock 22
______________ Pastor Maldonado
Row 12 23 ______________
Michael Schumacher 24
______________ Narain Karthikeyan

Race[]

Classification[]

Pos Car Driver Team Time Grid Pts
1 1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:35:10.990 1 25
2 9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Lotus-Renault +3.3 secs 11 18
3 10 France Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault +10.1 secs 7 15
4 2 Australia Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +38.7 secs 3 12
5 8 Germany Nico Rosberg Mercedes +55.4 secs 5 10
6 11 United Kingdom Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes +57.5 secs 10 8
7 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Ferrari +57.8 secs 9 6
8 4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes +58.9 secs 2 4
9 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Ferrari +64.9 secs 14 2
10 7 Germany Michael Schumacher Mercedes +71.4 secs 22 1
11 15 Mexico Sergio Pérez Sauber-Ferrari +72.7 secs 8
12 12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg Force India-Mercedes +76.5 secs 13
13 14 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari +90.3 secs 12
14 17 France Jean-Éric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari +93.7 secs 17
15 16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari +1 Lap 6
16 21 Russia Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault +1 Lap 18
17 20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault +1 Lap 16
18 3 United Kingdom Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes Brakes[1] 4
19 24 Germany Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth +2 Laps 23
20 22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth +2 Laps 20
21 23 India Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth +2 Laps 24
Not Classified
Ret 19 Brazil Bruno Senna Williams-Renault Driveshaft 15
Ret 18 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault Puncture 21
Ret 25 France Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth Mechanical 19
  1. Completed more than 90% race distance before retiring with Exhaust and differential problems

Milestones[]

Standings following race[]

Drivers' World Championship
No. Driver Pts
1 Sebastian Vettel 53
2 Lewis Hamilton 49
3 Mark Webber 48
4 Jenson Button 43
5 Fernando Alonso 43
Only top five are shown
Constructors' World Championship
Team Pts
Red Bull Racing 101
McLaren-Mercedes 92
Lotus F1 57
Scuderia Ferrari 45
Mercedes Grand Prix 37
Only top five are shown
V T E 2012 Formula One Season
Teams Red Bull | McLaren | Ferrari | Mercedes | Lotus | Force India | Sauber | Toro Rosso | Williams | Caterham | HRT | Marussia
Engines Renault | Mercedes | Ferrari | Cosworth
Race Drivers Vettel | 2 Webber | 3 Button | 4 Hamilton | 5 Alonso | 6 Massa | 7 Schumacher | 8 Rosberg | 9 Räikkönen | 10 Grosjean | 10 D'Ambrosio | 11 Di Resta | 12 Hülkenberg | 14 Kobayashi | 15 Pérez | 16 Ricciardo | 17 Vergne | 18 Maldonado | 19 Senna | 20 Kovalainen | 21 Petrov | 22 De la Rosa | 23 Karthikeyan | 24 Glock | 25 Pic
Other Drivers Buemi | Paffett | Turvey | Rigon | Bird | Bianchi | Daly | Gutiérrez | Bottas | Wolff | Van der Garde | Rossi | González | Clos | Luizzi | de Villota | Chilton
Cars RB8 | MP4-27 | F2012 | F1 W03 | E20 | VJM05 | C31 | STR7 | FW34 | CT01 | F112 | MR01
Tyres Pirelli
Races Australia | Malaysia | China | Bahrain | Spain | Monaco | Canada | Europe | Britain | Germany | Hungary | Belgium | Italy | Singapore | Japan | Korea | India | Abu Dhabi | United States | Brazil
Team Reports Red Bull | McLaren | Ferrari | Mercedes | Lotus | Force India | Sauber | Toro Rosso | Williams | Caterham | HRT | Marussia
Driver Reports Vettel | Webber | Button | Hamilton | Alonso | Massa | Schumacher | Rosberg | Räikkönen | Grosjean | di Resta | Hülkenberg | Kobayashi | Pérez | Ricciardo | Vergne | Maldonado | Senna | Kovalainen | Petrov | de la Rosa | Karthikeyan | Karthikeyan | Glock | Pic
Tests Jerez | Barcelona 1 | Barcelona 2 | Mugello | Young Driver
See also 2011 Formula One Season | 2013 Formula One Season | Bahrain GP protests | Category
V T E Bahrain Bahrain Grand Prix
Circuits Bahrain International Circuit (2004–present)
Sakhir1
Races 200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
Advertisement