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The 2012 Korean Grand Prix was the 16th race of the 2012 Formula One Season. It was held at the Korea International Circuit near Yeongam, South Korea on October 14 2012.

Mark Webber started the race on pole position, ahead of teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel took the lead on the first lap and held it throughout the race, winning by over eight seconds ahead of Webber. Fernando Alonso finished in third place. As a result, Vettel took the lead in the Championship from Alonso, who had held it since June.


Background[]

Tyres Available
Option Prime Inter Wet
SuperSoftTyre SoftTyre IntermediateTyre WetTyre

Going into the race, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso led the Drivers' World Championship, a lead which he had held since the European Grand Prix in June.

The Korea International Circuit was unchanged from the 2011 event, despite complaints by numerous teams about the dangerous pit-entry and pit-exit. The pit entry is on the racing line behind a high wall, so fast cars exiting the final corner cannot see cars ahead slowing down for the pit-entry. Also, the pit-exit leads directly into the braking zone for turn 1. This led to a collision in the second practice session in 2011, when Nico Rosberg hit Jaime Alguersuari as the Spaniard was emerging from the pit-lane. In the 2012 race, no major incidents were caused by the unconventional pit-lane.

Pedro de la Rosa made his 100th career start in this race. He started 22nd on the grid before retiring on lap 17 with a throttle malfunction.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2012 Korean 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
12 France Jules Bianchi India Sahara Force India F1 Team Force India VJM05 Mercedes FO 108Z P
19 Finland Valtteri Bottas United Kingdom Williams F1 Williams FW34 Renault RS27-2012 P
20 Netherlands Giedo van der Garde Malaysia Caterham F1 Team Caterham CT01 Renault RS27-2012 P
23 Spain Dani Clos Spain HRT F1 Team HRT F112 Cosworth CA2012 P

Practice Overview[]

Practice results[]

No. Driver Team FP1 FP2 FP3
Pos Time Pos Time Pos Time
1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 5 1:40.088 1 1:38.832 1 1:37.642
2 Australia Mark Webber 3 1:39.575 2 1:38.864 7 1:38.766
3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 10 1:40.480 4 1:39.219 3 1:38.511
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 1 1:39.148 8 1:39.717 2 1:38.169
5 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Ferrari 2 1:39.450 3 1:39.160 6 1:38.705
6 Brazil Felipe Massa 4 1:39.854 6 1:39.422 8 1:38.791
7 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes 6 1:40.221 5 1:39.330 13 1:39.150
8 Germany Nico Rosberg 7 1:40.396 7 1:39.584 12 1:39.010
9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 11 1:40.929 10 1:39.839 5 1:38.666
10 France Romain Grosjean 8 1:40.422 11 1:39.957 4 1:38.582
11 United Kingdom Paul di Resta India Force India-Mercedes 9 1:40.440 13 1:40.112 14 1:39.156
12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg DNP 9 1:39.739 10 1:38.932
France Jules Bianchi 13 1:41.140 DNP DNP
14 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 14 1:41.220 14 1:40.445 15 1:39.345
15 Mexico Sergio Pérez 15 1:41.514 15 1:40.745 11 1:38.954
16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 16 1:41.596 17 1:40.997 17 1:39.537
17 France Jean-Éric Vergne 17 1:42.021 16 1:40.789 16 1:39.448
18 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado United Kingdom Williams-Renault 12 1:41.048 18 1:41.200 9 1:38.833
19 Brazil Bruno Senna DNP 12 1:40.089 18 1:39.706
Finland Valtteri Bottas 18 1:42.027 DNP DNP
20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Caterham-Renault 19 1:42.104 19 1:41.602 20 1:41.437
21 Russia Vitaly Petrov DNP 22 1:43.067 19 1:41.114
Netherlands Giedo van der Garde 22 1:42.820 DNP DNP
22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT-Cosworth 23 1:44.517 24 1:44.533 24 1:42.882
23 India Narain Karthikeyan DNP 23 1:43.869 23 1:42.845
Spain Dani Clos 24 1:45.735 DNP DNP
24 Germany Timo Glock Russia Marussia-Cosworth 20 1:42.175 20 1:42.596 22 1:42.062
25 France Charles Pic 21 1:42.706 21 1:43.066 21 1:41.684

Qualifying[]

Q1[]

Q2[]

Q3[]

Qualifying Results[]

Pos. No. Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3 Grid
Pos Time Pos Time Pos Time
1 2 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 2 1:38.397 4 1:38.220 1 1:37.242 1
2 1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 1 1:38.208 1 1:37.767 2 1:37.316 2
3 4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 17 1:39.180 3 1:38.000 3 1:37.469 3
4 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Ferrari 16 1:39.144 2 1:37.987 4 1:37.534 4
5 9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 10 1:38.887 5 1:38.227 5 1:37.625 5
6 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 11 1:38.937 6 1:38.253 6 1:37.884 6
7 10 France Romain Grosjean United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 10 1:38.863 7 1:38.275 7 1:37.934 7
8 12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg India Force India-Mercedes 13 1:38.981 9 1:38.428 8 1:38.266 8
9 8 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes 14 1:38.99 8 1:38.417 9 1:38.361 9
10 7 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes 8 1:38.808 10 1:38.436 10 1:38.513 10
11 3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 3 1:38.615 11 1:38.441 11
12 15 Mexico Sergio Pérez Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 4 1:38.630 12 1:38.460 12
13 14 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 5 1:38.719 13 1:38.594 13
14 11 United Kingdom Paul di Resta India Force India-Mercedes 12 1:38.942 14 1:38.643 14
15 18 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado United Kingdom Williams-Renault 15 1:39.024 15 1:38.725 15
16 16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 7 1:38.784 16 1:39.084 21
17 17 France Jean-Éric Vergne Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 6 1:38.744 17 1:39.340 16
18 19 Brazil Bruno Senna United Kingdom Williams-Renault 18 1:39.443 17
19 21 Russia Vitaly Petrov Malaysia Caterham-Renault 19 1:40.207 18
20 20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Caterham-Renault 20 1:40.333 19
21 25 France Charles Pic Russia Marussia-Cosworth 21 1:41.317 24
22 24 Germany Timo Glock Russia Marussia-Cosworth 22 1:41.371 20
23 22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT-Cosworth 23 1:42.881 22
23 India Narain Karthikeyan Spain HRT-Cosworth No time set 23

Grid[]

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

* Daniel Ricciardo was given a five-place for an unscheduled gearbox change.

Narain Karthikeyan did not set a time due to a brake failure, but was allowed to race at the steward's discretion.

Charles Pic was given a ten-place grid penalty for using a ninth engine this season.

Race[]

Results[]

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time Grid Pts
1 1 Germany Sebastian Vettel Austria Red Bull-Renault 55 1:36:28.651 2 25
2 2 Australia Mark Webber Austria Red Bull-Renault 55 +8.231s 2 18
3 5 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Ferrari 55 +13.944 4 15
4 6 Brazil Felipe Massa Italy Ferrari 55 +20.168 6 12
5 9 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 55 +36.739 5 10
6 12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg India Force India-Mercedes 55 +45.301 8 8
7 10 France Romain Grosjean United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 55 +54.812 7 6
8 17 France Jean-Éric Vergne Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 55 +1:09.589 16 4
9 16 Australia Daniel Ricciardo Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 55 +1:11.787 21 2
10 4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 55 +1:19.692 12 1
11 15 Mexico Sergio Pérez Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 55 +1:20.062 12
12 11 United Kingdom Paul di Resta India Force India-Mercedes 55 +1:24.448 14
13 7 Germany Michael Schumacher Germany Mercedes 55 +1:29.241 10
14 18 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado United Kingdom Williams-Renault 55 +1:34.924 15
15 19 Brazil Bruno Senna United Kingdom Williams-Renault 55 +1:36.902 17
16 21 Russia Vitaly Petrov Malaysia Caterham-Renault 54 +1 Lap 18
17 20 Finland Heikki Kovalainen Malaysia Caterham-Renault 54 +1 Lap 19
18 24 Germany Timo Glock Russia Marussia-Cosworth 54 +1 Lap 20
19 25 France Charles Pic Russia Marussia-Cosworth 53 +2 Laps 24
20 23 India Narain Karthikeyan Spain HRT-Cosworth 53 +2 Laps 23
Not classified
Ret 22 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Spain HRT-Cosworth 16 Throttle
Ret 14 Japan Kamui Kobayashi Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 16 Collision damage
Ret 8 Germany Nico Rosberg Germany Mercedes 1 Collision/Puncture
Ret 3 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 0 Collision

Milestones[]

  • Pedro de la Rosa: 100th start (103 race entries)
  • Renault's 200th pole position as an engine supplier.
  • Sebastian Vettel's 25th race win.
  • 75th and 76th podiums for Red Bull.
  • Having taken the lead on the opening lap, Vettel has now led 145 consecutive laps.

Standings after the race[]

Drivers' World Championship
Pos. Driver Pts
1 Germany Sebastian Vettel 215
2 Spain Fernando Alonso 209
3 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 167
4 United Kingdom Lewis Hamilton 153
5 Australia Mark Webber 152
6 United Kingdom Jenson Button 131
7 Germany Nico Rosberg 93
8 France Romain Grosjean 88
9 Brazil Felipe Massa 81
10 Mexico Sergio Pérez 66
11 Japan Kamui Kobayashi 50
12 Germany Nico Hülkenberg 45
13 United Kingdom Paul di Resta 44
14 Germany Michael Schumacher 43
15 Venezuela Pastor Maldonado 33
16 Brazil Bruno Senna 25
17 France Jean-Éric Vergne 12
18 Australia Daniel Ricciardo 9
19 Finland Heikki Kovalainen 0
20 Russia Vitaly Petrov 0
21 Germany Timo Glock 0
22 France Charles Pic 0
23 India Narain Karthikeyan 0
24 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 0
25 Belgium Jérôme d'Ambrosio 0
Constructors' World Championship
Pos. Team Pts
1 Austria Red Bull-Renault 367
2 Italy Ferrari 290
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 284
4 United Kingdom Lotus-Renault 239
5 Germany Mercedes 136
6 Switzerland Sauber-Ferrari 114
7 India Force India-Mercedes 89
8 United Kingdom Williams-Renault 58
9 Italy Toro Rosso-Ferrari 20
10 Malaysia Caterham-Renault 0
11 Russia Marussia-Cosworth 0
12 Spain HRT-Cosworth 0

Notes[]

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 South Korea Korean Grand Prix
Circuits Korea International Circuit (2010–2013)
Korea International Circuit v3
Races 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013
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