2012 Bahrain Grand Prix

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 is shown below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Sebastian Vettel 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB8 	 	RS27-2012 	
2 	Mark Webber 	Red Bull Racing 	 	RB8 	 	RS27-2012 	
3 	Jenson Button 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-27 	 	FO 108Z 	
4 	Lewis Hamilton 	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-27 	 	FO 108Z 	
5 	Fernando Alonso 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F2012 	 	056 	
6 	Felipe Massa 	Scuderia Ferrari 	 	F2012 	 	056 	
7 	Michael Schumacher 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W03 	 	FO 108Z 	
8 	Nico Rosberg 	Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team	 	W03 	 	FO 108Z 	
9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E20 	 	RS27-2012 	
10 	Romain Grosjean 	Lotus F1 Team 	 	E20 	 	RS27-2012 	
11 	Paul di Resta 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM05 	 	FO 108Z 	
12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Sahara Force India F1 Team 	 	VJM05 	 	FO 108Z 	
14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C31 	 	056 	
15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber F1 Team 	 	C31 	 	056 	
16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR7 	 	056 	
17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	Scuderia Toro Rosso 	 	STR7 	 	056 	
18 	Pastor Maldonado 	Williams F1 	 	FW34 	 	RS27-2012 	
19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams F1 	 	FW34 	 	RS27-2012 	
20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT01 	 	RS27-2012 	
21 	Vitaly Petrov 	Caterham F1 Team 	 	CT01 	 	RS27-2012 	
22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	HRT F1 Team 	 	F112 	 	CA2012 	
23 	Narain Karthikeyan 	HRT F1 Team 	 	F112 	 	CA2012 	
24 	Timo Glock 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR01 	 	CA2012 	
25 	Charles Pic 	Marussia F1 Team 	 	MR01 	 	CA2012 	
Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only 	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only	Free Practice 1 only
19 	Valtteri Bottas 	Williams F1 	 	FW34 	 	RS27-2012 	
==Practice==
===FP1===
===FP2===
===FP3===
===Practice results===
Car	Driver 	Team 	Friday 	Friday	Friday 	Friday	Saturday	Saturday
Car	Driver 	Team 	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 	Red Bull Racing 	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 	McLaren Racing 	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 	Scuderia Ferrari 	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 	Mercedes Grand Prix	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 	Lotus F1 	1:34.847	10 	1:34.615 	9 	1:34.401	9
11 	Paul di Resta 	Force India 	1:34.150	3 	No timeForce India did not participate in FP2	- 	1:35.336	15
12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	Force India 	1:34.344	6 	No time 	- 	1:35.773	19
14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	Sauber 	1:35.929	16 	1:34.411 	7 	1:35.128	14
15 	Sergio Pérez 	Sauber 	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 	Scuderia Toro Rosso	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 	Williams F1 	1:35.497	14 	DNP 	DNP 	DNP 	DNP
19 	Bruno Senna 	Williams F1 	DNP 	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 	Caterham F1 	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	HRT F1 	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 	Marussia F1 	1:37.467	21 	1:37.803 	20 	1:37.267	21
==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 	 	22Maldonado and Schumacher both drop five grid places for unscheduled gearbox changes.
18 	7 	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes Grand Prix	1:34.865	 	 	23
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
===Grid===
==Race==
===Classification===
Pos 	Car 	Driver 	Team 	Time 	Grid 	Pts
1 	1 	Sebastian Vettel 	 	1:35:10.990 	1 	25
2 	9 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	+3.3 secs 	11 	18
3 	10 	Romain Grosjean 	 	+10.1 secs 	7 	15
4 	2 	Mark Webber 	 	+38.7 secs 	3 	12
5 	8 	Nico Rosberg 	 	+55.4 secs 	5 	10
6 	11 	Paul di Resta 	 	+57.5 secs 	10 	8
7 	5 	Fernando Alonso 	 	+57.8 secs 	9 	6
8 	4 	Lewis Hamilton 	 	+58.9 secs 	2 	4
9 	6 	Felipe Massa 	 	+64.9 secs 	14 	2
10 	7 	Michael Schumacher	 	+71.4 secs 	22 	1
11 	15 	Sergio Pérez 	 	+72.7 secs 	8 	
12 	12 	Nico Hülkenberg 	 	+76.5 secs 	13 	
13 	14 	Kamui Kobayashi 	 	+90.3 secs 	12 	
14 	17 	Jean-Éric Vergne 	 	+93.7 secs 	17 	
15 	16 	Daniel Ricciardo 	 	+1 Lap 	6 	
16 	21 	Vitaly Petrov 	 	+1 Lap 	18 	
17 	20 	Heikki Kovalainen 	 	+1 Lap 	16 	
18 	3 	Jenson Button 	 	BrakesCompleted more than 90% race distance before retiring with Exhaust and differential problems	4 	
19 	24 	Timo Glock 	 	+2 Laps 	23 	
20 	22 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	+2 Laps 	20 	
21 	23 	Narain Karthikeyan	 	+2 Laps 	24 	
Not Classified	Not Classified	Not Classified 	Not Classified	Not Classified 	Not Classified	Not Classified
Ret 	19 	Bruno Senna 	 	Driveshaft 	15 	
Ret 	18 	Pastor Maldonado 	 	Puncture 	21 	
Ret 	25 	Charles Pic 	 	Mechanical 	19 	
==Milestones==
*Lewis Hamilton's 40th front row start.
*Romain Grosjean's first podium finish.
==Standings following race==
Drivers' World Championship	Drivers' World Championship	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 	Only top five are shown 	Only top five are shown
Constructors' World Championship	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 	Only top five are shown
Category:Bahrain Grand Prix
Category:2012 Grands Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles