The 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (officially: 2012 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix) was the 18th round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship. It was held on November 4th 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. It was the fourth running of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix as a round of the World Championship, and the fourth on this layout of the Yas Marina Circuit.
The action-packed race was won by Lotus-Renault driver Kimi Räikkönen, his first win since the 2009 Belgian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso finished second, from sixth on the grid. Sebastian Vettel, who started from the pit-lane, finished third.
Lewis Hamilton, who started the race from pole position, retired from the lead with an engine malfunction. Nico Hülkenberg, Nico Rosberg, Narain Karthikeyan, Mark Webber and Romain Grosjean all retired as a result of collisions. Charles Pic also retired in the latter stages of the race.
The result shortens the Drivers' and Constructors' leads of Vettel and Red Bull to 10 and 82 points respectively, meaning that Red Bull only need five points from the United States Grand Prix to secure a third consecutive World Constructors' Title.
Background[]
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Option | Prime | Inter | Wet |
Leading the Constructors' World Championship is Red Bull-Renault, a lead which they have held since the Bahrain Grand Prix in April. 91 points behind are Ferrari. Ferrari must outscore Red Bull by at least 6 points in order to avoid handing the title to Red Bull at this event.
The lead of the Drivers' Championship is held by Sebastian Vettel, 13 points ahead of Fernando Alonso. Despite Alonso holding a 40-point lead after Hungary in July, Vettel has closed up the gap and taken the lead following 4 consecutive wins in Singapore, Japan, Korea and India. Regardless of results at this event, the title cannot be decided before the 2012 United States Grand Prix.
Entry list[]
The full entry list for the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix is shown below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Q1[]
Q2[]
Q3[]
Qualifying Results[]
Grid[]
Pos. | Pos. | |
---|---|---|
Driver | Driver | |
______________ | ||
Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
2 | Lewis Hamilton | |
Mark Webber | ______________ | |
Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
4 | Pastor Maldonado | |
Kimi Räikkönen | ______________ | |
Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
6 | Jenson Button | |
Fernando Alonso | ______________ | |
Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
8 | Nico Rosberg | |
Felipe Massa | ______________ | |
Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
10 | Romain Grosjean | |
Nico Hülkenberg | ______________ | |
Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
12 | Sergio Pérez | |
Paul di Resta | ______________ | |
Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
14 | Michael Schumacher | |
Bruno Senna | ______________ | |
Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
16 | Kamui Kobayashi | |
Daniel Ricciardo | ______________ | |
Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
18 | Jean-Éric Vergne | |
Heikki Kovalainen | ______________ | |
Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
20 | Charles Pic | |
Vitaly Petrov | ______________ | |
Row 11 | ______________ | 21 |
22 | Timo Glock | |
Pedro de la Rosa* | ______________ | |
Row 12 | ______________ | 23 |
24 | Narain Karthikeyan | |
Sebastian Vettel† | ______________ |
Notes:
* Pedro de la Rosa failed to start the formation lap as a cord from one of his tyre blankets was caught up in the wheel. He started from the pit lane behind Sebastian Vettel. Narain Karthikeyan did not move up the grid.
† Sebastian Vettel originally qualified 3rd, but was excluded from qualifying for failing to return to the pits under the car's own power. He started from the pit lane.
Race[]
Results[]
Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 55 | 1:48:58.667 | 4 | 25 |
2 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 55 | + 0.852 s | 6 | 18 |
3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 55 | + 4.163 s | PL | 15 |
4 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 55 | + 7.787 s | 5 | 12 |
5 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 55 | + 13.007 s | 3 | 10 |
6 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 55 | + 20.076 s | 15 | 8 |
7 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 55 | + 22.896 s | 8 | 6 |
8 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 55 | + 23.542 s | 14 | 4 |
9 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 55 | + 24.160 s | 12 | 2 |
10 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 55 | + 27.160 s | 16 | 1 |
11 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 55 | + 28.075 s | 13 | |
12 | 17 | Jean-Éric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 55 | + 34.906 s | 17 | |
13 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 55 | + 47.764 s | 18 | |
14 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 55 | + 56.473 s | 21 | |
15 | 15 | Sergio Pérez | Sauber-Ferrari | 55 | + 56.768 s | 11 | |
16 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 55 | + 1 m 4.595 s | 20 | |
17 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 55 | + 1 m 11.778 s | PL | |
Ret | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 41 | Engine | 19 | |
Ret | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 37 | Collision | 9 | |
Ret | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 37 | Collision | 2 | |
Ret | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 19 | Fuel pressure | 1 | |
Ret | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 7 | Collision | 23 | |
Ret | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 7 | Collision | 7 | |
Ret | 12 | Nico Hülkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 0 | Collision | 10 |
Milestones[]
- Kimi Räikkönen's 175th race (173rd start).
- Lewis Hamilton's 25th pole position.
- 75th pole position of the McLaren-Mercedes partnership.
Standings after the race[]
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Notes[]
V T E | Abu Dhabi Grand Prix | |
---|---|---|
Circuits | Yas Marina Circuit (2009–present) | |
Races | 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • 2020 • 2021 • 2022 • 2023 • 2024 |
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