2012 Malaysian Grand Prix
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The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2012 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race held on 25 March 2012 at the
Sepang International Circuit The Sepang International Circuit ( ms, Litar Antarabangsa Sepang) is a motorsport race track in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. It is located approximately south of Kuala Lumpur, and close to Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It hosted the For ...
in
Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...
,
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. It was the fourteenth running of the
Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...
as a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the thirty-second time the event has been held. The 56-lap race was the second round of the
2012 Formula One season The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internatio ...
and was won by
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
.
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
of the
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
team finished the race in second position, and
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
driver
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
completed the podium with third place after starting in pole position. By winning the race, Fernando Alonso took the lead in the Drivers' Championship, having been fifth in the standings before the race. Lewis Hamilton moved up to second in the standings on 30 points, 5 behind Alonso. Button dropped from the lead in standings to third, now 5 points behind Hamilton.
Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks of Austria, Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With 38% market share, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2019. Since its launch in 1987, more than 100 billion cans of Red Bull have been sold worldwid ...
driver Mark Webber remained fourth, 1-point behind Button, whilst Pérez moved himself up to fifth place. As far as the Constructors' Championship was concerned, McLaren still led, and had increased the gap to Red Bull to 13 points. Ferrari overtook Sauber to take third in the standings. Sergio Pérez achieved his first podium finish. The Sauber team recorded their best ever result (excluding their time as
BMW Sauber BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s (often under Formula Two regulations), before building th ...
) and also the first podium for a
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
customer engine since
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
's victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari-engined
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...
.
Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Vergne (born 25 April 1990), also known as JEV, is a French people, French Auto racing, racing driver who competes in Formula E, the FIA Formula E Championship with Dragon Racing. He became the 2017–18 ABB Formula E Champion, after c ...
scored his first ever points in Formula One in his second race by finishing in eighth position.


Report


Background

Following extended debate over the legality of the Mercedes rear wing and front-wing F-duct on the F1 W03 during the , and the threat of a protest against the system,
Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, also simply known as Red Bull or RBR and currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing, is a Formula One racing team, racing under an Austrian licence and based in the United Kingdom. It is one of two Formula One teams owned ...
and
Lotus F1 Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from until , following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. ...
requested a final ruling on the system ahead of the race at Sepang. On the Thursday before the race the FIA rejected all claims that the system was illegal, allowing Mercedes to compete with an unaltered car.
Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
driver
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...
was given a five-place grid penalty for the race for being in breach of Article 40.8 of the sporting regulations. Article 40.8, which governs procedures for restarts under the safety car, states that no driver may overtake another until such time as he has crossed the first safety car control line on the circuit (except in the case of race control allowing lapped traffic to be released from behind the safety car). Kovalainen was penalised for passing two cars before he crossed this line during the Australian Grand Prix.
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
was also given a five-place grid penalty after his team changed the gearbox in his car after Friday practice. After struggling in the Australian Grand Prix,
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
prepared a brand-new F2012 chassis for
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...
, with the team citing "unusual performance" of the chassis he used in Melbourne as the reason for the change. The team denied reports that they were planning to replace Massa with
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
driver
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
– who is a part of the
Ferrari Driver Academy Ferrari Driver Academy is an initiative from Formula One team Scuderia Ferrari to promote young talent inside its own organisation, with several drivers being selected and funded by the team, being under long-term contracts. Some notable former ...
– while both Sauber and Pérez claimed that they had not been contacted by Ferrari. HRT driver
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
expressed confidence that his team would qualify for the race. HRT failed to qualify for the Australian Grand Prix the week before the race in Malaysia, with both de la Rosa and teammate
Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
failing to set a lap time within 107% of the fastest time set in the first qualifying period. De la Rosa admitted that the team did not have a Drag Reduction System (DRS) device available to them in Australia, and expected the addition of the system to the HRT F112 to yield up to a second per lap in qualifying. Williams test driver
Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, having previously driven for Mercedes from to and Williams from to . Bottas has scored race wins and podiums. H ...
replaced
Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
for the first practice session on Friday morning. The race used a single DRS zone, unchanged from the 2011 race, with the detection point located on the back straight and the activation point immediately after the final turn. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought its silver-banded hard compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the white-banded medium compound as the softer "option" compound, whereas last year the "soft" compound was the yellow-banded soft compound tyre.


Free practice

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
was the fastest driver in the first practice session, ahead of
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
and
Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
.
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...
finished the session fifth-fastest despite his car becoming stuck in seventh gear.
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
was ninth overall, but was forced to end his session early after the team discovered an oil leak.
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
's difficult start to the season continued with
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...
and
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
finishing thirteenth and fifteenth respectively, while HRT encountered further difficulties, with
Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
's car crippled by transmission problems; both Karthikeyan and de la Rosa finished the session seven seconds slower than Hamilton. Hamilton repeated his performance in the second session, setting a lap time one-tenth of a second slower than the time he posted in the first session.
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
was second-fastest, with Jenson Button third.
Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
returned to the cockpit after Williams test driver
Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Viktor Bottas (; born 28 August 1989) is a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Alfa Romeo, having previously driven for Mercedes from to and Williams from to . Bottas has scored race wins and podiums. H ...
completed the morning session in Senna's car; Senna placed nineteenth overall. After placing fifteenth in the first session, Fernando Alonso ended the day sixth-fastest, though his lap time was only a tenth of a second faster than his time in the first session. Teammate Massa languished in sixteenth, considerably slower in the afternoon than he was in the morning. Both HRT drivers managed to improve their morning times by two seconds, to end the session five seconds adrift. The circuit was declared damp for the third and final practice session on Saturday afternoon after light rain fell during the GP2 support race. The damp conditions saw several drivers – most notably Lewis Hamilton – running wide early on, before a dry line was established. Despite the off-track excursions, the session was not interrupted by red flags. Rosberg topped the sixty-minute session, the only driver to go below one minute thirty-seven for all practice sessions, ahead of Vettel and Mark Webber. The Ferraris once again struggled, with Alonso in thirteenth place, 1.3 seconds behind Rosberg, and Massa in sixteenth, a further second behind. The two HRT drivers continued to languish five seconds off the pace, but were within sight of the Marussias of
Timo Glock Timo Glock (born 18 March 1982) is a German professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. He raced in Formula One for the Jordan, Toyota, Virgin Racing and Marussia F1 teams. He finished 10th in the Drivers' Championship in both ...
and
Charles Pic Charles Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a retired professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in and , racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season. Early career Karti ...
.


Qualifying

Unlike the cooler conditions of the previous race in Melbourne, qualifying was run under hot and sunny conditions with an ambient temperature of and a track temperature of . The first qualifying period began with
Paul di Resta Paul di Resta (born 16 April 1986) is a British racing driver from Scotland, competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport in their LMH entry. He drove in Formula One for Force India from to , and became a reserve driver ...
leading a host of cars for their first flying lap. As expected, most teams posted their early timed laps on the slower 'prime' tyre and after ten minutes the four Mercedes powered cars from
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
and Mercedes were ahead, led by
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
. As in Melbourne,
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...
was again in danger of being eliminated and as a result he and teammate
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
both used a set of the medium 'option' tyre to avoid an embarrassing elimination. Late on in the session, Mark Webber also switched to the softer tyres and consequently set the fastest time of 1-minute 37.172 seconds. Significantly, both the HRT
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
and
Narain Karthikeyan Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan (born 14 January 1977) is an Indian racing driver. He was the first Indian driver to compete in Formula One. He has previously competed in A1GP, and the Le Mans Series. He has won multiple races in A1GP, British F3, ...
were within the 107% time needed to qualify because of Webber's lap. A front right wheel lock-up going into the braking zone of turn 1 resulted in severe vibration and effectively eliminated
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...
's
Jean-Éric Vergne Jean-Éric Vergne (born 25 April 1990), also known as JEV, is a French people, French Auto racing, racing driver who competes in Formula E, the FIA Formula E Championship with Dragon Racing. He became the 2017–18 ABB Formula E Champion, after c ...
on his final timed run. He finished the session 18th ahead of the
Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...
cars of
Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing driver competing in the Japan Rally Championship for Rally Team AICELLO. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and ...
and
Vitaly Petrov Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov ( rus, Вита́лий Алекса́ндрович Петро́в, p=vʲɪˈtalʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ pʲɪˈtrof; born 8 September 1984) is a Russian racing driver who drove in Formula One for Renault F1 ...
. Kovalainen was later demoted from his 19th place slot to the back of the grid, for the first time in his career, because of a five place grid penalty he incurred at the last race for overtaking under safety car conditions. The HRTs occupied the two places in front of him, the two
Marussia Marussia Motors (russian: Маруся ) was a Russian sports car company founded in 2007. It was the first Russian company to produce a supercar. It designed, and manufactured prototypes of both the B1 and the B2 sport cars. Marussia was led by for ...
cars were in front of them (with
Timo Glock Timo Glock (born 18 March 1982) is a German professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver. He raced in Formula One for the Jordan, Toyota, Virgin Racing and Marussia F1 teams. He finished 10th in the Drivers' Championship in both ...
out-qualifying rookie
Charles Pic Charles Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a retired professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in and , racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season. Early career Karti ...
) and teammate Petrov moved up into 19th. Schumacher and
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
rounded out the top three. The second session began with
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
the first to set a timed lap. All drivers opted for the softer compound medium tyre.
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
set the fastest time in a session which saw all the cars set closely matched times.
Pastor Maldonado Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (; born 9 March 1985) is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering F ...
had a minor off before turn 11 and was the quickest driver not to make the final session; his Williams teammate
Bruno Senna Bruno Senna Lalli (, born 15 October 1983) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He is the nephew of the late Ayrton Senna, three-time Formula One world champion. He is also the first man to win a race in every WEC class, and was the 2017 W ...
was 13th.
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...
(who had a new chassis for the weekend) was 12th, closing the gap between himself and
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
from one second, as it had been in Australia, to four tenths. Alonso, however, managed to make it into the final session. The two
Force India Force India Formula One Team Limited, commonly known as Force India and later Sahara Force India, was a Formula One racing team and constructor based in Silverstone, United Kingdom, with an Indian licence. The team was formed in October 20 ...
s qualified in 14th and 16th positions, with di Resta fractionally beating
Nico Hülkenberg Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German professional racing driver who is scheduled to make a full-time racing return to Formula 1 with Haas F1 Team in 2023, after serving as a reserve driver for Aston Martin F1 Team for the yea ...
's time.
Daniel Ricciardo Daniel Joseph Ricciardo ( "Ricardo", ; born 1 July 1989) is an Italian-Australian racing driver who last raced in Formula One driving for McLaren, under the Australian flag. He made his debut at the 2011 British Grand Prix with the HRT ...
was 15th for
Toro Rosso Scuderia Toro Rosso (; literal translation of "Red Bull Racing Team"), commonly known as Toro Rosso or by its abbreviation STR, was an Italian Formula One racing team. It was one of two Formula One teams owned by Austrian beverage company Re ...
, three places ahead of Vergne, whilst
Kamui Kobayashi is a Japanese professional racing driver who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Toyota Gazoo Racing (GR) and in the Super Formula Championship for KCMG . He previously competed in Formula One, Formula E, the GP2 Series, and the ...
took up the last place (17th). Kobayashi's
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
teammate,
Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...
, did manage to make it into the final part if qualifying. When the chequered flag was waved Schumacher held 11th place provisionally, behind Maldonado (9th) and teammate
Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fi ...
. However, both Mercedes cars were already on hot laps before the flag was waved, and were able to complete their laps to improve their times. This pushed Maldonado outside of the top ten fastest times, meaning he couldn't participate in the final session any more. Despite a front left wheel lock-up at the final corner,
Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver currently competing in Formula One for Mercedes. In Formula One, Hamilton has won a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Mich ...
set the fastest time by four tenths of a second upon his first attempt. He subsequently returned to the pits during his second, knowing that he already had pole position. The second
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
of
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
set the second fastest time, one tenth behind Hamilton's time, to complete the second McLaren front row lock-out in the season's two races.
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
demonstrated the improved pace of the Mercedes car since by achieving his highest qualifying position since his return to the sport, with third place. Webber and Räikkönen set an identical time, but Webber was granted fourth position because he set his time first. Räikkönen's five place grid penalty for gearbox change meant he dropped from fifth to tenth place, despite an otherwise impressive performance from the Lotus team. This promoted
Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2022 for BMW Sauber, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toro Rosso, Red Bull Racing, Red Bull, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari, and Aston Martin in Formula One ...
to fifth position, who had chosen to set his lap on the harder 'prime' tyres. The second Lotus of
Romain Grosjean Romain David Jeremie Grosjean (; born 17 April 1986) is a Swiss-French professional racing driver, competing under the French flag in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 28 Honda for Andretti Autosport. Grosjean had previously spent nine ...
had another good qualifying with sixth place, after Räikkönen's penalty. Rosberg, Alonso and Pérez took seventh, eighth and ninth respectively on the grid. The final session was so closely fought out that the top eight drivers were separated by less than half a second.


Race

Forty minutes before the race the pitwall radar read that more than thirty minutes of steady 2-3 (0 = no rain and 4 = heavy shower) intensity rain was expected at 15:50 pm local time (ten mins before race start). All drivers except the two HRT's began the race on the green banded intermediate tyre. The HRT team opted for the blue banded full wet tyres. Grosjean starting from 7th, made a good start and was third into turn 1. Schumacher and Grosjean made contact at turn 4 and both spun, losing several positions in the process and Grosjean eventually retired on lap 4 after spinning into a gravel trap. On the first lap, turn 9 to 11 was almost completely dry but the rest of the track was very wet. Pérez stopped after the first lap to change to full wets in a move that would elevate him to an eventual podium scoring position. With almost all drivers having pitted onto full wets by laps 5, the pitwall radar was shown to read "the intensity will increase to 4 from time to time" meaning heavy rain was still to come. The safety car was deployed on the 7th lap, purely because of the heavy rain, and the race was suspended on lap 9. This worked in favour of Jean-Éric Vergne, the only driver still running on intermediates, who was able to change to full wets (as required by race officials) without the necessity of a pit stop. The HRT of Karthikeyan benefited from starting the race on full wets, having not needed to pit stop and was in tenth when the race was suspended. Grosjean's car was rescued from the gravel and brought back in the pits during the suspension. The race suspension last around fifty minutes and in that time many drivers opted to leave their car and some (Rosberg) changed footwear. While the cars were suspended on the grid, many teams brought out gazebos to place over their cars to keep them and team equipment (i.e. laptops and tyre warmers) dry. The race restarted under the safety car around local time 17:15. As the track steadily dried pit crew members attempted to dry the team pit box. After 4 laps behind the safety car, the majority of the drivers once again pitted to change to intermediate tyres, meanwhile Vettel lost his radio so he had to use the pit confirmation button on his steering wheel for most of the race. On lap 15, Jenson Button clumsily locked up the rear wheels and made contact with Karthikeyan, forcing him to pit again to change the front wing, ending his podium chances. Subsequently, he made up a few places but was unable to finish in the top 10. Alonso emerged from this as the new leader when he overtook Sergio Pérez on lap 16, a lead he only briefly relinquished with a lap 40 pit stop. Rosberg was in fourth on lap 23 but slowly slipped backwards when his tyres overheated and he consequently pitted early for more inters. As the track slowly dried further, the top five all had comfortable gaps between them. During this period Senna was posting quick lap times and moving up through the midfield. By lap 31 heavier rain was again forecast but never eventuated. After being 7.795 seconds behind Alonso in 2nd, Pérez began to set consecutive fastest laps and was closing the gap to the leader. The forecast rain prevented most cars from changing to slicks when the track was dry. An image of Hamilton's front tyre revealed that drivers were essentially racing on slicks anyway as the intermediate tread had worn off. Daniel Ricciardo was the first to take the gamble and change to dry tyres on lap 37. The teams watched his lap times go purple (fastest for the day) for every sector on the timescreens. He set the fastest lap by some three seconds on Pérez and that initiated the change from wet to dry tyres for everyone else. By lap 39, Pérez had excellent pace and cut the gap to Alonso back down to 1.339 seconds. Between laps 39 and 42 there was yet another round of pit stops, this time onto slick tyres. Alonso pitted on lap 40 while Pérez waited until the next lap. In that time Pérez, who prior to the pitstop had been within two seconds, now dropped to 7.180 seconds off Alonso. After the change to slicks, Pérez on the prime tyre, again consistently cut down on Alonso's (medium tyre) lead to within half a second. Controversially on lap 50, Pérez was told on the radio "be careful, we need this position" referring to the 18 points on offer for 2nd place. On the same lap Pérez took too much curb on turn 14 and had a slight off. This cost him at least five seconds and ensured he remain in 2nd position. Commentators questioned whether Sauber - whose engine is supplied by Ferrari - gave a coded message to Pérez asking him to allow the engine supplier to take victory. Sauber denied this emphatically after the race. Late in the race, Vettel received a puncture against the front wing of Narain Karthikeyan, and he pitted from 4th place, finishing 11th; Karthikeyan was given a 20-second post-race penalty for his part in the collision. Pastor Maldonado, who was running 10th, was forced to retire on the penultimate lap when his engine gave way, allowing Michael Schumacher his first points of the season.


Post-race

Vettel and Red Bull boss
Christian Horner Christian Edward Johnston Horner (born 16 November 1973) is a British former racing driver and current Team Principal of the Red Bull Formula One team, a position he has held since 2005, winning eleven world titles (five World Constructors' C ...
criticised Karthikeyan's driving, with Vettel calling Karthikeyan an "idiot". Karthikeyan hit back at Vettel, calling him a "cry-baby". Later, Karthikeyan decided to call a truce with Vettel, stating his respect for Vettel's abilities and saying "I think we have to deal with it in a mature way and forget about it."


Support events

The event took place between the 22–25 March where throughout the weekend there was a range of support events. Taking part in the Malaysian Grand Prix program was the opening round of the 2012 GP2 Series (1 feature race, 1 sprint race); the Malaysian Super Series A (2 races); and the Malaysian Super Series B (2 races).


Classification


Qualifying

;Notes: : — Kimi Räikkönen was given a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change after the second practice session. : — Heikki Kovalainen was given a five-place grid penalty for overtaking cars on a restart prior to passing the safety car line at the .


Race

;Notes: # – Karthikeyan finished 21st but was given a post-race 20 second penalty for causing a collision with Sebastian Vettel.


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.


See also

* 2012 Sepang GP2 Series round


References


External links

{{F1GP 10-19
Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...
Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
Malaysian Grand Prix
Malaysian Grand Prix The Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and it ...