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2012 Spanish Grand Prix
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2012 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2012) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 2012, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, attended by 82,000 people. It was the fifth round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd Spanish Grand Prix at the track. Williams's Pastor Maldonado won the 66-lap event from pole position, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso second and Lotus's Kimi Räikkönen third.
Sebastian Vettel entered the race as the World Drivers' Championship leader while his team Red Bull were top of the World Constructors' Championship. Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren was fastest in qualifying; he was excluded from the qualifying results for breaking the technical regulations on fuel, forcing him to begin the race from the back of the grid. Maldonado thus inherited pole position, but was overtaken by Alonso at the start of the Grand Prix. After the first two cycles of pit stops for fresh tyres, Maldonado undercut Alonso, who remained out for two more laps and was delayed by a slower driver during the second pit stop cycle. On lap 41, Maldonado's third pit stop was slow due to a tyre fitting fault and he lost his lead, but he retook it again by passing Räikkönen on lap 47. Alonso overtook Räikkönen on the following lap as well, and drew close to Maldonado; he could not pass Maldonado who maintained the lead for the rest of the race and achieved his maiden and only Formula One win. Alonso finished 3.1 seconds behind in second place and Räikkönen took third after being put on an alternate strategy intended to give him victory.
The race was Williams's first victory since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, and is their last one as of 2026[update]. Maldonado was the fifth race winner in the season's first five races. As of 2026, he is the only Venezuelan driver to have won a Formula One race. Following the race, Vettel and Alonso shared the World Drivers' Championship lead with 61 championship points each. Hamilton finished eighth, dropping from second to third, while Räikkönen advanced from seventh to fourth. With 15 races remaining in the season, Red Bull maintained its World Constructors' Championship lead over McLaren and Lotus with 109 championship points.
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, held on 13 May, was the fifth of 20 races in the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd at the 16-turn 4.655 km (2.892 mi) Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, 25 km (16 mi) north of Barcelona. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the yellow banded soft and the silver-banded hard dry compound tyres to the race. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher criticised Pirelli for the extreme sensitivity of their tyres, and brought a different set of tyres to better demonstrate a difference in performance and tyre durability. The single drag reduction system (DRS) activation zone was placed on the straight linking the final and first corners. For the race, 1 m (3.3 ft) of artificial grass was installed on turn three's verge and the turn five exit kerb was lengthened by 50 m (160 ft).
Before the race, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel led the World Drivers' Championship with 53 championship points, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber in second and third. Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso tied for fourth position with 43 championship points. Red Bull led the World Constructors' Championship with 101 championship points, followed by McLaren and Lotus with 92 and 57 championship points, respectively. Ferrari were fourth with 45 championship points and Mercedes were fifth with 37 championship points.
From 1 to 3 May, the teams conducted a three-day test at the Mugello Circuit in Italy ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. The test allowed teams to assess major aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades as well as tyre behaviour. The HRT team chose not to participate in the test, instead focusing on establishing their new headquarters at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. Alonso was fastest on the first day of testing on a drying circuit. Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi set identical lap times to go quickest on the second day of testing. Vettel was quickest on the morning of the final day and Grosjean led the afternoon session.
The championship had been tumultuous thus far, with four different drivers winning the first four rounds. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he felt consistency across races which teams could not win would determine the championship winner:
We've consistently managed to be scoring pretty decent points in the first four races. We've had four fourth places with Mark (Webber), we've had a second, a first, a fifth and an 11th with Sebastian dropping that place with the backmarker [in Malaysia]. And that puts us into the lead of the drivers' and constructors' championship after the flyways, which is certainly not what we were expecting after the first couple of races, so it just shows if you maintain your focus and teamwork, that it can pay dividends.
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2012 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio de España Santander 2012) was a Formula One motor race held on 13 May 2012, at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain, attended by 82,000 people. It was the fifth round of the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd Spanish Grand Prix at the track. Williams's Pastor Maldonado won the 66-lap event from pole position, with Ferrari's Fernando Alonso second and Lotus's Kimi Räikkönen third.
Sebastian Vettel entered the race as the World Drivers' Championship leader while his team Red Bull were top of the World Constructors' Championship. Lewis Hamilton in his McLaren was fastest in qualifying; he was excluded from the qualifying results for breaking the technical regulations on fuel, forcing him to begin the race from the back of the grid. Maldonado thus inherited pole position, but was overtaken by Alonso at the start of the Grand Prix. After the first two cycles of pit stops for fresh tyres, Maldonado undercut Alonso, who remained out for two more laps and was delayed by a slower driver during the second pit stop cycle. On lap 41, Maldonado's third pit stop was slow due to a tyre fitting fault and he lost his lead, but he retook it again by passing Räikkönen on lap 47. Alonso overtook Räikkönen on the following lap as well, and drew close to Maldonado; he could not pass Maldonado who maintained the lead for the rest of the race and achieved his maiden and only Formula One win. Alonso finished 3.1 seconds behind in second place and Räikkönen took third after being put on an alternate strategy intended to give him victory.
The race was Williams's first victory since Juan Pablo Montoya won the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, and is their last one as of 2026[update]. Maldonado was the fifth race winner in the season's first five races. As of 2026, he is the only Venezuelan driver to have won a Formula One race. Following the race, Vettel and Alonso shared the World Drivers' Championship lead with 61 championship points each. Hamilton finished eighth, dropping from second to third, while Räikkönen advanced from seventh to fourth. With 15 races remaining in the season, Red Bull maintained its World Constructors' Championship lead over McLaren and Lotus with 109 championship points.
The 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, held on 13 May, was the fifth of 20 races in the 2012 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd at the 16-turn 4.655 km (2.892 mi) Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, 25 km (16 mi) north of Barcelona. Tyre supplier Pirelli brought the yellow banded soft and the silver-banded hard dry compound tyres to the race. McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh and Mercedes' Michael Schumacher criticised Pirelli for the extreme sensitivity of their tyres, and brought a different set of tyres to better demonstrate a difference in performance and tyre durability. The single drag reduction system (DRS) activation zone was placed on the straight linking the final and first corners. For the race, 1 m (3.3 ft) of artificial grass was installed on turn three's verge and the turn five exit kerb was lengthened by 50 m (160 ft).
Before the race, Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel led the World Drivers' Championship with 53 championship points, ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Vettel's teammate Mark Webber in second and third. Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button and Ferrari's Fernando Alonso tied for fourth position with 43 championship points. Red Bull led the World Constructors' Championship with 101 championship points, followed by McLaren and Lotus with 92 and 57 championship points, respectively. Ferrari were fourth with 45 championship points and Mercedes were fifth with 37 championship points.
From 1 to 3 May, the teams conducted a three-day test at the Mugello Circuit in Italy ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. The test allowed teams to assess major aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades as well as tyre behaviour. The HRT team chose not to participate in the test, instead focusing on establishing their new headquarters at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. Alonso was fastest on the first day of testing on a drying circuit. Lotus' Romain Grosjean and Sauber's Kamui Kobayashi set identical lap times to go quickest on the second day of testing. Vettel was quickest on the morning of the final day and Grosjean led the afternoon session.
The championship had been tumultuous thus far, with four different drivers winning the first four rounds. Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said he felt consistency across races which teams could not win would determine the championship winner:
We've consistently managed to be scoring pretty decent points in the first four races. We've had four fourth places with Mark (Webber), we've had a second, a first, a fifth and an 11th with Sebastian dropping that place with the backmarker [in Malaysia]. And that puts us into the lead of the drivers' and constructors' championship after the flyways, which is certainly not what we were expecting after the first couple of races, so it just shows if you maintain your focus and teamwork, that it can pay dividends.
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