2012 Malaysian Grand Prix
The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2012 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 2012 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the fourteenth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix 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 and was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. Sergio Pérez of the Sauber team finished the race in second position, and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton completed the podium with third place after starting in pole position.
| 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 2 of 20 in the 2012 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 25 March 2012 | ||||
| Official name | 2012 Formula 1 Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix | ||||
| Location |
Sepang International Circuit Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.543 km (3.444 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 56 laps, 310.408 km (192.879 miles) | ||||
| Weather |
Heavy rain clearing to cloudy and dry Air Temp 26 °C (79 °F) Track Temp 29 °C (84 °F) dropping to 24 °C (75 °F) | ||||
| Attendance | 119,960 (Weekend) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver |
| McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:36.219 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | |||
| Time | 1:40.722 on lap 53 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second |
| Sauber-Ferrari | |||
| Third |
| McLaren-Mercedes | |||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| Highlights of the grand prix from BBC Sport BBC Sport, 25 March 2012 |
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 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) and also the first podium for a Ferrari customer engine since Sebastian Vettel's victory at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix in a Ferrari-engined Toro Rosso. Jean-Éric Vergne scored his first ever points in Formula One in his second race by finishing in eighth position.