2012 Bahrain Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix at Bahrain International Circuit on 22 Apr 2012 for Red Bull, from pole position; Kimi Räikkönen was second and Romain Grosjean third. Pole position: Sebastian Vettel.

Vettel took the lead for good on lap 41 of 57, from Romain Grosjean; the lead changed hands 4 times in all. Vettel stopped 3 times, on laps 11 and 25 and 39; 21 of 22 finishers made 3 stops, and the median first stop was lap 9. The fastest lap was Sebastian Vettel's, 1:36.379 on lap 41. 22 of 24 starters were classified; 2 retired or were not classified. After the race Sebastian Vettel led the championship with 53 points, 4 ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with 16 rounds left.

Date

22 Apr 2012

Circuit

Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain

Round

4 of 20

Winner

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)

Pole position

Sebastian Vettel (1:32.422)

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Race classification

Grid differs from qualifying for 6 drivers: Pastor Maldonado qualified 17th, started 21st; Michael Schumacher qualified 18th, started 22nd; Jean-Éric Vergne qualified 19th, started 17th; Vitaly Petrov qualified 20th, started 18th; Charles Pic qualified 21st, started 19th; Pedro de la Rosa qualified 22nd, started 20th. The data records the positions, not the reason; such gaps come from grid penalties, car or engine changes, or pit-lane starts. The small "q" number in the Grid column is the qualifying position.

Grid "PL" means started from the pit lane. FL marks the fastest lap of the race.

Lap chart

Explained: how to read a lap chart · safety car, virtual safety car and red flags.

Race history: gap to the leader

How the race was won

Winner

Sebastian Vettel: 3 stops (laps 11, 25, 39), stints of 11, 14, 14, 18 laps

2nd

Kimi Räikkönen: 3 stops (laps 11, 24, 39), stints of 11, 13, 15, 18 laps

3rd

Romain Grosjean: 3 stops (laps 10, 25, 40), stints of 10, 15, 15, 17 laps

Finishers

2 stops: 1 · 3 or more: 21

First stops

median lap 9 of 57

Pit stops

Explained: tyres, compounds and pit stops · pit stops per race since 1994.

Pit-lane time: pit entry to pit exit. Tyre changes under a red flag are not counted.

Qualifying

Explained: how qualifying works · how often pole position wins.

Gap: the driver's best time in any session (session named), in seconds behind the fastest time of qualifying. That is usually the pole time; when a session gets slower (rain, for example), an earlier session's time can be faster. The bar is full at 3 seconds; larger gaps are cut off.

Standings after this race

Explained: how points and the two championships work.

Full 2012 standings