2012 Malaysian Grand Prix
The 2012 Malaysian 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.
Valtteri Bottas was scheduled to drive during FP1 for Williams.
Lewis Hamilton topped both Friday practice sessions.
Narain Karthikeyan and HRT qualified within the 107% rule for the first time in the 2012 season.
Sergio Pérez qualified just behind eventual race winner Fernando Alonso in 10th.
2012 Formula One World Championship
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 Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March and ended in Brazil on 25 November. The 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to civil protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar.
Sebastian Vettel (pictured in 2011) became a three-time World Champion with Red Bull Racing.
Fernando Alonso, driving for Ferrari, finished runner-up, three points behind Vettel.
Kimi Räikkönen finished the season in third place on his return to F1, driving for Lotus.
The Red Bull RB8 is the car entered by defending World Constructors' Champion Red Bull, and which won the World Constructors' Championship in 2012.