2012 Formula One World Championship — 63rd season of Formula One motor racing
Sebastian Vettel won his third consecutive F1 drivers' title in 2012, while seven different drivers won the first seven races, a series record.
Key Facts
- Total races
- 20 rounds
- Record opening wins
- 7 different winners in first 7 races
- Vettel's championship lead
- 13 points over Alonso entering final race points
- World Champions on grid
- 6 current or former champions
- Red Bull constructors titles
- 3 consecutive
- Schumacher retirement
- 7-time champion retired after this season
By the Numbers
Cause → Event → Consequence
The 2012 Formula One season opened with an unusually competitive field, as no single team dominated early rounds. Seven different drivers from multiple constructors won the first seven races, reflecting closely matched machinery and creating an unpredictable title battle involving Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel, and others across a record-length twenty-race calendar.
Fernando Alonso led the championship for much of the season after emerging as a contender at the European Grand Prix, while defending champion Sebastian Vettel faced mechanical failures and incidents throughout. Entering the final Brazilian Grand Prix, Vettel held a thirteen-point lead. He finished sixth in a safety-car-ending race, accumulating enough points to secure his third consecutive World Drivers' Championship.
Vettel became only the third driver in Formula One history to win three consecutive World Drivers' Championships. Red Bull Racing also secured their third consecutive Constructors' title. Michael Schumacher announced his retirement from Formula One for the second time following the season, concluding a career in which he won seven world championships.
Result
at 20 circuits worldwide; final race at Interlagos, Brazil