2012 Japanese Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 15 of 20 in the 2012 Formula One season | |||
 |
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| Date | 7 October 2012 | ||
| Official name | 2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.807 km (3.608 mi) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 307.471 km (191.062 mi) | ||
| Weather |
Fine and Dry Air Temp 23 °C (73 °F) Track Temp 32 °C (90 °F) |
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| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Red Bull-Renault | ||
| Time | 1:30.839 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Sebastian Vettel
|
Red Bull-Renault | |
| Time | 1:35.774 on lap 52 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Red Bull-Renault | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Sauber-Ferrari | ||
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Fine and Dry Air Temp 23 °C (73 °F)
The 2012 Japanese Grand Prix (formally known as the 2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Suzuka Circuit in Mie Prefecture, Japan on 7 October 2012 at 15:00 local time. The race was the fifteenth round of the 2012 season, and marked the thirty-ninth running of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Sebastian Vettel started the race from pole position for the fourth successive year at Suzuka, eventually leading the race from start to finish, winning by 20 seconds over Felipe Massa – who achieved his first podium since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix – in second place and Kamui Kobayashi, who achieved his first ever podium. It was also the first time a Japanese driver achieved a podium finish at the Japanese Grand Prix since Aguri Suzuki in 1990. It was also the first time a Japanese driver finished on the podium since Takuma Sato in 2004.
The race was also Vettel's second career "Grand Slam," leading every single lap from pole position and finishing with the fastest lap of the race. His first was the 2011 Indian Grand Prix.
Michael Schumacher received a ten-place grid penalty for causing an avoidable accident with Jean-Éric Vergne during the Singapore Grand Prix, while Jenson Button and Nico Hülkenberg were both demoted five places for making unscheduled gearbox changes.
Entering the Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso of Ferrari led the Drivers' Championship on a total of 194 points, 29 points clear of the second-placed Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel. Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen was third in the standings, and 16 points adrift of Vettel, despite not having won a race in 2012. McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton's championship hopes were becoming increasingly slim as he lay 50 points behind Alonso in fourth place, albeit 10 points ahead of the second Red Bull of Mark Webber and 23 ahead of his own teammate, Jenson Button. Red Bull led the Constructors' Championship on 297 points, 36 ahead of nearest challengers McLaren, 52 ahead of Ferrari and 66 ahead of Lotus with six rounds remaining. Mercedes had lost a large amount of ground as they had just 136 points.
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