Published evidence

2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix · qualifying

A historical profile with source-linked evidence. Further research is in progress.

THE HISTORICAL RECORD

Profile & context

Name: 2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix · qualifying

PROVENANCE

Sources behind this page

F1DB

v2026.17.0 · session/873-qualifying

Original reference ↗

Historical source & scope

F1DB v2026.17.0 · CC BY 4.0. Normalisation, links and calculations by MotorPedia. Original source observations retained.

Source-reported facts are not independent historical confirmation. Missing times and points remain unknown; source-rounded points retain their published precision. Constructor, entrant and team identities are kept distinct.

Grand Prix context

2012 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix · Suzuka Circuit

Technical formula: Formula 1. World Championship membership is separate from technical regulations.

2012 Formula 1 World Championship · round 15

Race classification

Source participant rows: shared cars and nonstarters retained
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details	Points
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1:28:56.242 · 53 laps · renault	25
2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:29:16.881 · 53 laps · ferrari	18
3	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:29:20.780 · 53 laps · ferrari	15
4	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:29:21.340 · 53 laps · mercedes	12
5	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:29:42.732 · 53 laps · mercedes	10
6	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	1:29:46.666 · 53 laps · renault	8
7	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:29:47.401 · 53 laps · mercedes	6
8	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:29:48.606 · 53 laps · renault	4
9	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1:29:50.917 · 53 laps · renault	2
10	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:30:03.161 · 53 laps · ferrari	1
11	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:30:04.011 · 53 laps · mercedes	Unknown / not applicable
12	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:30:19.702 · 53 laps · mercedes	Unknown / not applicable
13	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:30:24.887 · 53 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
14	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:30:24.951 · 53 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
15	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	Time not recorded · 52 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
16	Timo Glock	Marussia	Time not recorded · 52 laps · cosworth	Unknown / not applicable
17	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	Time not recorded · 52 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
18	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	Time not recorded · 52 laps · cosworth	Unknown / not applicable
19	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Gearbox · Time not recorded · 51 laps · renault	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Charles Pic	Marussia	Engine · Time not recorded · 37 laps · cosworth	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	Vibrations · Time not recorded · 32 laps · cosworth	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	Spun off · Time not recorded · 18 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Collision · Time not recorded · 0 laps · ferrari	Unknown / not applicable
DNF	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Collision · Time not recorded · 0 laps · mercedes	Unknown / not applicable

Qualifying

Recorded qualifying order; Q1/Q2/Q3 and earlier formats remain distinct in original evidence
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	Q1 1:32.608 · 11 laps · renault
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	Q1 1:32.951 · 15 laps · renault
3	Jenson Button	McLaren	Q1 1:33.077 · 14 laps · mercedes
4	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	Q1 1:32.042 · 16 laps · ferrari
5	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	Q1 1:32.029 · 20 laps · renault
6	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	Q1 1:32.147 · 20 laps · ferrari
7	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	Q1 1:32.459 · 17 laps · ferrari
8	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	Q1 1:32.221 · 18 laps · renault
9	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	Q1 1:33.061 · 17 laps · mercedes
10	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	Q1 1:32.828 · 12 laps · mercedes
11	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	Q1 1:32.946 · 12 laps · ferrari
12	Paul di Resta	Force India	Q1 1:32.898 · 14 laps · mercedes
13	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	Q1 1:33.349 · 10 laps · mercedes
14	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	Q1 1:32.834 · 11 laps · renault
15	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	Q1 1:33.015 · 16 laps · mercedes
16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	Q1 1:33.059 · 14 laps · ferrari
17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	Q1 1:33.370 · 14 laps · ferrari
18	Bruno Senna	Williams	Q1 1:33.405 · 8 laps · renault
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	Q1 1:34.657 · 6 laps · renault
20	Timo Glock	Marussia	Q1 1:35.213 · 8 laps · cosworth
21	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	Q1 1:35.385 · 6 laps · cosworth
22	Charles Pic	Marussia	Q1 1:35.429 · 8 laps · cosworth
23	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	Q1 1:35.432 · 8 laps · renault
24	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	Q1 1:36.734 · 6 laps · cosworth

Starting grid

Recorded grid; pole awards are not inferred from starting position
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1:30.839 · renault
2	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1:31.090 · renault
3	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:31.700 · ferrari
4	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	1:31.898 · renault
5	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:32.022 · ferrari
6	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:32.114 · ferrari
7	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus	1:32.208 · renault
8	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:31.290 · mercedes
9	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:32.327 · mercedes
10	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:32.293 · ferrari
11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:32.327 · mercedes
12	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:32.512 · renault
13	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:32.625 · mercedes
14	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:32.954 · ferrari
15	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	Time not recorded · mercedes
16	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:33.405 · renault
17	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:34.657 · renault
18	Timo Glock	Marussia	1:35.213 · cosworth
19	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:33.368 · ferrari
20	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:35.385 · cosworth
21	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:35.429 · cosworth
22	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:35.432 · renault
23	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:32.469 · mercedes
24	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:36.734 · cosworth

Championship progression

Driver standings after this championship round
Position	Driver	Constructor	Recorded details	Points
1	Fernando Alonso	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	194
2	Sebastian Vettel	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	190
3	Kimi Räikkönen	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	157
4	Lewis Hamilton	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	152
5	Mark Webber	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	134
6	Jenson Button	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	131
7	Nico Rosberg	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	93
8	Romain Grosjean	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	82
9	Felipe Massa	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	69
10	Sergio Pérez	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	66
11	Kamui Kobayashi	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	50
12	Paul di Resta	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	44
13	Michael Schumacher	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	43
14	Nico Hülkenberg	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	37
15	Pastor Maldonado	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	33
16	Bruno Senna	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	25
17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	8
18	Daniel Ricciardo	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	7
19	Timo Glock	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
20	Heikki Kovalainen	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
21	Vitaly Petrov	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
22	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
23	Charles Pic	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
24	Narain Karthikeyan	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0
25	Pedro de la Rosa	Not applicable / not recorded	Time not recorded	0

Practice & warm-up observations

Original F1DB session observations; bounded to 120 rows. Missing times remain unknown. Not qualifying or race classifications.

Session	Driver	Position	Time
freePractice1Results	Jenson Button	1	1:34.507
freePractice1Results	Lewis Hamilton	2	1:34.740
freePractice1Results	Mark Webber	3	1:34.856
freePractice1Results	Nico Rosberg	4	1:35.059
freePractice1Results	Michael Schumacher	5	1:35.122
freePractice1Results	Kamui Kobayashi	6	1:35.199
freePractice1Results	Felipe Massa	7	1:35.283
freePractice1Results	Paul di Resta	8	1:35.299
freePractice1Results	Nico Hülkenberg	9	1:35.474
freePractice1Results	Pastor Maldonado	10	1:35.478
freePractice1Results	Fernando Alonso	11	1:35.484
freePractice1Results	Sergio Pérez	12	1:35.584
freePractice1Results	Kimi Räikkönen	13	1:35.691
freePractice1Results	Romain Grosjean	14	1:35.724
freePractice1Results	Daniel Ricciardo	15	1:36.123
freePractice1Results	Jean-Éric Vergne	16	1:36.222
freePractice1Results	Sebastian Vettel	17	1:36.366
freePractice1Results	Valtteri Bottas	18	1:36.389
freePractice1Results	Timo Glock	19	1:37.716
freePractice1Results	Vitaly Petrov	20	1:38.295
freePractice1Results	Charles Pic	21	1:38.616
freePractice1Results	Narain Karthikeyan	22	1:39.043
freePractice1Results	Giedo van der Garde	23	1:39.374
freePractice1Results	Pedro de la Rosa	24	1:39.688
freePractice2Results	Mark Webber	1	1:32.493
freePractice2Results	Lewis Hamilton	2	1:32.707
freePractice2Results	Sebastian Vettel	3	1:32.836
freePractice2Results	Nico Hülkenberg	4	1:32.987
freePractice2Results	Fernando Alonso	5	1:33.093
freePractice2Results	Romain Grosjean	6	1:33.107
freePractice2Results	Jenson Button	7	1:33.349
freePractice2Results	Bruno Senna	8	1:33.499
freePractice2Results	Felipe Massa	9	1:33.614
freePractice2Results	Michael Schumacher	10	1:33.750
freePractice2Results	Nico Rosberg	11	1:33.866
freePractice2Results	Sergio Pérez	12	1:33.903
freePractice2Results	Kamui Kobayashi	13	1:33.983
freePractice2Results	Kimi Räikkönen	14	1:34.291
freePractice2Results	Pastor Maldonado	15	1:34.300
freePractice2Results	Daniel Ricciardo	16	1:34.863
freePractice2Results	Jean-Éric Vergne	17	1:35.080
freePractice2Results	Heikki Kovalainen	18	1:35.711
freePractice2Results	Vitaly Petrov	19	1:35.870
freePractice2Results	Timo Glock	20	1:36.194
freePractice2Results	Charles Pic	21	1:36.636
freePractice2Results	Pedro de la Rosa	22	1:37.342
freePractice2Results	Narain Karthikeyan	23	1:37.701
freePractice2Results	Paul di Resta	24	Unknown
freePractice3Results	Sebastian Vettel	1	1:32.136
freePractice3Results	Mark Webber	2	1:32.371
freePractice3Results	Felipe Massa	3	1:32.824
freePractice3Results	Michael Schumacher	4	1:32.918
freePractice3Results	Sergio Pérez	5	1:32.920
freePractice3Results	Kamui Kobayashi	6	1:32.924
freePractice3Results	Romain Grosjean	7	1:33.008
freePractice3Results	Jenson Button	8	1:33.025
freePractice3Results	Paul di Resta	9	1:33.094
freePractice3Results	Pastor Maldonado	10	1:33.160
freePractice3Results	Fernando Alonso	11	1:33.184
freePractice3Results	Kimi Räikkönen	12	1:33.224
freePractice3Results	Lewis Hamilton	13	1:33.569
freePractice3Results	Jean-Éric Vergne	14	1:33.722
freePractice3Results	Nico Rosberg	15	1:33.899
freePractice3Results	Bruno Senna	16	1:33.984
freePractice3Results	Daniel Ricciardo	17	1:34.023
freePractice3Results	Nico Hülkenberg	18	1:34.369
freePractice3Results	Heikki Kovalainen	19	1:35.568
freePractice3Results	Vitaly Petrov	20	1:36.355
freePractice3Results	Timo Glock	21	1:36.389
freePractice3Results	Charles Pic	22	1:36.517
freePractice3Results	Narain Karthikeyan	23	1:36.649
freePractice3Results	Pedro de la Rosa	24	1:36.875

Recorded pit stops

F1DB source observations, bounded to 120 rows; coverage is not independently exhaustive.

Driver	Stop	Lap	Time
Romain Grosjean	1	1	32.329
Bruno Senna	1	1	27.098
Mark Webber	1	1	32.462
Romain Grosjean	2	7	29.793
Jenson Button	1	13	20.233
Kimi Räikkönen	1	13	20.901
Nico Hülkenberg	1	13	21.007
Paul di Resta	1	13	21.063
Kamui Kobayashi	1	14	20.783
Charles Pic	1	14	21.343
Sergio Pérez	1	15	21.273
Narain Karthikeyan	1	15	23.227
Lewis Hamilton	1	16	21.148
Pastor Maldonado	1	16	21.361
Bruno Senna	2	16	21.538
Sebastian Vettel	1	17	20.508
Felipe Massa	1	17	20.936
Daniel Ricciardo	1	17	21.944
Michael Schumacher	1	17	20.643
Pedro de la Rosa	1	17	26.287
Heikki Kovalainen	1	18	22.816
Jean-Éric Vergne	1	18	22.528
Vitaly Petrov	1	19	21.368
Timo Glock	1	20	20.662
Bruno Senna	3	21	14.608
Romain Grosjean	3	22	21.143
Mark Webber	2	26	20.691
Kimi Räikkönen	2	30	21.222
Kamui Kobayashi	2	31	20.762
Lewis Hamilton	2	31	19.794
Nico Hülkenberg	2	31	21.688
Charles Pic	2	31	42.505
Paul di Resta	2	32	21.344
Pastor Maldonado	2	33	21.118
Daniel Ricciardo	2	34	21.516
Bruno Senna	4	34	21.520
Jenson Button	2	35	21.099
Jean-Éric Vergne	2	35	21.431
Felipe Massa	2	36	20.778
Michael Schumacher	2	36	20.379
Sebastian Vettel	2	37	20.346
Pedro de la Rosa	2	36	22.487
Timo Glock	2	40	21.520
Heikki Kovalainen	2	41	22.678
Vitaly Petrov	2	42	21.367
Vitaly Petrov	3	48	14.250