2012 GP2 Series

2012 GP2 Series season
Previous:	2011	Next:	2013
Parent series: Formula One Support series: GP3 Series

File:2012 GP2 Malaysian round Feature race opening lap 1.jpg

The start of the season-opening race at Sepang.

The 2012 GP2 Series season was the eighth GP2 Series season and the first season after merging with the GP2 Asia Series. The championship was expanded to include rounds in Malaysia, Bahrain and Singapore, in support of the 2012 Formula One season.

The series adopted the points system used by Formula One for the feature race, with points awarded to the top ten drivers and twenty-five points on offer for victory. The points awarded in the sprint race were also changed, with the winner receiving fifteen points and top eight drivers receiving points. Further changes mean that drivers must use two compounds of tyres over a race weekend, as is the case in Formula One. The points awarded for pole position and the fastest lap of the race were doubled as well.

The title was won by Italian Davide Valsecchi, driving for DAMS.

Teams and drivers

Team	No.	Driver	Rounds
Barwa Addax Team	1	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	All
	2	Josef Král	1, 4–10
		Dani Clos	2–3
		Jake Rosenzweig	11–12
DAMS	3	Davide Valsecchi	All
	4	Felipe Nasr	All
Racing Engineering	5	Fabio Leimer	All
	6	Nathanaël Berthon	All
iSport International	7	Marcus Ericsson	All
	8	Jolyon Palmer	All
Lotus GP	9	James Calado	All
	10	Esteban Gutiérrez	All
Caterham Racing	11	Rodolfo González	All
	12	Giedo van der Garde	All
Scuderia Coloni	14	Stefano Coletti	1–10
		Luca Filippi	11–12
	15	Fabio Onidi	All
Trident Racing	16	Stéphane Richelmi	All
	17	Julián Leal	All
Venezuela GP Lazarus	18	Fabrizio Crestani	1–7
		Sergio Canamasas	8–12
	19	Giancarlo Serenelli	1–9
		René Binder	10–12
Rapax	20	Ricardo Teixeira	1–5, 7–12
		Tom Dillmann	6
	21		1–5, 8
		Daniël de Jong	6–7, 9–10
		Stefano Coletti	11–12
Arden International	22	Simon Trummer	All
	23	Luiz Razia	All
Ocean Racing Technology	24	Jon Lancaster	1
		Brendon Hartley	2–3
		Victor Guerin	4–12
	25	Nigel Melker	All
Carlin	26	Max Chilton	All
	27	Rio Haryanto	All

Driver changes

Changed teams

• Ocean Racing Technology's Johnny Cecotto Jr. and Arden International's Josef Král both joined Barwa Addax Team.
• Stefano Coletti switched from Trident Racing to Scuderia Coloni, having driven for the team in the 2011 GP2 Final.
• After competing with Trident, Rodolfo González moved to Caterham.
• Fabio Leimer left Rapax to join Racing Engineering.
• Julián Leal moved from Rapax to Trident Racing, having competed for Trident at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi.
• Jolyon Palmer switched from Arden International to iSport International.
• Luiz Razia and Davide Valsecchi both moved from Caterham Team AirAsia to Arden International and DAMS respectively.
• Giedo van der Garde switched from teams' champions Barwa Addax Team to Caterham Racing; he also joined parent team Caterham F1 as test and reserve driver.

Entering/Re-entering GP2 Series

• French driver Nathanaël Berthon, who finished 13th in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, joined Racing Engineering.
• After finishing runner-up in the GP3 Series with Lotus ART, British driver James Calado joined the Lotus ART GP2 squadron, replacing Jules Bianchi.
• After competing at three rounds in 2010 with David Price Racing, Fabrizio Crestani returned to the series with Venezuela GP Lazarus, the team for which he competed in Auto GP.
• Tom Dillmann, who finished 14th in the GP3 Series, joined Rapax. Dillmann competed for iSport at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi.
• Rio Haryanto, who finished seventh in both the GP3 Series and Auto GP in 2011, joined Marussia Carlin. Haryanto competed for DAMS at the 2011 GP2 Final in Abu Dhabi.
• Auto GP race winner Jon Lancaster signed with Ocean Racing Technology.
• Dutch driver Nigel Melker, who finished third in the GP3 Series, joined Ocean Racing Technology. Melker had previously competed in the 2011 GP2 Final with DAMS.
• British Formula 3 champion Felipe Nasr joined DAMS for 2012.
• Italian Fabio Onidi, who finished fifth in Auto GP, signed with Scuderia Coloni. He competed in the 2011 GP2 Final with Super Nova Racing.
• Venezuelan Giancarlo Serenelli, a three-time LATAM Challenge Series champion, joined Venezuela GP Lazarus.
• Ricardo Teixeira, who competed in GP2 in 2009 with Trident Racing, returned to the series with Rapax.
• After competing for MW Arden in the GP3 Series, Swiss driver Simon Trummer joined Arden's GP2 team for 2012.

Leaving GP2

• Part-time Carlin driver and 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion Mikhail Aleshin returned to Formula Renault 3.5 with Team RFR.
• After competing in two seasons with ART Grand Prix, Jules Bianchi moved to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Tech 1 Racing whilst serving as Force India's third driver for the 2012 Formula One season.
• Sam Bird, who drove for iSport in 2011, also switched to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, joining the ISR team.
• After a partial campaign for Scuderia Coloni, Kevin Ceccon left the GP2 Series to debut in the GP3 Series with Ocean Racing Technology.
• Reigning champion Romain Grosjean returned to Formula One with Lotus.
• Álvaro Parente, who competed for Racing Engineering and Carlin Motorsport in 2011, joined the GT World Championship, driving for Hexis Racing.
• Barwa Addax driver Charles Pic moved into Formula One, signing a contract with Marussia F1.
• DAMS driver Pål Varhaug left the championship to compete in the 2012 Auto GP World Series.
• Two-time 2011 race-winner Christian Vietoris elected to concentrate on his DTM programme, joining the junior Mercedes scheme, earning a place in the HWA Team.

Mid-season changes

• René Binder replaced Giancarlo Serenelli in the Lazarus team for the tenth round of the championship, held at Spa-Francorchamps.
• Sergio Canamasas replaced Venezuela GP Lazarus's Fabrizio Crestani for the Hockenheim round of the championship.
• Dani Clos replaced Josef Král at the Barwa Addax Team for the Bahrain rounds of the championship. No explanation was given for the replacement. Král returned to the seat in Barcelona after Clos drove for HRT F1 in the first practice session of the Grand Prix; under the rules of the GP2 Series, no driver who takes part in a Grand Prix weekend is permitted to drive in the event's GP2 support races.
• In the week before the penultimate round of the championship at Monza, Scuderia Coloni announced that Stefano Coletti would be leaving the team with immediate effect as "season objectives" had not been met. Luca Filippi, who drove for the team when finished runner-up in 2011, was announced as Coletti's replacement. Coletti later joined Rapax, replacing Daniël de Jong.
• Brendon Hartley replaced Jon Lancaster at Ocean Racing Technology for the Bahrain rounds of the championship, for budgetary reasons. For the Catalunya round of the championship, Hartley was replaced by Victor Guerin.
• Daniël de Jong joined Rapax for the Valencia round after regular driver Ricardo Teixeira was taken ill. Tom Dillmann was moved to Teixeira's car to represent Teixeira's sponsors, while de Jong drove Dillmann's vacated car. Teixeira returned to his car for the Silverstone round, with de Jong replacing Dillmann; Dillmann rejoined the team in his original car for Hockenheim, before sitting out the remainder of the season.
• Jake Rosenzweig replaced Josef Král at the Barwa Addax Team for the penultimate round of the season at Monza.

Team changes

• Carlin Motorsport entered into a partnership with Russian car manufacturer Marussia Motors and Formula One team Marussia F1, forming a similar relationship to their alliance with GP3 Series team Manor Racing.
• After competing as Lotus ART in 2011, ART Grand Prix was renamed as Lotus Grand Prix in both the GP2 and GP3 Series championships, reflecting their increased relationship with title sponsor Lotus Cars. The cars will carry a black and gold livery modelled on the livery used by parent team Lotus F1.
• Team Lazarus replaced Super Nova Racing, using the name "Venezuela GP Lazarus".

2012 schedule

The calendar for the 2012 series was unveiled on 16 December 2011. The calendar was expanded to twelve rounds, featuring new races in Malaysia, Singapore, and Bahrain. The championship featured twenty-four races, a record high for the series.

Round		Circuit/Location	Country	Date	Supporting
1	F	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	Malaysia	24 March	Malaysian Grand Prix
	S			25 March
2	F	Bahrain International Circuit, Manama	Bahrain	21 April	Bahrain Grand Prix
	S			22 April
3	F	Bahrain International Circuit, Manama	Bahrain	27 April	independent round
	S			28 April
4	F	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	Spain	12 May	Spanish Grand Prix
	S			13 May
5	F	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	Monaco	25 May	Monaco Grand Prix
	S			26 May
6	F	Valencia Street Circuit	Spain	23 June	European Grand Prix
	S			24 June
7	F	Silverstone Circuit	United Kingdom	7 July	British Grand Prix
	S			8 July
8	F	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	Germany	21 July	German Grand Prix
	S			22 July
9	F	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	Hungary	28 July	Hungarian Grand Prix
	S			29 July
10	F	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Belgium	1 September	Belgian Grand Prix
	S			2 September
11	F	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Italy	8 September	Italian Grand Prix
	S			9 September
12	F	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	Singapore	22 September	Singapore Grand Prix
	S			23 September

Calendar changes

• The series travelled to Malaysia in support of the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix. The GP2 Asia Series had previously visited the circuit during the 2008–09 season.
• The series also supported the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix on the weekend of 22 April, with an independent round of the championship also taking place at the circuit during the following week.
• The series travelled to Singapore for the first time in its history, supporting the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix.
• The round at Istanbul Park was removed from the calendar after the Turkish Grand Prix was discontinued.
• The round at Yas Marina Circuit was also discontinued.
• The venue hosting the round in Germany followed the German Grand Prix from the Nürburgring to Hockenheim.

Results

Round		Circuit	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Team	Report
1	F	Sepang International Circuit	Davide Valsecchi	Davide Valsecchi	Luiz Razia	Arden International	Report
	S			Rio Haryanto	James Calado	Lotus GP
2	F	Bahrain International Circuit	Davide Valsecchi	Davide Valsecchi	Davide Valsecchi	DAMS	Report
	S			Giedo van der Garde	Davide Valsecchi	DAMS
3	F	Bahrain International Circuit	Giedo van der Garde	Davide Valsecchi	Davide Valsecchi	DAMS	Report
	S			Luiz Razia	Tom Dillmann	Rapax
4	F	Circuit de Catalunya	James Calado	Esteban Gutiérrez	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Racing	Report
	S			Luiz Razia	Luiz Razia	Arden International
5	F	Circuit de Monaco	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	Stefano Coletti	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	Barwa Addax Team	Report
	S			Luiz Razia	Jolyon Palmer	iSport International
6	F	Valencia Street Circuit	James Calado	Esteban Gutiérrez	Esteban Gutiérrez	Lotus GP	Report
	S			Fabio Leimer	Luiz Razia	Arden International
7	F	Silverstone Circuit	Fabio Leimer	Esteban Gutiérrez	Esteban Gutiérrez	Lotus GP	Report
	S			Marcus Ericsson	Luiz Razia	Arden International
8	F	Hockenheimring	Giedo van der Garde	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	Barwa Addax Team	Report
	S			James Calado	James Calado	Lotus GP
9	F	Hungaroring	Max Chilton	Davide Valsecchi	Max Chilton	Carlin	Report
	S			Esteban Gutiérrez	Esteban Gutiérrez	Lotus GP
10	F	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Rio Haryanto	Giedo van der Garde	Marcus Ericsson	iSport International	Report
	S			Stefano Coletti	Josef Král	Barwa Addax Team
11	F	Autodromo Nazionale Monza	Max Chilton	Fabio Leimer	Luca Filippi	Scuderia Coloni	Report
	S			Davide Valsecchi	Davide Valsecchi	DAMS
12	F	Marina Bay Street Circuit	Luca Filippi	Esteban Gutiérrez	Max Chilton	Carlin	Report
	S			Stefano Coletti	Giedo van der Garde	Caterham Racing

Championship standings

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top 10 classified finishers in the Feature race, and to the top 8 classified finishers in the Sprint race. The pole-sitter in the feature race also received four points, and two points were given to the driver who set the fastest lap inside the top ten in both the feature and sprint races. No extra points were awarded to the pole-sitter in the sprint race.

Feature race points

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole	FL
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	4	2

Sprint race points

Points were awarded to the top 8 classified finishers.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	FL
Points	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	2

Drivers' Championship

Pos	Driver	MYS		BHR1		BHR2		ESP		MON		VAL		GBR		GER		HUN		BEL		ITA		SIN		Points
1	Davide Valsecchi	2	Ret	1	1	1	3	4	3	4	Ret	18	10	7	2	13	7	2	4	3	Ret	6	1	4	5	247
2	Luiz Razia	1	5	2	4	4	2	8	1	15	6	3	1	5	1	7	10	3	3	6	20	Ret	16	5	4	222
3	Esteban Gutiérrez	7	2	3	2	10	4	10	7	23†	8	1	Ret	1	4	10	5	8	1	11	13	9	Ret	2	6	176
4	Max Chilton	3	7	4	5	5	13	7	5	5	2	7	4	9	19†	14	Ret	1	11	12	22	4	6	1	19	169
5	James Calado	8	1	5	3	16	12	2	4	7	Ret	8	2	Ret	20†	8	1	4	6	2	3	12	14	Ret	10	160
6	Giedo van der Garde	9	4	Ret	9	3	19	1	6	3	3	11	6	8	21†	5	2	5	10	5	21	Ret	10	8	1	160
7	Fabio Leimer	4	6	7	12	2	8	12	11	18	Ret	4	3	14	9	2	4	9	14	Ret	5	5	2	3	3	152
8	Marcus Ericsson	13	Ret	13	16	7	7	13	22	2	4	2	Ret	21	7	11	15	18	Ret	1	4	3	7	7	2	124
9	Johnny Cecotto Jr.	Ret	22	Ret	22†	9	Ret	18	13	1	Ret	DSQ	Ret	2	18†	1	6	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	2	5	Ret	9	104
10	Felipe Nasr	6	3	Ret	6	11	5	11	9	17	Ret	Ret	14	6	3	4	3	25†	8	8	2	Ret	21	6	7	95
11	Jolyon Palmer	17	12	DNS	7	24†	22	9	DNS	6	1	Ret	Ret	3	5	18	18	6	5	Ret	10	7	3	Ret	Ret	78
12	Nathanaël Berthon	11	8	21†	Ret	12	10	5	2	9	7	6	5	12	14	15	9	7	2	14	19	15	15	10	15	60
13	Stefano Coletti	5	23†	Ret	23†	21	18	3	8	10	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	20	19	10	9	20†	8	8	4	13	8	50
14	Rio Haryanto	12	10	9	15	6	6	16	15	14	11	5	Ret	10	12	17	11	12	7	10	7	19	12	9	11	38
15	Tom Dillmann	18	11	6	10	8	1	22	12	11	Ret	Ret	12			9	Ret									29
16	Luca Filippi																					1	22	Ret	DNS	29
17	Josef Král	14	9					20	16	Ret	10	DSQ	11	16	10	12	13	24†	17	4	1					27
18	Stéphane Richelmi	19	19	11	Ret	17	17	21	19	8	Ret	14	Ret	13	Ret	3	21	17	21	9	6	13	9	14	22†	25
19	Nigel Melker	16	14	20†	18	19	11	14	24	Ret	12	Ret	13	4	6	6	8	14	18	Ret	DNS	11	Ret	12	12	25
20	Fabio Onidi	20	13	8	14	20	9	6	18	Ret	Ret	13	17	22	8	19	22	11	24	16	12	21	Ret	Ret	20	13
21	Julián Leal	15	15	12	17	15	14	24	17	21	Ret	12	8	20	17	21	12	16	15	7	9	10	8	11	16	9
22	Rodolfo González	Ret	18	15	21	18	15	15	14	13	5	15	15	23	Ret	23	20	23	16	Ret	14	22	20	Ret	18	6
23	Simon Trummer	23	16	16	8	14	24†	23	20	12	9	10	7	15	11	16	17	13	13	15	16	16	17	Ret	14	4
24	Fabrizio Crestani	10	21	14	19	Ret	23	17	10	19	Ret	Ret	DNS	11	22†											1
25	Brendon Hartley			10	Ret	13	16																			1
26	Daniël de Jong											16	9	Ret	13			15	19	13	11					0
27	Sergio Canamasas															22	14	22	12	Ret	Ret	14	11	16	DSQ	0
28	Dani Clos			19†	11	Ret	Ret																			0
29	Ricardo Teixeira	21	24†	17	13	23	20	Ret	23	20	Ret			18	15	DSQ	16	19	20	18	15	20	18	17	21	0
30	Victor Guerin							19	21	16	Ret	17	18	17	DNS	Ret	23	21	23	Ret	18	23	Ret	Ret	13	0
31	René Binder																			19	17	17	13	Ret	Ret	0
32	Jake Rosenzweig																					18	19	15	17	0
33	Giancarlo Serenelli	22	20	18	20	22	21	25	Ret	22	Ret	Ret	16	19	16	24	Ret	20	22							0
34	Jon Lancaster	Ret	17																							0
Pos	Driver	MYS		BHR1		BHR2		ESP		MON		VAL		GBR		GER		HUN		BEL		ITA		SIN		Points

Notes:

• † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Teams' Championship

Pos	Team	Car No.	MYS		BHR1		BHR2		ESP		MON		VAL		GBR		GER		HUN		BEL		ITA		SIN		Points
1	DAMS	3	2	Ret	1	1	1	3	4	3	4	Ret	18	10	7	2	13	7	2	4	3	Ret	6	1	4	5	342
		4	6	3	Ret	6	11	5	11	9	17	Ret	Ret	14	6	3	4	3	25†	8	8	2	Ret	21	6	7
2	Lotus GP	9	8	1	5	3	16	12	2	4	7	Ret	8	2	Ret	20†	8	1	4	6	2	3	12	14	Ret	10	336
		10	7	2	3	2	10	4	10	7	23†	8	1	Ret	1	4	10	5	8	1	11	13	9	Ret	2	6
3	Arden International	22	23	16	16	8	14	24†	23	20	12	9	10	7	15	11	16	17	13	13	15	16	16	17	Ret	14	226
		23	1	5	2	4	4	2	8	1	15	6	3	1	5	1	7	10	3	3	6	20	Ret	16	5	4
4	Racing Engineering	5	4	6	7	12	2	8	12	11	18	Ret	4	3	14	9	2	4	9	14	Ret	5	5	2	3	3	212
		6	11	8	21†	Ret	12	10	5	2	9	7	6	5	12	14	15	9	7	2	14	19	15	15	10	15
5	Carlin	26	3	7	4	5	5	13	7	5	5	2	7	4	9	19†	14	Ret	1	11	12	22	4	6	1	19	207
		27	12	10	9	15	6	6	16	15	14	11	5	Ret	10	12	17	11	12	7	10	7	19	12	9	11
6	iSport International	7	13	Ret	13	16	7	7	13	22	2	4	2	Ret	21	7	11	15	18	Ret	1	4	3	7	7	2	202
		8	17	12	DNS	7	24†	22	9	DNS	6	1	Ret	Ret	3	5	18	18	6	5	Ret	10	7	3	Ret	Ret
7	Caterham Racing	11	Ret	18	15	21	18	15	15	14	13	5	15	15	23	Ret	23	20	23	16	Ret	14	22	20	Ret	14	166
		12	9	4	Ret	9	3	19	1	6	3	3	11	6	8	21†	5	2	5	10	5	21	Ret	10	8	1
8	Barwa Addax Team	1	Ret	22	Ret	22†	9	Ret	18	13	1	Ret	DSQ	Ret	2	18†	1	6	Ret	Ret	17	Ret	2	5	Ret	9	131
		2	14	9	19†	11	Ret	Ret	20	16	Ret	10	DSQ	11	16	10	12	13	24†	17	4	1	18	19	15	17
9	Rapax	20	21	24†	17	13	23	20	Ret	23	20	Ret	Ret	12	18	15	DSQ	16	19	20	18	15	20	18	17	21	44
		21	18	11	6	10	8	1	22	12	11	Ret	16	9	Ret	13	9	Ret	15	19	13	11	8	4	13	8
10	Trident Racing	16	19	19	11	Ret	17	17	21	19	8	Ret	14	Ret	13	Ret	3	21	17	21	9	6	13	9	14	22†	34
		17	15	15	12	17	15	14	24	17	21	Ret	12	8	20	17	17	12	16	15	7	9	10	8	11	16
11	Ocean Racing Technology	24	Ret	17	10	Ret	13	16	19	21	16	Ret	17	18	17	DNS	Ret	23	21	23	Ret	18	23	Ret	Ret	13	26
		25	16	14	20†	18	19	11	14	24	Ret	12	Ret	13	4	6	6	8	14	18	Ret	DNS	11	Ret	12	12
12	Venezuela GP Lazarus	18	10	21	14	19	Ret	23	17	10	19	Ret	Ret	DNS	11	22†	22	14	22	12	Ret	Ret	14	11	16	DSQ	1
		19	22	20	18	20	22	21	25	Ret	22	Ret	Ret	16	19	16	24	Ret	20	22	19	17	17	13	Ret	Ret
—	Scuderia Coloni	14	5	23†	Ret	23†	21	18	3	8	10	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	20	19	10	9	20†	8	1	22	Ret	DNS	0
		15	20	13	8	14	20	9	6	18	Ret	Ret	13	17	22	8	19	22	11	24	16	12	21	Ret	Ret	20
Pos	Team	Car No.	MYS		BHR1		BHR2		ESP		MON		VAL		GBR		GER		HUN		BEL		ITA		SIN		Points

Notes:

• † — Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

External links

• GP2 Series official website