24 drivers lined up for the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, with Pastor Maldonado starting on pole (the first Venezuelan driver to do so). Lewis Hamilton was excluded as he failed to return to the pits under his own power and supply a fuel sample.
At lights out, Fernando Alonso took the lead going into the second corner. Sergio Perez ran wide going into turn three, causing a left rear puncture. Starting from the back, Hamilton had made his way from P24 to P12 within the first nine laps.
On lap 13, Michael Schumacher suffered the first DNF of the race after running into the back of Bruno Senna, who also later retired on the same lap. Within 17 laps, Hamilton managed to make his way up to P4 – behind Alonso in P1, Maldonado in P2, and Kimi Raikkonen in P3.
On lap 23, HRT driver Narain Karthikeyan had to retire due to wheel problems. Alonso went into the pits on lap 27, giving Williams’ driver, Maldonado the opportunity to take first position and set the fastest lap of the race so far. The following lap, Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa were handed drive-through penalties for ignoring the yellow flag.
Hitting the halfway point of the race on lap 33, Kamui Kobayashi made minor contact with Jenson Button while overtaking him for seventh place. Lap 37 saw Charles Pic retire due to a drive shaft failure. Three laps later, a young Perez retired due to a transmission fault. Vettel suffered damage to the left side of his front wing on lap 43 forcing him to pit for fresh tyres and a new front wing.
Raikkonen led the race for two laps, only for Maldonado and Alonso to overtake him using DRS. He later took a late pitstop in the hopes of putting pressure on the Williams and Ferrari drivers. However, he emerged fourth behind teammate Romain Grosjean. Raikkonen regained third position when his teammate pitted on lap 52.
Going into the last 10 laps, Vettel braked late and overtook Button for eighth. There was a collision between Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg into turn five and Kobayashi took the opportunity to overtake to get into fifth position. Vettel was able to hold off the McLarens and overtake a struggling Rosberg to take sixth.
Maldonado took his first win as he crossed the finish line, bringing home the first Williams team win in eight years. It is also Williams’ most recent win as of today. Maldonado also became the first ever Venezuelan F1 grand prix winner.
Despite overwhelming happiness from the Williams team, about 90 minutes after the race the Williams garage caught fire, reportedly due the fuel rig leaking. Williams, Force India, and Caterham pit crews worked together to control the flames. Bruno Senna’s car was damaged in the fire. The other teams were reported to have lent replacement equipment to Williams for the next grand prix. 31 people were injured, with seven of them were sent to a local hospital.
Written by Chloe.
Featured Image Credit: motorsportmagazine.com
The Fastest Sector 