Formula 1 historical archive

Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix

Sebastian Vettel won the 2012 Japanese Grand Prix for Red Bull, ahead of Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi at Suzuka Circuit.

Browse the full classification, related season, driver, team, circuit, and championship history.

Race recap

Winner
Sebastian Vettel
Team
Red Bull
Top listed
Sebastian Vettel, Felipe Massa, and Kamui Kobayashi
Race date
October 7, 2012
Pole
Sebastian Vettel
Fastest lap
Sebastian Vettel
Classified drivers
24
Circuit
Suzuka Circuit

The decisive result

Sebastian Vettel finished first for Red Bull. Felipe Massa is listed 2 for Ferrari, with Kamui Kobayashi 3 for Sauber.

Grid to finish

Michael Schumacher from P23 to P11 (+12), Felipe Massa from P10 to P2 (+8), and Nico Hülkenberg from P15 to P7 (+8) recorded the largest positive grid-to-finish changes in the classification. Sebastian Vettel started from the listed P1 grid position.

Status and fastest lap

The classification lists 14 Finished, 4 +1 lap, 2 Collision, 1 Engine, and 1 Gearbox. Sebastian Vettel holds the fastest-lap entry at 1:35.774 on lap 52. It records the result without speculating about incidents or strategy.

This summary sticks to the classification and does not speculate about incidents, strategy, weather, or causes. Source: F1DB (CC BY 4.0) · updated Jul 26, 2026.

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Race classification
PosDriverConstructorTime / statusPoints
1Sebastian VettelRed Bull1:28:56.24225
2Felipe MassaFerrari1:29:16.88118
3Kamui KobayashiSauber1:29:20.78015
4Jenson ButtonMcLaren1:29:21.34012
5Lewis HamiltonMcLaren1:29:42.73210
6Kimi RäikkönenLotus F1 Team1:29:46.6668
7Nico HülkenbergForce India1:29:47.4016
8Pastor MaldonadoWilliams1:29:48.6064
9Mark WebberRed Bull1:29:50.9172
10Daniel RicciardoToro Rosso1:30:03.1611
11Michael SchumacherMercedes1:30:04.0110
12Paul di RestaForce India1:30:19.7020
13Jean-Éric VergneToro Rosso1:30:24.8870
14Bruno SennaWilliams1:30:24.9510
15Heikki KovalainenCaterham+1 lap0
16Timo GlockMarussia+1 lap0
17Vitaly PetrovCaterham+1 lap0
18Pedro de la RosaHRT+1 lap0
19Romain GrosjeanLotus F1 TeamGearbox0
DNFCharles PicMarussiaEngine0