Like most 2012-specification cars, the F2012 featured a 'stepped nose' to conform to new FIA safety regulations. The F2012 featured a pullrod front suspension, which had not been seen in Formula One since the 2001 Minardi PS01 and Arrows A22 cars.[7] A pullrod rear suspension was also introduced. L-shaped inlets also feature on the sidepods as the Ferrari F10 did in 2010.
It was reported that Ferrari had developed a "reactive ride height" suspension system, a mechanical device designed to maintain ride height under braking which they hoped to use in their 2012 car.[8] The FIA ruled that devices contravene the regulations as they could improve the aerodynamic performance of cars, which led to the device being banned.[9]
During pre-season testing journalists reported several reports of problems with the car's handling. It understeered travelling into the curve and oversteered as the car came out of the curve.[10]Felipe Massa reported that the team needed to carry out substantial work in order to understand the car.[11] Ferrari denied that the car was under-performing, but during the Australian Grand Prix both Alonso and Massa went off the track after struggling with the handling, and could only qualify 12th and 16th respectively. Alonso finished the race in fifth, while Massa retired after a collision with Williams driver Bruno Senna.
In the week before the Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari took the extraordinary step of preparing a brand-new chassis for Massa.[12] Unable to explain the difference between Alonso and Massa's performances in Melbourne, the team prepared the chassis for Massa in the belief that the car he used in Australia was flawed.
In the race, extreme weather conditions led to Alonso taking the lead after the first round of pit stops. The Ferrari F2012 showed that it had very good performance in damp conditions, but as the track started to dry, Sauber had better pace than Ferrari and Pérez cut Alonso's advantage from seven seconds to just half a second. Soon Alonso pitted from the lead and Pérez a lap later, keeping Alonso in first position because Pérez had to drive a whole lap longer on intermediates, while Alonso, having pitted, drove that lap on mediums thus increasing the advantage over Pérez to five seconds. Pérez again started chasing down Alonso and again cutting the advantage, but his front tyres began to wear out quickly because of driving just behind Alonso's F2012 which eventually led to Pérez making a mistake,running deep at the chicane, thus having him again more than five seconds behind Alonso. There was not enough time to chase him again so Alonso went on to win the race, the first for the brand-new F2012.
In China, the F2012 had a similar gap to the fastest cars, Alonso qualifying ninth and Massa twelfth. In the race, however, Alonso again showed his skill and had a chance to fight for fourth place, but lack of the pace in the final stages of the race, and Alonso going off the track while trying to pass a driver ahead in the middle of the corner led to him taking ninth at the end of the race. Massa finished 13th.
In Bahrain, which did not suit the F2012 at all, Massa qualified 14th, and Alonso ninth, having not set a time in Q3 in order to preserve tyres for the race. The race itself did not provide any surprise, Alonso finishing in seventh and Massa in ninth position.
At the in-season testing that took place at Mugello Circuit, Ferrari tried different solutions of the exhaust system in order to improve the traction of the car, and to make it less sensitive to its throttle position, which would make the car much easier to handle. So they came up with a solution which did exactly as mentioned before, but still had plenty of room for more improvements. With that solution, Ferrari set off to Spain.
In Spain, Alonso had set the fastest time in first practice on the Friday, and originally qualified in third place, less than 0.6 of a second behind Hamilton and less than 0.02 seconds behind Maldonado in second. However, Alonso was promoted to second on the grid after Hamilton was excluded from qualifying. In contrast, Felipe Massa was held up in traffic during his Q2 lap and subsequently started from 16th. In the race Alonso managed to get off to a good start and was leading after the second corner, but a variety of factors including traffic and accelerated tyre degradation meant that he eventually finished second behind Maldonado, by fewer than four seconds. Massa was running in the top ten in the early stages of the race, before incurring a drive through penalty following speeding under yellow flag conditions, caused by Schumacher crashing with Senna. Massa finished the race in 15th. This race showed that F2012 was steadily improving its performance.
In Monaco, both cars made into Q3 for the first time this year, with Alonso qualifying sixth, 0.6 seconds behind the original polesitter Michael Schumacher, with Massa less than 0.2 seconds behind Alonso in seventh, however, Alonso was promoted to fifth following Schumacher's five-place grid penalty carried over from Barcelona. In the race, both cars showed good pace, with Alonso having the pace to challenge for the lead and Massa looking similar to Alonso on pace. Subsequently, Alonso finished in third place, 0.947 seconds behind the race winner Mark Webber, and Massa in sixth, less than 6.2 seconds behind the race winner Webber. The championship standings after this race shows that Ferrari are in fourth place behind Lotus, and Alonso has regained the championship lead, 3 points ahead of both Red Bull Drivers and a further 10 points ahead of Lewis Hamilton in fourth. This was the second and the last race of the Mugello-configuration exhaust.
Felipe Massa during the Canadian Grand Prix
In Canada, Ferrari made a large step forward in performance, introducing a new exhaust configuration similar to the McLaren cars, using the coanda effect more effectively than the previous solution and vastly improving overall tyre wear and downforce. In qualifying F2012 proved it was competitive enough to fight for the first three rows on the grid. Alonso qualified third, three tenths off the pole, and Massa qualified sixth, which was the best result for Ferrari in 2012 up to date. Race started well for Ferrari with Massa immediately pushing hard for positions, but eventually he made a mistake and spun, so that ruined his race. He finished tenth. Alonso was saving tires and it paid off when Sebastian Vettel pitted. Alonso came into the pits two laps later, which allowed him to take the second position. At the second round of pit stops, Hamilton went first to the pits, but both Alonso and Vettel were not set to do the same, and tried to finish the race without pitting. But that strategy was false for both of them, because tyres started to degrade very fast so cars behind were closing and closing and eventually started to attacking Fernando for position. He could not manage to hold for long, so he finished the race fifth.
In Valencia, the race saw a very interesting turn of events for F2012 as early in the race Vettel had gained a lead of about 20 seconds but a safety car period, that resulted from collision of Jean-Éric Vergne and Heikki Kovalainen, eliminated Vettel's early lead and an alternator failure ended his race, Romain Grosjean was also very much in the competition until he also faced same problem as that of Vettel. This led Alonso to take on first position, after starting 11th on the grid. Massa followed Alonso up the grid throughout the early part of the race until an untimely pit-stop and a collision with Kamui Kobayashi ruined his race. Afterwards, Kobayashi was penalised for the incident, but Massa could only finish 16th.
Despite the car's significant lack of performance (being the third best car of the grid marginally ahead of Lotus and far from the top four on the first stages of the race), Alonso did manage to mount a challenge for the title until the last race held in Interlagos. Vettel was leading the championship by 13 points, but when he was spun around and ended up in last position at the start of the race, title hopes were high for Alonso. However, Vettel recovered to sixth by the end of the race, and Alonso's second-place finish meant he missed out on the title by 3 points.
Complete Formula One results
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
Felipe Massa is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the Chevrolet Cruze for Lubrax Podium with the number 19.
The 2011 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 65th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. The original calendar for the 2011 Formula One World Championship consisted of twenty rounds, including the inaugural running of the Indian Grand Prix before the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix. Pirelli returned to the sport as tyre supplier for all teams, taking over from Bridgestone, marking their return to Formula One for the first time since the 1991 season. Red Bull Racing was the reigning Constructors' Champion. Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel was the defending Drivers' Champion, one of five World Champions appearing on the grid. Vettel won his second World Championship at the 2011 Japanese Grand Prix, becoming the youngest driver, at 24 years and 98 days, to do so. Red Bull Racing won the Constructors' Championship.
The 2010 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 July at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the eleventh round of the 2010 Formula One season and the seventy-first German Grand Prix. The 67-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso after he started from second position. His teammate Felipe Massa finished second, and Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel came in third. This was the first Ferrari 1-2 finish since the 2008 French Grand Prix.
The 2012 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 66th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 63rd FIA Formula One World Championship, a motor racing series for Formula One cars, recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) – the governing body of motorsport – as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty rounds, which started in Australia on 18 March and ended in Brazil on 25 November. The 2012 season saw the return of the United States Grand Prix, which was held at the Circuit of the Americas, a purpose-built circuit in Austin, Texas. After being cancelled in 2011 due to civil protests, the Bahrain Grand Prix also returned to the calendar.
The 2012 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Circuit of the Americas in Travis County, near Austin, Texas on November 18, 2012. The race, run over fifty-six laps, was the penultimate round of the 2012 championship. It was the inaugural race at the circuit, and the first time the United States Grand Prix had been held since 2007. On Sunday a capacity crowd of 117,429 watched the race around the brand new 20-turn circuit.
The 2011 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 27 March 2011 at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. It was the 76th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928. Originally planned as the second race of the 2011 Formula One season, it became the season opener with the cancellation of the Bahrain Grand Prix due to civil unrest in the country.
The 2011 Belgian Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Shell Belgian Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 28 August 2011, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was the twelfth round of the 2011 Formula One season and the 67th Belgian Grand Prix to be held. The 44-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the drivers' championship leader, after starting from pole position. Vettel's teammate Mark Webber finished in second place, and Jenson Button completed the podium in third position for McLaren.
The 2011 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 July 2011 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England, and won by Fernando Alonso. Changes to the circuit mean that the race was previously considered as being in Northamptonshire, but the movement of the start–finish line means that the race is now officially considered as being in Buckinghamshire. It was the ninth race of the 2011 season, and saw the introduction of a ban on off-throttle blown diffusers, the practice of forcing the engine to continue to produce exhaust gasses to generate downforce when drivers are not using the throttle. The race also saw the Formula One debut of future Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo.
The 2011 Korean Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 Korean Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 16 October 2011 at the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Jeolla, South Korea. It was the sixteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season, the second running of the Korean Grand Prix, and the first race after Sebastian Vettel claimed the 2011 World Drivers' Championship.
The 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 April 2011 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the second round of the 2011 Formula One season. The 56-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing driver Sebastian Vettel after starting from pole position. Jenson Button finished second in a McLaren, and Nick Heidfeld completed the podium for Renault, in third place.
The 2011 Singapore Grand Prix, formally the 2011 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix, was a Formula One motor race that was held on 25 September 2011 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit in Singapore. It was the fourteenth round of the 2011 Formula One season and the twelfth time the Singapore Grand Prix had been held. The 61-lap race was won by Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel, the Drivers' Championship leader, after starting from pole position. Jenson Button finished in second place for McLaren, and Mark Webber completed the podium in third position.
The 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 4 November 2012 at the Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the eighteenth round of the 2012 Formula One season and the fourth Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The 55-lap race was won by Lotus driver Kimi Räikkönen after starting from fourth position. Fernando Alonso finished second in a Ferrari with his championship rival Sebastian Vettel third for Red Bull, starting from the pit lane.
The 2012 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 March 2012 as the opening round of the 2012 Formula One season. It was the 77th race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928, and the 17th time the event has been held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit at Albert Park.
The 2012 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that took place at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England on 8 July 2012. It was the ninth round of the 2012 Formula One season, the 63rd time the event had been a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the 67th time it had been contested overall. The 52-lap race was won by Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who took his second victory of the season. The Ferrari of Fernando Alonso, who started the race in pole position, finished 3.0 seconds behind Webber, in second. Webber's teammate, Sebastian Vettel, completed the podium by finishing in third position.
The 2012 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia, Spain on 24 June 2012. It was the eighth round of the 2012 championship season, and the final time the circuit hosted the European Grand Prix. It was Fernando Alonso's second Grand Prix win in Spain after the 2006 Spanish Grand Prix held at Barcelona. Michael Schumacher finished third at the age of 43 years and 173 days, the oldest driver to climb to the podium since Jack Brabham's second-place finish at the 1970 British Grand Prix. It was Schumacher's best result since his comeback in 2010 and the final podium finish of his Formula One career.
The 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 March 2012 at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia. It was the fourteenth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship, and the thirty-second time the event has been held. The 56-lap race was the second round of the 2012 Formula One season and was won by Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso. Sergio Pérez of the Sauber team finished the race in second position, and McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton completed the podium with third place after starting in pole position.
The Ferrari 150º Italia, formerly known as the Ferrari F150, was a Formula One car used by Ferrari to compete in the 2011 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Aldo Costa, Pat Fry, Nikolas Tombazis and Marco de Luca with Luca Marmorini leading the engine and electronics design. It was launched at Ferrari's headquarters in Maranello, Italy on 28 January 2011, one year to the day after the launch of its predecessor, the Ferrari F10. It was driven by 2005 and 2006 World Champion Fernando Alonso, and 2008 championship runner up Felipe Massa. The Ferrari 150º Italia was the first Ferrari Formula One car to utilize Pirelli tyres since Ferrari D50 in 1956.
The 2012 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 April 2012 at the Shanghai International Circuit in Shanghai, China. It was the ninth running of the Chinese Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship. The 56-lap race was the third round of the 2012 Formula One season.
The 2013 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race that was held on 7 July 2013 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany, as the ninth round of the 2013 season.
The Ferrari F138 is a Formula One racing car designed and built by Scuderia Ferrari for use in the 2013 Formula One season. It was driven by two time World Champion Fernando Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa in his final season at the Scuderia. The chassis was designed by Pat Fry, Nikolas Tombazis and Loic Bigois with Luca Marmorini leading the engine and electronics design. The car was named the "F138" to represent the year that it would be raced, 2013, and to mark the final season that Formula One would use V8 engines.
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Fernando Alonso [3] 
Felipe Massa [4] 
