2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
The 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg was the first race of the
2012 IndyCar Series season. It was held on March 25, 2012 in St. Petersburg, Florida on the city's temporary street course, and was won by Hélio Castroneves.[1]
Report
Background
This race was the first race since
ICONIC chassis by Dallara, which Wheldon was helping to develop and was named the "DW12" in his honor. This race also marked the first time since the end of the 2005 season that Honda wouldn't be IndyCar's exclusive engine supplier. Chevrolet re-entered Indy racing for the first time since that season and Lotus
was the third supplier.
Qualifying
For the third consecutive year,
Andretti Autosport.[2]
Race
The 2012 Honda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg started with pole sitter
2010 season.[3]
Classification
Starting grid
| Row | Inside | Outside | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 |  Will Power
|
2 | Ryan Briscoe
|
| 2 | 28 |  Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
27 |  James Hinchcliffe
|
| 3 | 3 |  Hélio Castroneves
|
9 |  Scott Dixon
|
| 4 | 26 | Marco Andretti
|
11 | Tony Kanaan
|
| 5 | 10 |  Dario Franchitti
|
38 | Graham Rahal
|
| 6 | 14 | Mike Conway
|
5 |  E. J. Viso
|
| 7 | 8 | Rubens Barrichello
|
15 |  Takuma Sato
|
| 8 | 18 | Justin Wilson
|
77 |  Simon Pagenaud (R)†
|
| 9 | 98 | Alex Tagliani
|
4 | J. R. Hildebrand
|
| 10 | 67 | Josef Newgarden (R)
|
19 | James Jakes
|
| 11 | 78 |  Simona de Silvestro
|
83 | Charlie Kimball
|
| 12 | 22 |  Oriol Servià
|
20 | Ed Carpenter
|
| 13 | 6 | Katherine Legge (R)
|
7 | Sébastien Bourdais
|
† Pagenaud penalised 10 places for changing engine
| ||||
Race Results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Engine | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Laps Led | Points1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Hélio Castroneves
|
Team Penske | Chevrolet | 100 | 1:59:50.9863 | 5 | 28 | 50 |
| 2 | 9 | Scott Dixon
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | + 5.5292 | 6 | 37 | 42 |
| 3 | 28 | Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
Andretti Autosport
|
Chevrolet | 100 | + 7.5824 | 3 | 0 | 35 |
| 4 | 27 | James Hinchcliffe
|
Andretti Autosport
|
Chevrolet | 100 | + 10.6526 | 4 | 0 | 32 |
| 5 | 2 | Ryan Briscoe
|
Team Penske | Chevrolet | 100 | + 11.7854 | 2 | 9 | 30 |
| 6 | 77 | Simon Pagenaud (R)
|
Schmidt Hamilton Motorsports
|
Honda | 100 | + 31.2623 | 16 | 0 | 28 |
| 7 | 12 | Will Power
|
Team Penske | Chevrolet | 100 | + 34.6582 | 1 | 11 | 27 |
| 8 | 5 | E. J. Viso
|
KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 100 | + 35.5943 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| 9 | 83 | Charlie Kimball
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | + 43.1425 | 22 | 0 | 22 |
| 10 | 18 | Justin Wilson
|
Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 100 | + 44.3141 | 15 | 0 | 20 |
| 11 | 67 | Josef Newgarden (R)
|
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing | Honda | 100 | + 44.8275 | 19 | 0 | 19 |
| 12 | 38 | Graham Rahal
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | + 45.1080 | 10 | 0 | 18 |
| 13 | 10 | Dario Franchitti
|
Chip Ganassi Racing | Honda | 100 | + 45.8468 | 9 | 1 | 17 |
| 14 | 26 | Marco Andretti
|
Andretti Autosport
|
Chevrolet | 99 | + 1 lap | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| 15 | 98 | Alex Tagliani
|
Team Barracuda – BHA | Lotus | 99 | + 1 lap | 17 | 0 | 15 |
| 16 | 22 | Oriol Servià
|
Dreyer & Reinbold Racing | Lotus | 99 | + 1 lap | 23 | 0 | 14 |
| 17 | 8 | Rubens Barrichello
|
KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 98 | + 2 laps | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 18 | 20 | Ed Carpenter
|
Ed Carpenter Racing | Chevrolet | 98 | + 2 laps | 24 | 0 | 12 |
| 19 | 4 | J. R. Hildebrand
|
Panther Racing | Chevrolet | 96 | Off Course | 18 | 3 | 12 |
| 20 | 14 | Mike Conway
|
A. J. Foyt Enterprises
|
Honda | 75 | Mechanical | 11 | 0 | 12 |
| 21 | 7 | Sébastien Bourdais
|
Dragon Racing
|
Lotus | 73 | Off Course | 26 | 0 | 12 |
| 22 | 15 | Takuma Sato
|
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing | Honda | 73 | Electrical | 14 | 11 | 12 |
| 23 | 6 | Katherine Legge (R)
|
Dragon Racing
|
Lotus | 59 | Off Course | 25 | 0 | 12 |
| 24 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro
|
HVM Racing | Lotus | 22 | Mechanical | 21 | 0 | 12 |
| 25 | 11 | Tony Kanaan
|
KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | 21 | Electrical | 8 | 0 | 10 |
| 26 | 19 | James Jakes
|
Dale Coyne Racing | Honda | 19 | Contact | 20 | 0 | 10 |
- Notes
1 Points include 1 point for pole position and 2 points for most laps led.
Championship standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hélio Castroneves
|
50 |
| 2 | Scott Dixon
|
42 |
| 3 | Ryan Hunter-Reay
|
35 |
| 4 | James Hinchcliffe
|
32 |
| 5 | Ryan Briscoe
|
30 |
- Note: Only the top five positions are included.
References