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The 2012 Formula One season is the 63rd FIA Formula One season. The season started in Australia on 18 March and will end in Brazil on 25 November. It is being contested over twenty races – the most races in a season in the sport's history – and will see the return of the United States Grand Prix, which will be 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 returned to the calendar.

In addition to having the greatest number of races in a championship year, the 2012 season broke several records. Six current and former World Drivers' Champions — Sebastian Vettel, Jenson Button, Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher — started the season, breaking the record of five established in 1970. The 2012 season was also the first time that the first six championship races of a season were won by six different drivers.

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• * Lewis Hamilton (1:21.707) was disqualified from the qualifying session, and sent to the back of the grid after stewards deemed he did not have enough fuel in his car, following the session; Hamilton had stopped on track following his qualifying lap. Hamilton excluded from qualifying results; Maldonado on pole
• † Vettel did not complete a flying lap during the third part of qualifying.
• ‡ Schumacher did not start a flying lap during the third part of qualifying.
• § Kobayashi stopped at the end of the second part of qualifying, and was not permitted to compete in the third part.
• Friday Practice 1 – Home advantage to Alonso
• Friday Practice 2 – Button leads in Barcelona for McLaren
• Saturday Practice – Vettel moves ahead in Spain
• Qualifying – Hamilton on pole from Maldonado
• Race – Magnificent Maldonado puts Williams back on top

• * Schumacher was demoted five places on the starting grid, following collision with Bruno Senna at the Spanish Grand Prix. Schumacher handed five-place grid penalty for Monaco
• † Vettel did not complete a flying lap during the third part of qualifying.
• ‡ Pastor Maldonado (1:15.245) was given a ten-place grid penalty for an avoidable collision with Sergio Pérez in the third free practice session. He was also given a five-place grid penalty for a change of gearbox. Maldonado takes grid penalty after Perez incident
• Thursday Practice 1 – Alonso sets early Monaco pace
• Thursday Practice 2 – Button tops rain-hit Monaco session
• Saturday Practice – Rosberg leads, Maldonado crashes
• Qualifying – Schumacher fastest, Webber on pole
• Race – Webber makes it six winners from six races

Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets.

The first Grand Prix was held in 1950 at Silverstone; since then 68 circuits have hosted a Grand Prix. Circuits such as the Nürburgring have hosted Grands Prix using different configurations. The first race at the circuit used the 22 kilometres (14 mi) circuit, but concerns over safety meant that more recent Grands Prix have used a shorter, safer circuit. F1 circuits were predominately in Europe during the early years of the championship, as the sport has expanded so has the location of its circuits. New circuits have been used in Asia and America, the change has been a recent occurrence. Of the 20 circuits that will host a Grand Prix in 2012, nearly half were not on the calendar before 1999.

The Autodromo Nazionale Monza has hosted the most Grands Prix; it has been used as the circuit for the Italian Grand Prix 61 times. The only season it did not host a race was in 1980, when the Italian Grand Prix was held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari. The most recent circuit to have hosted a Grand Prix was the Buddh International Circuit, which hosted the Indian Grand Prix in 2011. The Circuit of the Americas is set to become the latest different circuit to host a Grand Prix; when the United States Grand Prix is staged there in 2012, at Austin, Texas. The Pescara Circuit is the longest circuit to have hosted a Grand Prix. The 25.800 km (16.031 mi) long circuit normally held the Coppa Acerbo race, it hosted one World Championship race, the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix.

As some circuits have hosted Grands Prix using different configurations, the most recent configuration used is listed in the table below.

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• Friday Practice 1 – Hamilton sets the Montreal benchmark
• Friday Practice 2 – Hamilton heads Ferrari duo
• Saturday Practice – Vettel pips Alonso in Montreal
• Qualifying – Vettel cruises to Canada pole
• Race – Seventh time lucky for Hamilton in Canada

• * Pastor Maldonado (10th, + 34.630) was given a 20-second time penalty post-race for causing collision with Lewis Hamilton, and for failing to rejoin the track in a safe manner. Maldonado penalised over Hamilton clash
• Friday Practice 1 – Maldonado sets Valencia standard
• Friday Practice 2 – Vettel leads tight Valencia field
• Saturday Practice – Button edges charging Lotuses
• Qualifying – Vettel bests the rest to secure Valencia pole
• Race – Alonso triumphs in Valencia thriller

The 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 ING Magyar Nagydíj 2008) was a Formula One motor race held on August 3, 2008, at the Hungaroring in Mogyoród, near Budapest, Hungary. It was the 11th race of the 2008 Formula One season. Contested over 70 laps, the race was won by Heikki Kovalainen for the McLaren team, from a second position start. Timo Glock finished second in a Toyota car, with Kimi Räikkönen third in a Ferrari. It was Kovalainen's first Formula One victory, which made him the sport's 100th driver to win a World Championship race, and it was Glock's first podium finish.

The majority of the race consisted of a duel between Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa, who drove for McLaren and Ferrari, respectively. Hamilton started from pole position but was beaten at the first corner by Massa, who passed him around the outside. The two championship rivals began a battle for the lead that was resolved when Hamilton sustained a punctured tyre just over halfway through the race, giving Massa a lead of more than 20 seconds over Kovalainen. The Ferrari's engine, however, failed with three laps remaining, allowing the McLaren driver to win. Räikkönen set the race's fastest lap in the other Ferrari, but was hampered by a poor qualifying performance and was stuck behind Fernando Alonso (Renault) and Glock in turn for almost all of the race.

As a consequence of the race, Hamilton extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to five points over Räikkönen, with Massa a further three behind. Robert Kubica, who finished eighth after finding his BMW Sauber car uncompetitive at the Hungaroring, slipped to 13 points behind Hamilton, ahead of teammate Nick Heidfeld and Kovalainen. In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren passed BMW Sauber for second position, 11 points behind Ferrari.

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• * Grosjean did not set a time in Q3, after beaching his car in a gravel trap during Q2.
• † Nico Hülkenberg (9th, 1:54.382) was given a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change.
• Friday Practice 1 – Dark day, Dark Knight
• Friday Practice 2 – Hamilton top in tricky conditions
• Saturday Practice – Alonso leads first dry session
• Qualifying – Alonso on pole after rain-delayed session
• Race – Webber beats Alonso to Silverstone win

• Vettel was penalised 20 seconds post-race for gaining an advantage while off the track. Vettel receives time penalty, demoted to fifth
• * Webber was given a five-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Gearbox penalty for Webber
• Friday Practice 1 – Button tops wet-dry session in Germany
• Friday Practice 2 – Maldonado leads at wet Hockenheim
• Saturday Practice – Alonso edges Hamilton in Germany
• Qualifying – Alonso on pole after rain-hit session
• Race – Masterful Alonso triumphs at Hockenheim

• Friday Practice 1 – McLaren dominate in Budapest
• Friday Practice 2 – Hamilton heads rain-hit Hungary session
• Saturday Practice – Webber puts Red Bull ahead in Hungary
• Qualifying – Hamilton takes dominant pole in Budapest
• Race – Hamilton soaks up Lotus pressure for Hungary win

Formula One (F1) is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which all participants and vehicles must conform. The F1 World Championship season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix, held usually on purpose-built circuits, and in a few cases on closed city streets. The results of each race are combined to determine two annual Championships, one for drivers and one for constructors.

Safety standards have improved since the first World Championship Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1950, where there was no medical back-up or safety measures, in case of an accident. It was not until the 1960s these were first introduced, as helmets and overalls became mandatory and the FIA assumed responsibility for safety at the circuits. Steps were taken to improve the safety of the Formula One car in the 1970s; the cockpit opening was enlarged allowing the driver to escape quicker in the event of an accident and outside mirrors became mandatory. The 1980s saw further improvement in the structure of the Formula One car, with the monocoque being made out of carbon fibre instead of aluminium, increasing protection upon impact. Following the death of Ayrton Senna in 1994, a number of measures were introduced in an attempt to slow the cars down, including the prohibition of traction control systems. Grooved tyres were introduced in 1998 instead of racing slick tyres to reduce cornering speed. Safety measures continued to be introduced into the 21st century, with a number of circuits having their configuration changed to improve driver safety.

This list includes drivers who have died during a FIA World Championship race weekend, and those who have died while driving a Formula One car outside of the World Championship. Track marshals and other race attendees who have died as a result of these accidents are not included in the list. Forty-nine drivers have died driving a Formula One car, with Cameron Earl being the first in 1952. Thirty-two of the drivers died during a World Championship Grand Prix race weekend, six during a test session and eleven during a non-championship Formula One event. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway has seen the most fatalities; seven drivers have died there during the course of the Indianapolis 500. Fifteen drivers died in the 1950s; fourteen in the 1960s; twelve in the 1970s; four in the 1980s and two in the 1990s. No driver has suffered a fatal accident since 1994, making this the longest period in F1 history without a driver fatality. Only two Formula One Champions have died while racing or practicing in Formula One, Jochen Rindt in 1970, and Ayrton Senna in 1994. Rindt is the only driver to win the championship posthumously.

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