It was the first season for the new
Dallara T12 chassis, which featured a new, 530 bhp (400 kW)
V8 engine supplied by
British firm
Zytek Motorsport.[1] The car also featured a new
gearbox developed by
Ricardo and a
Drag Reduction System similar to the one first used in the
2011 Formula One season.[1] The series' organising committee has also announced that the series' sporting regulations were set to remain unchanged.[2]
Robin Frijns won the championship in his first season of competition, becoming the first driver since
Robert Kubica in
2005 to win the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in his debut year.
Tech 1 Racing won the teams' championship for the fourth time.[3]
Teams and drivers
On 10 October 2011, it was announced that 18 teams had applied to compete in the 2012 season.[4] Twelve of the thirteen teams that competed in
2011 submitted entries, while
Mofaz Racing withdrew after failing to acquire the requisite funds to continue in the series.[5] Several new teams, including
Arden International,
AtechReid GP,
DAMS,
Koiranen Motorsport,
Max Travin Racing Team – however prior the start of the season, Max Travin Racing Team joined forces with
BVM Target as part of a three-year partnership[6] – and
Van Amersfoort Racing all submitted entries to join the series.[4] The final list of thirteen teams was published on 17 October 2011, with
GP2 Series teams Arden International and DAMS selected to join, while
EPIC Racing and Koiranen Motorsport were placed on a reserve list.[7]
Jules Bianchi, who finished third in the GP2 Series in both
2010 and 2011, joined Tech 1 Racing.[15] He also competed in the
Monaco round of the series in
2009 for
SG Formula.
Sam Bird, who was sixth in GP2 in 2011, also joined the series with ISR.[12]
In August 2011, series organisers had announced that the championship was due to visit
Russia and
Brazil during the 2012 season.[2] The 2012 calendar was announced on 10 October 2011, the day after the end of the 2011 season.[54] Russia was included, but Brazil omitted. Seven of the nine rounds will form meetings of the
2012 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds in support of the
Monaco Grand Prix and the
6 Hours of Silverstone.[55]
^
ab"Ramos remplace Stanaway" [Ramos replaces Stanaway]. AUTOhebdo (in French). Groupe Hommell. 18 June 2012. Archived from
the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (11 April 2012).
"Monza: Un meeting ouvert et complet avec 57 autos!" [Monza: A meeting opened and complete with 57 cars!]. Endurance-Info (in French). Infomaniak Network SA. Retrieved 11 April 2012.
It was the first season for the new
Dallara T12 chassis, which featured a new, 530 bhp (400 kW)
V8 engine supplied by
British firm
Zytek Motorsport.[1] The car also featured a new
gearbox developed by
Ricardo and a
Drag Reduction System similar to the one first used in the
2011 Formula One season.[1] The series' organising committee has also announced that the series' sporting regulations were set to remain unchanged.[2]
Robin Frijns won the championship in his first season of competition, becoming the first driver since
Robert Kubica in
2005 to win the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in his debut year.
Tech 1 Racing won the teams' championship for the fourth time.[3]
Teams and drivers
On 10 October 2011, it was announced that 18 teams had applied to compete in the 2012 season.[4] Twelve of the thirteen teams that competed in
2011 submitted entries, while
Mofaz Racing withdrew after failing to acquire the requisite funds to continue in the series.[5] Several new teams, including
Arden International,
AtechReid GP,
DAMS,
Koiranen Motorsport,
Max Travin Racing Team – however prior the start of the season, Max Travin Racing Team joined forces with
BVM Target as part of a three-year partnership[6] – and
Van Amersfoort Racing all submitted entries to join the series.[4] The final list of thirteen teams was published on 17 October 2011, with
GP2 Series teams Arden International and DAMS selected to join, while
EPIC Racing and Koiranen Motorsport were placed on a reserve list.[7]
Jules Bianchi, who finished third in the GP2 Series in both
2010 and 2011, joined Tech 1 Racing.[15] He also competed in the
Monaco round of the series in
2009 for
SG Formula.
Sam Bird, who was sixth in GP2 in 2011, also joined the series with ISR.[12]
In August 2011, series organisers had announced that the championship was due to visit
Russia and
Brazil during the 2012 season.[2] The 2012 calendar was announced on 10 October 2011, the day after the end of the 2011 season.[54] Russia was included, but Brazil omitted. Seven of the nine rounds will form meetings of the
2012 World Series by Renault season, with additional rounds in support of the
Monaco Grand Prix and the
6 Hours of Silverstone.[55]
^
ab"Ramos remplace Stanaway" [Ramos replaces Stanaway]. AUTOhebdo (in French). Groupe Hommell. 18 June 2012. Archived from
the original on 11 January 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
^Mercier, Laurent (11 April 2012).
"Monza: Un meeting ouvert et complet avec 57 autos!" [Monza: A meeting opened and complete with 57 cars!]. Endurance-Info (in French). Infomaniak Network SA. Retrieved 11 April 2012.