| Country: | Bahrain |
| Grand Prix: | 1st Bahrain |
| Round No: | 2 |
| Season No: | 12 |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Location: | Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir, Bahrain |
| Course: | Permanent racing facility |
| Course Mi: | 3.359 |
| Course Km: | 5.412 |
| Date R1: | 21 April |
| Laps R1: | 32 |
| Pole Driver Country: | Italy |
| Pole Driver: | Davide Valsecchi |
| Pole Team: | DAMS |
| Pole Time: | 1:41.200 |
| First Driver Country R1: | Italy |
| First Driver R1: | Davide Valsecchi |
| First Team R1: | DAMS |
| Second Driver Country R1: | Brazil |
| Second Driver R1: | Luiz Razia |
| Second Team R1: | Arden International |
| Third Driver Country R1: | Mexico |
| Third Driver R1: | Esteban Gutiérrez |
| Third Team R1: | Lotus GP |
| Fast Driver Country R1: | Italy |
| Fast Driver R1: | Davide Valsecchi |
| Fast Team R1: | DAMS |
| Fast Time R1: | 1:44.380 |
| Fast Lap R1: | 25 |
| Date R2: | 22 April |
| Laps R2: | 23 |
| First Driver Country R2: | Italy |
| First Driver R2: | Davide Valsecchi |
| First Team R2: | DAMS |
| Second Driver Country R2: | Mexico |
| Second Driver R2: | Esteban Gutiérrez |
| Second Team R2: | Lotus GP |
| Third Driver Country R2: | GBR |
| Third Driver R2: | James Calado |
| Third Team R2: | Lotus GP |
| Fast Driver Country R2: | Netherlands |
| Fast Driver R2: | Giedo van der Garde |
| Fast Team R2: | Caterham Racing |
| Fast Time R2: | 1:45.650 |
| Fast Lap R2: | 3 |
The 2012 Bahrain 1st GP2 Series round was the second round of the 2012 GP2 Series. It was held on 21 and 22 April 2012 at Bahrain International Circuit, Bahrain.[1] The race supported the 2012 Bahrain Grand Prix. The second round was held one week later as an independent round of the championship, the only one of its kind on the 2012 calendar.
The rounds were the first time the GP2 Series has visited the Bahrain International Circuit since 2007. The circuit was a regular fixture on the calendar of the now-defunct GP2 Asia Series from its inception in 2008 until 2011, when the race was cancelled due to anti-government protests.[2] With the GP2 Asia series being discontinued at the end of the 2011 season and merged into its parent series,[3] the Bahrain International Circuit returned to the larger GP2 Series as part of the series' expansion to include fly-away rounds.
In the week before the first race, Barwa Addax driver Josef Král was replaced by Dani Clos.[4] Brendon Hartley also replaced Ocean Racing Technology's Jon Lancaster.[5]
DAMS driver Davide Valsecchi qualified on pole for the first feature race, and won both the feature and sprint races.
The first race was also the first time that the series introduced the points system used by Formula One since 2010 for the feature race, with points awarded to the top ten drivers and twenty-five points awarded to the race winner. The points for the sprint race were changed too, with the winner receiving fifteen points and the top eight drivers scoring points. The points for pole and fastest lap were doubled as well.
| Pos | Driver | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Davide Valsecchi | 70 | |
| 1 | 2 |  Luiz Razia | 57 | |
| 1 | 3 |  Esteban Gutiérrez | 45 | |
| 1 | 4 |  James Calado | 35 | |
| 1 | 5 | Max Chilton | 22 |
| Pos | Team | Points | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  DAMS | 92 | ||
| 2 | Lotus GP | 84 | ||
| 3 | Arden International | 58 | ||
| 4 | Carlin | 39 | ||
| 5 |  Racing Engineering | 23 |
