Team changes

The following twelve teams and twenty-four drivers are competing in the 2012 Formula One World ChampioAt the November 2011 meeting of the Formula One Commission in Geneva, several teams were given permission to change their constructor names – the name recognised by the FIA as the entity that effectively owns the team, and to which all results for that team are credited with final approval from the World Motorsports Council granted in December of that year:

    Lotus became known as Caterham, reflecting team principal Tony Fernandes' purchase of Caterham Cars.
    Renault changed its constructor name to Lotus after Lotus Cars expanded its title sponsorship program to include teams in Formula One, GP2 and GP3.In April 2012, the team announced that they had terminated their title sponsorship deal with Lotus Cars, but intended to keep the Lotus name. Lotus Cars later issued a statement to clarify the split, maintaining that they were still working closely with the team, and that the schism was a deliberate act, intended to free up the team's ability to find a title sponsor whilst still retaining the Lotus name, which it would be free to use until 2017.
    Virgin became Marussia, following increased ownership of the team by Russian sports car manufacturer Marussia Motors.

As a result of the name changes, Team Lotus and Lotus Renault GP declared that their ongoing dispute over the use of the Lotus name was over after they had reached an "amicable conclusion" Although the exact terms of the settlement were kept confidential, the joint statement detailed the transfer of the rights to the Lotus and Team Lotus names to Group Lotus' ownership.

Williams announced that they would be using Renault engines for the 2012 and 2013 seasons, with an option to use Renault engines again in 2014 under the next generation of engine regulations.Renault had previously supplied engines to Williams from 1989 to , when the team won four World Drivers' Championships and five World Constructors' Championships. Following their worst season in their thirty-year history in which they finished ninth in the World Constructors' Championship with just five points – the team underwent a technical review, employing former McLaren designer Mike Coughlan (having served his suspension for his role in the 2007 Formula One espionage controversy) as Chief Designer, and promoting Jason Somerville to Head of Aerodyamics. Likewise, Marussia (then known as Virgin Racing) underwent a restructuring, splitting with Wirth Research mid-season after a technical review by Marussia Motors and the board of directors.The team also announced a technical partnership with McLaren that granted them access to McLaren's testing facilities as well as the purchase of Wirth Research facilities.

In the week before the 2011 Indian Grand Prix, Force India announced that the Sahara Group had purchased a 42.5% stake in the team, valued at US$100 million. The investment gives the Sahara Group and team principal Vijay Mallya an equal stake in the team, with team director Michiel Mol controlling the remaining 15% of the team. Under the terms of the sale, the Sahara Group has become Force India's naming-rights sponsor. Mercedes GP also changed the name of their team announcing that they were to become known as Mercedes AMG The new name originates from AMG, Mercedes-Benz's performance and luxury road car brand.

Driver changes..

The 2012 season saw several driver changes. Lotus terminated Vitaly Petrov's contract one year before it expired and did not offer Bruno Senna a new contract. Petrov and Senna were replaced by 2007 World Drivers' Champion Kimi Räikkönen — returning to the sport after two seasons competing in the World Rally Championship — and reigning GP2 Series champion Romain Grosjean, who also returned to the sport after a two-year absence. Petrov later replaced Jarno Trulli at Caterham. Senna joined Williams,the team having previously attempted to secure Räikkönen for the season. Senna replaced Rubens Barrichello, who left Formula One after a record-breaking nineteen seasons. He later moved to IndyCar for the 2012 season, joining KV Racing Technology.

Like Räikkönen and Grosjean, Nico Hülkenberg also returned to Formula One, joining Force India alongside Paul di Resta. Adrian Sutil left the team, having spent six years with both Force India and its previous incarnations, Spyker and Midland.He initially sought a drive with Williams, before negotiations collapsed in December 2011. Sutil was later the subject of criminal action, charged with grievous bodily harm after allegedly assaulting a senior Renault team member with a glass in a Shanghai nightclub following the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix. Sutil was found guilty, and was sentenced to an eighteen-month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay a €200,000 fine.

Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan returned to Formula One with HRT.De la Rosa had been without a full-time drive since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix, having spent the majority of the 2011 season as a test driver for McLaren and making one appearance racing for Sauber; Karthikeyan was dropped by the team before the 2011 British Grand Prix in favour of Ricciardo. He later returned to make a one-race appearance at the Indian Grand Prix, before leaving the team until the 2012 season began. Vitantonio Liuzzi, who drove for HRT in 2011, joined the Indian i1 Super Series.. The series was later postponed until 2013, but Liuzzi was unable to retain his seat with the team. At the launch of the HRT F112 in March, Liuzzi was confirmed as one of the team's testing and reserve drivers alongside former GP2 Series driver Dani Clos.