Formula One 2012 - what you need to know

The 2012 Formula One World Championship is fast approaching, with the first pre-season testing week over and the beginning of the season set for March.

After two more testing sessions, the event will kick off on March 16th in Melbourne, Australia.

Here are some of the basics you need to know about Formula One this year.

The races
Here are the locations and months for this year's races:
March - Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur
April - Shanghai and Sakhir
May - Catalunya and Monte Carlo
June - Montreal and Valencia
July - Silverstone, Hockenheim and Budapest
August - Spa-Francorchamps
September - Monza and Singapore
October - Suzuka, Yeongam and New Delhi
November - Yas Marina, Austin and Sao Paulo

The drivers
The drivers for each team are as follows:
Red Bull - Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber
McLaren - Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton
Ferrari - Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa
Mercedes - Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg
Lotus - Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean
Force India - Paul di Resta and Nico Hulkenberg
Sauber - Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso - Daniel Ricciardo and Jean-Eric Verigne
Williams - Pastor Maldonado and Bruno Senna
Caterham - Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli
HRT - Pedro de la Rosa and Narain Karthikeyan
Marussia - Timo Globck and Charles Pic

The standings
Red Bull blitzed the Formula One World Championship last year, with Sebastian Vettel coming away with a whopping 392 points and Mark Webber managing 258.

McLaren may also be a good team to back, with Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton achieving impressive performances last year, ending the competition with 270 and 227 points respectively.

Ferrari was another high scorer, with Fernando Alonso clocking up 257 points and Felipe Massa managing 118.

Those were the best-performing teams in the 2011 championship, but there were plenty of famous names further down the list.

For instance, Michael Schumacher - one of the most well-known racing drivers - came eighth, while Vitaly Petrov was tenth, Rubens Barrichello was 17th and Bruno Senna came 18th.

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