[8] The car was driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Vitaly Petrov, who replaced Jarno Trulli after the first test at Jerez.

The car appeared to have made some gains on the midfield too, with Kovalainen only 0.02 seconds behind Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne in qualifying.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was an improvement for the team, with Kovalainen managing to qualify the car in 16th, making it into Q2 for the first time in 2012 ahead of Michael Schumacher, Pastor Maldonado, and Vergne.

Kovalainen was twelfth in the race, attempting to hold off Button and Pérez before he was involved in a collision with the Mexican which broke his front wing forcing him to pit.

However, the team faced two clashes with Toro Rosso's with Vergne on lap 27 attempting to pass around the outside of turn 12 using DRS, but he pulled ahead and his rear right wheel touched Kovalainen's front left, causing both to suffer immediate punctures.

Even with these clashes with other drivers, the evident pace was still there as Petrov managed to match the team's best finish in Monaco with 13th place and Kovalainen following him across the line in 14th.

The British Grand Prix held a lot of expectation for the team because they brought many updates for the car that would increase their chances of running as well as they did in Valencia with new rear bodywork and a new exhaust layout.

They team qualified in 19th and 20th much like the rest of the year, with the difference being that it was Petrov who out-qualified his teammate for the second time that season.

At the German Grand Prix round in Hockenheim, the team had again brought additional updates to the car after Britain, but the practice sessions were run in similar conditions.