[4] The car was launched with a partial Coandă effect exhaust system,[1] the concept of which had been developed by other teams throughout the 2012 season.

[13][14][15] The Coandă system uses the curved bodywork of the car to direct the flow of exhaust gases over the rear diffuser, generating increased downforce.

In difficult conditions, Jules Bianchi and Max Chilton qualified in nineteenth and twentieth place, ahead of their closest rivals, the Caterhams drivers Charles Pic and Giedo van der Garde.

[18] At the next race in Malaysia, Bianchi took advantage of a string of retirements to finish thirteenth overall, once again ahead of the Caterham drivers.

[19] The car received its first technical updates at the Chinese Grand Prix,[20] where Bianchi and Chilton finished in fifteenth and seventeenth place respectively, once again ahead of the Caterhams.