2012 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Fernando Alonso won in Germany to become the first driver with three victories in 2012. Jenson Button finished second in the official result after Sebastian Vettel was penalised for an off-track pass near the finish.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Pole time	1:40.621
Fastest lap	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	1:18.725 on lap 57
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Jenson Button	McLaren
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
20 July 2012	Practice 1	10:00 – 11:30
20 July 2012	Practice 2	14:00 – 15:30
21 July 2012	Practice 3	11:00 – 12:00
21 July 2012	Qualifying	14:00
22 July 2012	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Fernando Alonso arrived at round 10 leading the 2012 F1 World Championship on 129 points, with Mark Webber on 116. Red Bull Racing headed the constructors’ standings with 216 points.

Race entries

The 12 teams kept the same race line-ups for the German Grand Prix. Dani Clos, Jules Bianchi, Valtteri Bottas also took part in practice.

Free Practice

Jenson Button led FP1 with an early lap on medium tyres before intermittent showers made the surface greasy. McLaren was evaluating substantial aerodynamic and mechanical upgrades, while Lotus used flow-visualisation paint to examine its own new parts. The changing conditions complicated comparisons and limited firm conclusions about the updates.

Pastor Maldonado topped a changeable FP2 that began wet, nearly dried out and then became wetter again. Timing a run to coincide with the best conditions mattered more than a straightforward comparison of pace. Teams consequently finished Friday with limited evidence about the effectiveness of their upgrades and their dry-weather race setups.

Fernando Alonso led a mostly dry FP3 before rain returned in the closing minutes. Lewis Hamilton’s nearby time on medium tyres, against Ferrari’s softs, offered encouragement for McLaren’s revised car. The approaching rain left teams preparing for another mixed-weather qualifying session, while Mark Webber already faced a grid penalty for a gearbox change.

Free Practice 1 Classification

2012 German Grand Prix FP1, 20 July 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:16.595	27
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.498s	22
3	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+0.775s	21
4	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+0.787s	20
5	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.818s	28
6	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.004s	17
7	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.320s	27
8	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+1.400s	22
9	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+1.425s	20
10	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+1.535s	21
11	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+1.631s	22
12	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+1.744s	21
13	19	Valtteri Bottas	Williams	+1.827s	28
14	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+2.114s	30
15	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+2.236s	14
16	11	Jules Bianchi	Force India	+2.377s	21
17	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+2.444s	34
18	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+3.079s	24
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+3.368s	24
20	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+3.527s	27
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+3.574s	20
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+3.944s	18
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+4.543s	24
24	23	Dani Clos	HRT	+5.145s	27

Free Practice 2 Classification

2012 German Grand Prix FP2, 20 July 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:27.476	14
2	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+0.088s	24
3	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.426s	24
4	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.926s	26
5	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.944s	20
6	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.019s	22
7	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.037s	23
8	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+1.040s	16
9	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+1.401s	21
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+1.851s	22
11	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.888s	26
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+2.243s	15
13	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+2.309s	24
14	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+2.614s	19
15	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+2.744s	16
16	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+2.815s	22
17	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.855s	27
18	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+2.961s	14
19	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+3.141s	16
20	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	+3.731s	20
21	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+4.765s	22
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.873s	17
23	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+5.301s	18
24	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+15.090s	8

Free Practice 3 Classification

2012 German Grand Prix FP3, 21 July 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:16.014	14
2	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	+0.077s	21
3	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	+0.188s	21
4	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	+0.224s	27
5	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	+0.433s	19
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	+0.461s	18
7	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	+0.650s	18
8	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	+0.757s	15
9	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	+0.793s	25
10	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	+0.916s	23
11	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	+0.948s	26
12	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	+1.019s	26
13	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	+1.134s	24
14	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	+1.224s	25
15	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	+1.252s	22
16	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	+1.405s	23
17	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	+1.477s	26
18	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	+2.352s	21
19	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	+2.804s	23
20	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	+3.764s	22
21	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	+4.221s	22
22	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	+4.304s	9
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	+4.727s	22
24	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	+4.900s	25

Qualifying

Fernando Alonso headed qualifying for Ferrari, with Sebastian Vettel second and Mark Webber third.

Fernando Alonso took pole in wet conditions ahead of Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber. Grid penalties affected several drivers, including Webber, while the race itself was held on a dry circuit.

Qualifying Classification

2012 German Grand Prix Qualifying, 21 July 2012

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Laps
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:16.073	1:38.521	1:40.621	23
2	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	1:16.393	1:38.309	1:41.026	23
3	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	1:16.500	1:39.382	1:41.496	24
4	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1:16.686	1:38.010	1:42.459	24
5	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	1:16.271	1:39.467	1:43.501	24
6	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1:16.181	1:38.731	1:43.950	27
7	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	1:16.507	1:38.659	1:44.113	20
8	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1:16.221	1:37.365	1:44.186	18
9	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	1:16.352	1:39.703	1:44.889	26
10	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	1:15.693	1:39.729	1:45.811	20
11	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1:16.516	1:39.789	—	15
12	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	1:15.726	1:39.933	—	17
13	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1:16.481	1:39.985	—	16
14	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:16.265	1:40.212	—	17
15	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	1:16.685	1:40.574	—	18
16	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	1:16.426	1:40.752	—	21
17	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:15.988	1:41.551	—	18
18	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1:16.741	—	—	9
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1:17.620	—	—	8
20	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1:18.531	—	—	9
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	1:19.220	—	—	12
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	1:19.291	—	—	11
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1:19.912	—	—	8
24	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1:20.230	—	—	10

What happened in the 2012 German Grand Prix?

Alonso held the lead from the start, while Hamilton suffered an early puncture and dropped out of contention. Vettel remained close to the Ferrari as Button progressed into the leading battle.

Button gained ground through the pit stops and challenged Alonso during the later stages. The Ferrari driver kept the McLaren behind, carefully managing the gap without surrendering track position.

Vettel passed Button late in the race with all four wheels beyond the track. A twenty-second post-race penalty dropped him from second on the road to fifth in the final classification.

Räikkönen inherited third, with Kobayashi fourth ahead of Vettel. Pérez completed a strong Sauber result in sixth, while Schumacher finished seventh and recorded the fastest lap. Alonso extended his championship advantage with another controlled win.

Further down the points places, Michael Schumacher, Mark Webber, Nico Hülkenberg and Nico Rosberg completed the scoring positions. Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap, but no bonus point was awarded under the 2012 rules.

After the race, Fernando Alonso headed the drivers’ standings with 154 points, followed by Mark Webber on 120. Red Bull Racing led the constructors’ table on 230, with Ferrari on 177.

2012 German Grand Prix race results

The 2012 German Grand Prix was held on 22 July 2012, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	67	1:31:05.862	25
2	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	67	+6.931	18
3	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	67	+16.409	15
4	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	67	+21.925	12
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	67	+23.732	10
6	15	Sergio Pérez	Sauber	67	+27.896	8
7	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	67	+28.970	6
8	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	67	+46.941	4
9	12	Nico Hülkenberg	Force India	67	+48.162	2
10	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	67	+48.889	1
11	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	67	+59.227	0
12	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	+1:11.428	0
13	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	67	+1:16.829	0
14	17	Jean-Éric Vergne	Toro Rosso	67	+1:16.965	0
15	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	66	+1 Lap	0
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	66	+1 Lap	0
17	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	66	+1 Lap	0
18	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	66	+1 Lap	0
19	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	65	+2 Laps	0
20	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	65	+2 Laps	0
21	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	64	+3 Laps	0
22	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	64	+3 Laps	0
23	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	64	+3 Laps	0
Ret	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	56	Puncture damage	0

2012 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	7	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	57	1:18.725	209.163
2	5	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	66	1:19.044	208.319
3	8	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	59	1:19.105	208.158
4	14	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	61	1:19.161	208.011
5	6	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	67	1:19.225	207.843
6	15	Sergio Perez	Sauber	62	1:19.270	207.725
7	12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	56	1:19.372	207.458
8	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing	67	1:19.469	207.205
9	9	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus F1	56	1:19.485	207.163
10	18	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	59	1:19.607	206.846
11	17	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	59	1:19.645	206.747
12	11	Paul di Resta	Force India	67	1:19.717	206.560
13	3	Jenson Button	McLaren	62	1:19.719	206.555
14	2	Mark Webber	Red Bull Racing	59	1:19.794	206.361
15	19	Bruno Senna	Williams	62	1:19.894	206.103
16	21	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	62	1:19.997	205.837
17	10	Romain Grosjean	Lotus F1	60	1:20.013	205.796
18	16	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	44	1:20.066	205.660
19	4	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	34	1:20.091	205.596
20	20	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	61	1:20.596	204.307
21	25	Charles Pic	Marussia	45	1:21.753	201.416
22	23	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	55	1:21.788	201.330
23	22	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	51	1:22.407	199.817
24	24	Timo Glock	Marussia	54	1:22.778	198.922

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2012 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2012 German Grand Prix.

2012 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Ferrari	154
2	Mark Webber	Australian	Red Bull Racing	120
3	Sebastian Vettel	German	Red Bull Racing	110
4	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Lotus F1	98
5	Lewis Hamilton	British	McLaren	92
6	Nico Rosberg	German	Mercedes	76
7	Jenson Button	British	McLaren	68
8	Romain Grosjean	French	Lotus F1	61
9	Sergio Pérez	Mexican	Sauber	47
10	Kamui Kobayashi	Japanese	Sauber	33
11	Pastor Maldonado	Venezuelan	Williams	29
12	Michael Schumacher	German	Mercedes	29
13	Paul di Resta	British	Force India	27
14	Felipe Massa	Brazilian	Ferrari	23
15	Nico Hülkenberg	German	Force India	19
16	Bruno Senna	Brazilian	Williams	18
17	Jean-Éric Vergne	French	Toro Rosso	4
18	Daniel Ricciardo	Australian	Toro Rosso	2
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Finnish	Caterham	0
20	Vitaly Petrov	Russian	Caterham	0
21	Timo Glock	German	Marussia	0
22	Charles Pic	French	Marussia	0
23	Narain Karthikeyan	Indian	HRT	0
24	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	HRT	0

2012 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Red Bull Racing	230
2	Ferrari	177
3	McLaren	160
4	Lotus F1	159
5	Mercedes	105
6	Sauber	80
7	Williams	47
8	Force India	46
9	Toro Rosso	6
10	Caterham	0
11	Marussia	0
12	HRT	0

2012 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2012 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	18 March
2	2012 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	25 March
3	2012 Chinese Grand Prix	Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai	15 April
4	2012 Bahrain Grand Prix	Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir	22 April
5	2012 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	13 May
6	2012 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
7	2012 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
8	2012 European Grand Prix	Valencia Street Circuit, Valencia	24 June
9	2012 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	8 July
10	2012 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	22 July
11	2012 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	29 July
12	2012 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	2 September
13	2012 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	9 September
14	2012 Singapore Grand Prix	Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore	23 September
15	2012 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	7 October
16	2012 Korean Grand Prix	Korea International Circuit, Yeongam	14 October
17	2012 Indian Grand Prix	Buddh International Circuit, Greater Noida	28 October
18	2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi	4 November
19	2012 United States Grand Prix	Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas	18 November
20	2012 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	25 November