Germany hosted round 10 of the F1 2012 season, just reaching the half way mark.
Despite the German GP's future being in doubt, Formula 1 returned to Hockenheim after last visiting the circuit in 2010. That race saw Felipe Massa hand over the lead to team mate Fernando Alonso, after that famous radio message.
Despite lacking the charm and speed of its predecessor, the new Hockenheim presents an equally tough challenge. The track has a mix of medium, low and high speed sections which makes set up extremely important.
After a rain filled British GP weekend, Formula 1 hopped over the channel to Germany for the 10th round of the season.
FP1
The first Formula 1 Practice session held at the Hockenheim ring in 2 years begun in dry, but cloudy conditions. Due to the wet running at the British GP, Pirelli brought a new experimental hard tyre which was used heavily.
There were a number of major upgrades spicing up the gossip, as camera's focused mainly on the revised Mclaren MP4-27 and Lotus E20. The updates bolted on to the Mclaren seemed to work, with Jenson Button ending the session in a Mclaren 1-2. Button set his fastest time of 1m16.595 early on, after a flurry of rain showers dampened the circuit. He lapped the circuit 27 times, getting used to the layout and testing the new parts. Hamilton finished the session 5 tenths off in 2nd, with Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher 8 tenths off the fastest time.
Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team mate Mark Webber finished the session 12th and 20th, 1.7 and 3.5 seconds off the front running pace. The heavily revised Lotus took drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen to 10th and 15th places respectively.
A number of drivers ran off track in the opening 1 hour 30 minutes of practice for the German GP, with the likes of Hamilton and Kobayashi taking to the AstroTurf or gravel. Valterri Bottas, on an attempt to impress, locked his tyres going into turn 13 as the chequered flag was being prepared to wave. The Williams FW34 hit the tyre wall, leaving the Williams crew with some work to do on Bruno Senna's car. However Bottas did finish the session in 13th, with fellow FP1 only runners Jules Bianchi and Dani Clos ending the session 16th and 24th.
FP2
The rain briefly seen in FP1 arrived for the second 1 hour 30 minute practice session of the German GP weekend, limiting running which was already thin on the ground from the British GP.
Pastor Maldonado ended the session on top, showing the Williams FW34 has the pace. However, it was not a true representation as the order mainly fell to who was out on track at the right time. His best time of 1m27.476 was just 0.08 seconds ahead of German Nico Rosberg. The top 3 contained 2 Germans, with Sebastian Vettel finishing the session 3 tenths further back.
The teams were frustrated with the limited running, many brought significant upgrades. Cars did manage some reasonable lap counts, bar Pedro De La Rosa who was sidelined for a while as the HRT team fixed his brakes. FP1 topping driver Jenson Button ended the session 8th, 1 second off the pace. His team mate Hamilton could only manage a 1m30.617 to put him 19th, missing the best of the weather. The Lotus drivers finished the session in 5th and 10th place respectively, getting some wet weather running in on their upgrades.
Michael Schumacher finished the session in 23rd after crashing with 4 minutes left remaining. He ended the day 5 seconds off the front running pace after hitting the barrier on the stadium section entry. There were other incidents, with many drivers struggling for grip and running off track. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo even slithered off track and into the gravel, managing to get beached.
FP3
The German weather provided F1 with a dry track for FP3, with 60 minutes of frantic running.
Due to the wet weather in FP2, many teams still had running to do. With the race looking dry, cars flooded out on track for a mix of long and short runs. It was also the first time teams ran the soft yellow Pirelli tyres after many experimented with the special Hard compound brought for testing.
The rain came in the end, it had looked menacing for a while. With 5 minutes left, the circuit began to get greasy. However Alonso set his fastest time of 1m16.014 before the rain arrived, to top the last practice session of the weekend. He finished just ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the Mclaren, with his team mate Button down in 24th and last. This was due to Mclaren's packed session, meaning Buttons low fuel run was left too late. He did get plenty of running in, so that was a positive.
Lotus left their upgrades testing in FP1 behind, with Raikkonen moving up to 4th and 2 tenths off the pace. Grosjean ended the session in 11th, ahead of the two Force India's. Ferrari showed the pace, with Alonso at the top and Massa in 8th. Vettel managed to finish 6th, 1 spot behind his team mate, on home turf.
The track was green after the FP2 wash out, meaning a number of drivers locked up or went onto the run off. With 30 seconds left to go, the heavens opened. Rain began to fall and drenched the circuit, the drivers staying inside.
Qualifying
Q1
It was a dry beginning to the 20 minute session, where 7 cars are eliminated. Rain clouds loomed overhead but cars emerged on the dry tyres, eager to get a banker lap time in.
2 weeks earlier at the British GP, Jenson Button surprised all by exiting in Q1. The cars were mixing it up on tyres, with the lower teams emerging on the soft and the front runners sticking with the medium compound Pirelli's. With 10 minutes of the session gone, Hamilton topped the session ahead of Kobayashi and Button. Hulkenberg, on home turf, was sitting in the drop zone, but it was all set to change.
The skies started to darken as the 8 minute mark passed, with the majority of the cars sitting in the pits. Some of the top drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, decided to switch focus to Q2. Raikkonen had switched to the soft tyres and, with 6 minutes left, went top.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Jean-Eric Vergne who missed out on Q2. The French driver was knocked out by Michael Schumacher, who managed to squeeze in to the 2nd part of Qualifying. Jenson Button made it in by 1 tenth of a second, Grosjean also just managing to progress. Vergne qualified ahead of Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic and Glock. De La Rosa and Karthikeyan finished the session as the slowest runners.
Q2
Thunder and Lightning rolled over the Hockenheim track as Q2 approached, the weather being a key factor for the last 2 sessions. A few drivers emerged as the green light was switched on, including Jenson Button, on the Intermediate tyres. This strategy was so the drivers could get a few laps in with no standing water.
Conditions were slippery, with the early laps being the ones that count. The rain fell heavier than before as the 12 minute mark passed. Button was the first person to set a timed lap, but it was a slippery one. Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso managed to break the 1m40 barrier, with the rain staying steady.
With the half way mark passing, Schumacher took the lead. It was short lived however, with Hamilton breaking the 1m.37 mark. The conditions were stabilising, but positions were continuously changing due to the increased confidence.
Some drivers attempted to improve on the full wet tyre, but there was little improvement. The session finished with Hamilton setting the pace, 7 tenths faster than 2nd place man Michael Schumacher. Vettel, Alonso and Jenson Button rounded out the top 5. Out in Q2 were Ricciardo, Perez, Kobayashi, Massa, Grosjean, Senna and Rosberg. Romain and Nico both have 5 place grid penalties for gearbox changes.
Q3
The rain intensity died down, but it was still a no brainer that the wet tyre compound was the one to be on. The last 10 minutes of qualifying were wet, slippery and dramatic.
The drivers were complaining, the spray was being lifted high into the air but it was all to play for. Both Mclaren drivers lapped in the 1m46's, with Alonso and then Vettel moving into the 1m44's. The times were changing all the time, as drivers experimented and looked for the grip.
Schumacher, and soon after Vettel, went into the 1m42's, with Vettel snatching provisional pole from Lewis Hamilton. Force India looked strong, with Button and Raikkonen pitting for new tyres. Webber then peaked into the 1m.41's to take the lead, but it was soon toppled by Alonso to move into the 1m.40's.
The Chequered flag waved, with drivers still on laps. Alonso was the last person across the line, beating his previous effort by 3 tenths. Ferrari showed their speed by taking pole, from Vettel, Webber, Schumacher and Hulkenberg.
Maldonado clinched 6th in the dieing seconds, with Button and Hamilton dropping down the order to 7th and 8th. Di Resta and Raikkonen rounded out the top 10. Webber will drop 5 places due to a gearbox penalty.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.621s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m41.026s
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m41.496s
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.459s
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.501s
6. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m43.950s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.113s
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.186s
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.889s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.811s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m39.729s Gap **
11. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.789s + 2.424
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.933s + 2.568
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.985s + 2.620
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.212s + 2.847
15. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.574s + 3.209
16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.752s + 3.387
17. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.551s + 4.186
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.686s Gap *
18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.741s + 1.048
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.620s + 1.927
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m18.531s + 2.838
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.220s + 3.527
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.291s + 3.598
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.912s + 4.219
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.230s + 4.537
The Race
The track had not seen F1 cars since 2010, but it was all set for a good race. Conditions were dry and the DRS zone looked to spice up the racing.
Both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were celebrating their 100th GP, hoping for a good race. Controversy rained before the start as Red Bull were found to have a different engine map which could of been illegal, but the stewards cleared it and took no further action.
The revs were rising for the start, 5 lights and it was go at Hockenheim. Off the grid it was Alonso who got a clear start, while Cars scattered off onto the run off. Button went around the outside of Maldonado at turn 2, as Webber took Hamilton. Grosjean ran straight on at turn 6, as Schumacher also attacked Vettel. The midfield battle was close as the mixed up grid created action throughout the pack.
Hamilton ran wide at turn 1 on lap 3, losing a number of places and falling to 10th position as DRS was enabled. He radioed to say he had a flat tye, dropping back. Crucially, Vettel closed Alonso down and the crowd roared. Going into the DRS for the first time, Kimi Raikkonen was pressuring Di Resta.
It was lap 5 when Perez made a move on Vergne into turn 6, but Kobayashi cheekily managed to get the undercut and drive past both of them. Raikkonen also passed Di Resta on that lap, after a brave move running side by side at turns 7 and 8.
Button used the DRS at turn 6 to dispose of Hulkenberg on lap 8, the team radioed him to say he could clinch a podium if he managed to pass Nico. The pit window opened on lap 11 with Di Resta switching tyres. Meanwhile Button flew past Schumacher to take 3rd and maximise his strategy. Raikkonen reacted to Di Resta's first stop and pitted on lap 12.
The 1st stops continued with Webber, Hulkenberg and Rosberg on lap 13. Raikkonen managed to jump Webber in the first pit stops. Schumacher lost out to Hulkenberg as he emerged from his stop, but got him back going into turn 8. Hulkenberg was thrown off wide and Raikkonen managed to skip past the German.
The leaders pitted on lap 19, 20 and 21 respectively for Alonso, Button and Vettel. The latter emerged slightly further back than before and fell behind Kobayashi, but he soon disposed of him. Raikkonen progressed further and took Schumacher for a net 4th position. Someone else who looked racy was Perez, who battled with Nico Hulkenberg.
Hamilton had been quietly progressing through the newer teams, and by lap 26 he had moved up to 18th. By lap 29 Vettel had closed in on Alonso, and Button was closing in on them both. Fernando seemed to be struggling on the hard tyres at the time. Hulkenberg started to slip back by lap 32, falling behind both Perez and Webber.
An unusual incident occurred as Hamilton had emerged from his stop behind Alonso and Vettel. Lewis went to overtake Vettel, with the German gesturing in his car. However Hamilton had the better pace and pulled away, an unusual predicament.
The 2nd stops had already begun, with much of the midfield taking their stops. Raikkonen pitted on lap 39 and emerged ahead of Webber. Button moved into the pits on lap 41 to take his final stop. Alonso and Vettel reacted to Button's stop on lap 42 and both emerged on the hard tyres. Vettel came out of the pits side by side with Button and the Mclaren driver moved into 2nd place.
The top 3 were separated by just 3 seconds on lap 49, but Button and Vettel were not able to move any further forward. Hamilton pitted for the 3rd time just before the 3/4 race mark and put on the soft tyres. With 10 laps remaining, could Button take Alonso? Further back, 1 lap down, Lewis Hamilton retired on his 100th Grand Prix.
Vettel had closed in on Button and with 5 laps remaining, the top 3 were separated by 2.5 seconds. Button just could not respond to Alonso's control, and Vettel was always in his mirrors. With 1 lap remaining Jenson Button was demoted to 3rd as Vettel swooped past.
Raikkonen carved his way through the field in his usual, aggressive but cool style. He managed to make his 2 stop strategy work better than his rivals and scored a good haul of points. Kobayashi and Perez both had strong races to finish 5th and 6th, giving them more points for their 6th place championship aim. Schumacher dropped back towards the end of the race and could not reap the benefits from his strong grid position.
Rounding out the top 10 were Webber, Hulkenberg and Rosberg. The former could not use the pace his team mate had, and never looked comfortable in the RB8. Hulkenberg dropped back, as many predicted, and stopped 3 times. Rosberg progressed from 21st and moved up with ease, extracting the maximum from the car.
Di Resta just missed out on points, while Massa had an inspired race to 12th after pitting on lap 1 for a new front wing. Ricciardo and Vergne did not score yet again in 13th and 14th, while Maldonado lost out majorly in 15th. Petrov and Senna followed, with the later pitting on lap 1. Grosjean also had a poor race to take 18th, with 100 race celebrator Kovalainen in 19th. Pic, De La Rosa and Glock had quiet races, while Karthikeyan yet again finished last.
However controversially after the race, the stewards deemed Vettel's overtake on Button to be illegal. It had been given to the stewards for reviewing straight after it took place, and after 2 hours the eventual conclusion was to give Vettel an equivilant Drive Through, 20 second penalty. This dropped him behind Kobayashi, to 5th. It promoted Button to 2nd, Raikkonen to 3rd and Kobayashi to 4th. Button had complained on the radio about the move, and got the eventual conclusion.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Alonso Ferrari 1h31:05.862
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 6.949
3. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 16.409
4. Kobayashi Sauber- Ferrari + 21.925
5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.732 * 20 second PEN
6. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 27.896
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 28.960
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 46.900
9. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 48.100
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.800
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 59.200
12. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.400
13. Massa Ferrari + 1:16.800
14. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:16.900
15. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. Senna Williams-Renault + 1 lap
18. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 2 laps
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
22. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 3 laps
23. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Schumacher, 1:18.275
 |
| (c) Octane Photographic |
Despite lacking the charm and speed of its predecessor, the new Hockenheim presents an equally tough challenge. The track has a mix of medium, low and high speed sections which makes set up extremely important.
After a rain filled British GP weekend, Formula 1 hopped over the channel to Germany for the 10th round of the season.
FP1
The first Formula 1 Practice session held at the Hockenheim ring in 2 years begun in dry, but cloudy conditions. Due to the wet running at the British GP, Pirelli brought a new experimental hard tyre which was used heavily.
Sebastian Vettel and his Red Bull team mate Mark Webber finished the session 12th and 20th, 1.7 and 3.5 seconds off the front running pace. The heavily revised Lotus took drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen to 10th and 15th places respectively.
A number of drivers ran off track in the opening 1 hour 30 minutes of practice for the German GP, with the likes of Hamilton and Kobayashi taking to the AstroTurf or gravel. Valterri Bottas, on an attempt to impress, locked his tyres going into turn 13 as the chequered flag was being prepared to wave. The Williams FW34 hit the tyre wall, leaving the Williams crew with some work to do on Bruno Senna's car. However Bottas did finish the session in 13th, with fellow FP1 only runners Jules Bianchi and Dani Clos ending the session 16th and 24th.
FP2
The rain briefly seen in FP1 arrived for the second 1 hour 30 minute practice session of the German GP weekend, limiting running which was already thin on the ground from the British GP.
Pastor Maldonado ended the session on top, showing the Williams FW34 has the pace. However, it was not a true representation as the order mainly fell to who was out on track at the right time. His best time of 1m27.476 was just 0.08 seconds ahead of German Nico Rosberg. The top 3 contained 2 Germans, with Sebastian Vettel finishing the session 3 tenths further back.
The teams were frustrated with the limited running, many brought significant upgrades. Cars did manage some reasonable lap counts, bar Pedro De La Rosa who was sidelined for a while as the HRT team fixed his brakes. FP1 topping driver Jenson Button ended the session 8th, 1 second off the pace. His team mate Hamilton could only manage a 1m30.617 to put him 19th, missing the best of the weather. The Lotus drivers finished the session in 5th and 10th place respectively, getting some wet weather running in on their upgrades.
Michael Schumacher finished the session in 23rd after crashing with 4 minutes left remaining. He ended the day 5 seconds off the front running pace after hitting the barrier on the stadium section entry. There were other incidents, with many drivers struggling for grip and running off track. Toro Rosso's Daniel Ricciardo even slithered off track and into the gravel, managing to get beached.
FP3
The German weather provided F1 with a dry track for FP3, with 60 minutes of frantic running.
Due to the wet weather in FP2, many teams still had running to do. With the race looking dry, cars flooded out on track for a mix of long and short runs. It was also the first time teams ran the soft yellow Pirelli tyres after many experimented with the special Hard compound brought for testing.
Lotus left their upgrades testing in FP1 behind, with Raikkonen moving up to 4th and 2 tenths off the pace. Grosjean ended the session in 11th, ahead of the two Force India's. Ferrari showed the pace, with Alonso at the top and Massa in 8th. Vettel managed to finish 6th, 1 spot behind his team mate, on home turf.
The track was green after the FP2 wash out, meaning a number of drivers locked up or went onto the run off. With 30 seconds left to go, the heavens opened. Rain began to fall and drenched the circuit, the drivers staying inside.
Qualifying
Q1
It was a dry beginning to the 20 minute session, where 7 cars are eliminated. Rain clouds loomed overhead but cars emerged on the dry tyres, eager to get a banker lap time in.
The skies started to darken as the 8 minute mark passed, with the majority of the cars sitting in the pits. Some of the top drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, decided to switch focus to Q2. Raikkonen had switched to the soft tyres and, with 6 minutes left, went top.
As the chequered flag fell, it was Jean-Eric Vergne who missed out on Q2. The French driver was knocked out by Michael Schumacher, who managed to squeeze in to the 2nd part of Qualifying. Jenson Button made it in by 1 tenth of a second, Grosjean also just managing to progress. Vergne qualified ahead of Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic and Glock. De La Rosa and Karthikeyan finished the session as the slowest runners.
Q2
Thunder and Lightning rolled over the Hockenheim track as Q2 approached, the weather being a key factor for the last 2 sessions. A few drivers emerged as the green light was switched on, including Jenson Button, on the Intermediate tyres. This strategy was so the drivers could get a few laps in with no standing water.
Conditions were slippery, with the early laps being the ones that count. The rain fell heavier than before as the 12 minute mark passed. Button was the first person to set a timed lap, but it was a slippery one. Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso managed to break the 1m40 barrier, with the rain staying steady.
With the half way mark passing, Schumacher took the lead. It was short lived however, with Hamilton breaking the 1m.37 mark. The conditions were stabilising, but positions were continuously changing due to the increased confidence.
Some drivers attempted to improve on the full wet tyre, but there was little improvement. The session finished with Hamilton setting the pace, 7 tenths faster than 2nd place man Michael Schumacher. Vettel, Alonso and Jenson Button rounded out the top 5. Out in Q2 were Ricciardo, Perez, Kobayashi, Massa, Grosjean, Senna and Rosberg. Romain and Nico both have 5 place grid penalties for gearbox changes.
Q3
The rain intensity died down, but it was still a no brainer that the wet tyre compound was the one to be on. The last 10 minutes of qualifying were wet, slippery and dramatic.
Schumacher, and soon after Vettel, went into the 1m42's, with Vettel snatching provisional pole from Lewis Hamilton. Force India looked strong, with Button and Raikkonen pitting for new tyres. Webber then peaked into the 1m.41's to take the lead, but it was soon toppled by Alonso to move into the 1m.40's.
Maldonado clinched 6th in the dieing seconds, with Button and Hamilton dropping down the order to 7th and 8th. Di Resta and Raikkonen rounded out the top 10. Webber will drop 5 places due to a gearbox penalty.
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
1. Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1m40.621s
2. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1m41.026s
3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault 1m41.496s
4. Michael Schumacher Mercedes 1m42.459s
5. Nico Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes 1m43.501s
6. Pastor Maldonado Williams-Renault 1m43.950s
7. Jenson Button McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.113s
8. Lewis Hamilton McLaren-Mercedes 1m44.186s
9. Paul di Resta Force India-Mercedes 1m44.889s
10. Kimi Raikkonen Lotus-Renault 1m45.811s
Q2 cut-off time: 1m39.729s Gap **
11. Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m39.789s + 2.424
12. Sergio Perez Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.933s + 2.568
13. Kamui Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari 1m39.985s + 2.620
14. Felipe Massa Ferrari 1m40.212s + 2.847
15. Romain Grosjean Lotus-Renault 1m40.574s + 3.209
16. Bruno Senna Williams-Renault 1m40.752s + 3.387
17. Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1m41.551s + 4.186
Q1 cut-off time: 1m16.686s Gap *
18. Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari 1m16.741s + 1.048
19. Heikki Kovalainen Caterham-Renault 1m17.620s + 1.927
20. Vitaly Petrov Caterham-Renault 1m18.531s + 2.838
21. Charles Pic Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.220s + 3.527
22. Timo Glock Marussia-Cosworth 1m19.291s + 3.598
23. Pedro de la Rosa HRT-Cosworth 1m19.912s + 4.219
24. Narain Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth 1m20.230s + 4.537
The Race
The track had not seen F1 cars since 2010, but it was all set for a good race. Conditions were dry and the DRS zone looked to spice up the racing.
The revs were rising for the start, 5 lights and it was go at Hockenheim. Off the grid it was Alonso who got a clear start, while Cars scattered off onto the run off. Button went around the outside of Maldonado at turn 2, as Webber took Hamilton. Grosjean ran straight on at turn 6, as Schumacher also attacked Vettel. The midfield battle was close as the mixed up grid created action throughout the pack.
As the first lap ended Alonso has a large lead, but there was debris at turn 1. Massa pitted with no front wing, showing who created the carbon fibre debris. Grosjean and Senna also pitted. Button started pressurising Hulkenberg on lap 2, with the Force India holding station.
It was lap 5 when Perez made a move on Vergne into turn 6, but Kobayashi cheekily managed to get the undercut and drive past both of them. Raikkonen also passed Di Resta on that lap, after a brave move running side by side at turns 7 and 8.
Button used the DRS at turn 6 to dispose of Hulkenberg on lap 8, the team radioed him to say he could clinch a podium if he managed to pass Nico. The pit window opened on lap 11 with Di Resta switching tyres. Meanwhile Button flew past Schumacher to take 3rd and maximise his strategy. Raikkonen reacted to Di Resta's first stop and pitted on lap 12.
The 1st stops continued with Webber, Hulkenberg and Rosberg on lap 13. Raikkonen managed to jump Webber in the first pit stops. Schumacher lost out to Hulkenberg as he emerged from his stop, but got him back going into turn 8. Hulkenberg was thrown off wide and Raikkonen managed to skip past the German.
The leaders pitted on lap 19, 20 and 21 respectively for Alonso, Button and Vettel. The latter emerged slightly further back than before and fell behind Kobayashi, but he soon disposed of him. Raikkonen progressed further and took Schumacher for a net 4th position. Someone else who looked racy was Perez, who battled with Nico Hulkenberg.
Hamilton had been quietly progressing through the newer teams, and by lap 26 he had moved up to 18th. By lap 29 Vettel had closed in on Alonso, and Button was closing in on them both. Fernando seemed to be struggling on the hard tyres at the time. Hulkenberg started to slip back by lap 32, falling behind both Perez and Webber.
The 2nd stops had already begun, with much of the midfield taking their stops. Raikkonen pitted on lap 39 and emerged ahead of Webber. Button moved into the pits on lap 41 to take his final stop. Alonso and Vettel reacted to Button's stop on lap 42 and both emerged on the hard tyres. Vettel came out of the pits side by side with Button and the Mclaren driver moved into 2nd place.
The top 3 were separated by just 3 seconds on lap 49, but Button and Vettel were not able to move any further forward. Hamilton pitted for the 3rd time just before the 3/4 race mark and put on the soft tyres. With 10 laps remaining, could Button take Alonso? Further back, 1 lap down, Lewis Hamilton retired on his 100th Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso wins the German Grand Prix
Alonso took a companding win in Germany, stretching his lead in the championship even further. He also became the first driver in 2012 to win 3 times. Fernando looked controlled as ever, despite some scares. Sebastian Vettel took 2nd with just a few laps to go. He had dropped back after the 2nd stops but made a strong come back. Jenson Button scored the more points than he had done over the last few races. He needed a strong driver to regain his confidence with the MP4-27. It was not to be for team mate Hamilton. After getting a puncture in the early laps, he dropped 1 lap down and retired.Raikkonen carved his way through the field in his usual, aggressive but cool style. He managed to make his 2 stop strategy work better than his rivals and scored a good haul of points. Kobayashi and Perez both had strong races to finish 5th and 6th, giving them more points for their 6th place championship aim. Schumacher dropped back towards the end of the race and could not reap the benefits from his strong grid position.
Di Resta just missed out on points, while Massa had an inspired race to 12th after pitting on lap 1 for a new front wing. Ricciardo and Vergne did not score yet again in 13th and 14th, while Maldonado lost out majorly in 15th. Petrov and Senna followed, with the later pitting on lap 1. Grosjean also had a poor race to take 18th, with 100 race celebrator Kovalainen in 19th. Pic, De La Rosa and Glock had quiet races, while Karthikeyan yet again finished last.
However controversially after the race, the stewards deemed Vettel's overtake on Button to be illegal. It had been given to the stewards for reviewing straight after it took place, and after 2 hours the eventual conclusion was to give Vettel an equivilant Drive Through, 20 second penalty. This dropped him behind Kobayashi, to 5th. It promoted Button to 2nd, Raikkonen to 3rd and Kobayashi to 4th. Button had complained on the radio about the move, and got the eventual conclusion.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Alonso Ferrari 1h31:05.862
2. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 6.949
3. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 16.409
4. Kobayashi Sauber- Ferrari + 21.925
5. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.732 * 20 second PEN
6. Perez Sauber-Ferrari + 27.896
7. Schumacher Mercedes + 28.960
8. Webber Red Bull-Renault + 46.900
9. Hulkenberg Force India-Mercedes + 48.100
10. Rosberg Mercedes + 48.800
11. Di Resta Force India-Mercedes + 59.200
12. Ricciardo Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:11.400
13. Massa Ferrari + 1:16.800
14. Vergne Toro Rosso-Ferrari + 1:16.900
15. Maldonado Williams-Renault + 1 lap
16. Petrov Caterham-Renault + 1 lap
17. Senna Williams-Renault + 1 lap
18. Grosjean Lotus-Renault + 1 lap
19. Kovalainen Caterham-Renault + 2 laps
20. Pic Marussia-Cosworth + 2 laps
21. De la Rosa HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
22. Glock Marussia-Cosworth + 3 laps
23. Karthikeyan HRT-Cosworth + 3 laps
Fastest lap: Schumacher, 1:18.275
1 comment:
Nice post. Where do you get your images from?
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