Fernando Alonso wins 2012 German GP

Fernando Alonso won the 2012 German Grand Prix and in doing so has established clear air at the top of the championship table.

Starting from pole position the Ferrari driver made a clean get away off the line and in real terms led unhindered until the chequered flag. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) put a late move on an impressive Jenson Button (McLaren), using all the track and then some, to cross the line in second place.

Red Bull went into the race under a cloud when the stewards were asked to judge on the engine mapping of both Red Bull cars and they have ended the race the same way, with Vettel under scrutiny for his move on Button. We’ll update you if we hear of any post-race penalties; likely to be the equivalent of a drive through penalty, which could drop Vettel as low as seventh.

Aside from that the only real action in this race was Felipe Massa (Ferrari) making a nuisance of himself in the first hundred or so metres when he clipped the back wheel of Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) during the race start. Thankfully the only damage was to Massa’s front wing and no harm was done to the car of the young Australian.

Massa recovered to finish in P12, ahead of Ricciardo, himself narrowly in front of his teammate Jean-Eric Vergne. Alas, Massa’s stocks at Ferrari are surely continuing to plummet as he arses about down the field while his ever impressive teammate is finding his way to the top of the podium.

Mark Webber didn’t translate his pre-race confidence into race pace and finished eighth, the same position he started. The four points gained, though, are enough for him to hang on to his second place in the drivers’ championship.

In winning the race at Hockenheim Alonso collects his third winning trophy from the German track and his third win for 2012. After narrowly missing out on the win two weeks ago at Silverstone he’ll be hoping he can make the most of his good form when the teams head to Hungary next weekend.

UPDATE: The stewards have handed Sebastian Vettel a 20 second penalty for gaining an advantage off the track when passing Jenson Button.

2012 German Grand Prix final placings

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) 67 laps – 25
2. Jenson Button (McLaren) 67 +6.9 – 18
3. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) 67 +16.4 – 15
4. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) 67 +21.9 – 12
5. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) 67 +23.7 – 10*
6. Sergio Perez (Sauber) 67 +27.8 – 8
7. Michael Schumacher (Mercedes AMG) +28.9 – 6
8. Mark Webber (Red Bull) +46.9 – 4
9. Nico Hulkenberg (Force India) +48.1 – 2
10. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) +48.8 – 1
11. Paul di Resta (Force India) +59.2
12. Felipe Massa (Ferrari) +71.4
13. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) +76.8
14. Jean-Eric Vergne (Toro Rosso) +76.9
15. Pastor Maldonado (Williams) +1 Lap
16. Vitaly Petrov (Caterham) +1 Lap
17. Bruno Senna (Williams) +1 Lap
18. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) +1 Lap
19. Heikki Kovalainen (Caterham) +2 Laps
20. Charles Pic (Marussia) +2 Laps
21. Pedro de la Rosa (HRT) +3 Laps
22. Timo Glock (Marussia) +3 Laps
23. Narain Karthikeyan (HRT) +3 Laps

Not classified/retirements:

Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), lap 56

Fastest lap: Micahel Schumacher (Mercedes AMG), 1:18.275

*Sebastian Vettel crossed the finish line in P2, but was handed a 20 second penalty by stewards after the race.

2012 World Championship (Drivers’ top 10) – Round 10

1. Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) – 154
2. Mark Webber (Red Bull) – 120
3. Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull) – 110
4. Kimi Räikkönen (Lotus) – 98
5. Lewis Hamilton (McLaren) – 92
6. Nico Rosberg (Mercedes AMG) – 76
7. Jenson Button (McLaren) – 68
8. Romain Grosjean (Lotus) – 61
9. Sergio Perez (Sauber) – 47
10. Kamui Kobayashi (Sauber) – 33

2012 World Championship (Constructors’) – Round 10

1. Red Bull Racing-Renault – 230
2. Ferrari – 177
3. McLaren-Mercedes – 160
4. Lotus-Renault – 159
5. Mercedes AMG – 105
6. Sauber-Ferrari – 80
7. Williams-Renault – 47
8. Force India-Mercedes – 46
9. STR-Ferrari – 6