Fernando Alonso extended his championship lead over Red Bull rivals after clinching his third victory of the season in a thrilling 2012 German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. After starting from pole, Alonso’s lead was threatened by Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel and McLaren’s Jenson Button, but both of them couldn’t get close enough to overtake.
Vettel lost 2nd place to Jenson Button after the second round of pit stops but the German managed to take the place back at the end of the race when Button’s tyres had gone off.
Kimi Raikkonen drove a brilliant race from 10th place to finish 4th overall ahead of the very fast Saubers of Kamui Kobayashi and Sergio Perez who ended up in 5th and 6th respectively.
Michael Schumacher lost several positions after struggling for pace throughout the race; the seven time world champion had to settle for a 7th place finish ahead of Red Bull driver Mark Webber.
Nico Hulkenberg and Nico Rosberg finished their home Grand Prix in 9th and 10th, with Lewis Hamilton having to retire from the race after a poor start and an early puncture ruined his chances of a points finish.
Pos Driver Team Time 1. Alonso Ferrari 1h31:05.862 2. Vettel Red Bull-Renault + 3.732 3. Button McLaren-Mercedes + 6.949 4. Raikkonen Lotus-Renault + 16.409 5. Kobayashi Sauber-Ferrari + 21.925 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