Germany – Qualifying: Alonso on pole again

Q1: As a reminder, Mark Webber, Romain Grosjean, and Nico Rosberg will receive a 5-place penalty following a gearbox change.

Nico Hülkenberg is the first to launch ahead of his teammate at Force India, Paul di Resta. Following are the two Marussia drivers, the two HRT drivers, and all the other drivers on the grid who all want to set a lap in dry conditions in case the rain makes an appearance.

After the first round of laps, it was Fernando Alonso who proved to be the fastest just ahead of Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Michael Schumacher, and Lewis Hamilton. With all the drivers on the track, some were hindered and therefore posted times slower than the regulatory 107% mark.

Lewis Hamilton leads Kamui Kobayashi, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, and Fernando Alonso before all the drivers return to the pits. Nico Hülkenberg, 18th and first eliminated, is the first to go out again, on Softs, in an attempt to secure a spot in Q2. Nico Hülkenberg clocks a time just 0.05 seconds off Lewis Hamilton’s thanks to his Soft tires. Kimi Räikkönen sets the best time of the weekend, with Soft tires, at 1:15.693, while Nico Rosberg sets the best time among drivers on Medium tires with 1:15.988.

Michael Schumacher, long in danger, finally clinches his qualification for Q2, thus eliminating Jean-Eric Vergne. A great performance for Charles Pic, who did not run much this morning but managed to outperform Timo Glock. The Frenchman records the 21st fastest time, with Glock in 22nd.

**Eliminated in Q1:** Vergne, Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic, Glock, De la Rosa, Karthikeyan

Q2: Even before Q2 begins, rain makes its appearance at the Hockenheim circuit, but it doesn’t seem to be present on the entire track. All drivers start on Intermediate tires, and they must set a good time immediately before the rain intensifies.

Given the conditions, the race management decided to ban the use of DRS. Jenson Button, first on track, clocks a lap in 1:39.010 but is surpassed by Pastor Maldonado with a 1:38.949. Sebastian Vettel stands out with a 1:38.505 just ahead of Fernando Alonso who posts a 1:38.521 despite being significantly hindered by Felipe Massa. Michael Schumacher records a 1:38.010 also on intermediates. Lewis Hamilton does even better with a 1:37.927 followed by a 1:37.365.

Nico Rosberg, 17th, decides to switch from Intermediate to Rain tires, as do Nico Hülkenberg and Michael Schumacher. Pastor Maldonado and the two Lotus drivers do the same. However, this doesn’t seem to be the best strategy as Nico Rosberg’s first lap is 3 seconds slower than his previous time and more than 7 seconds off Hamilton’s best time. Other drivers, like Felipe Massa, still attempt to run on the track with Rain tires even though improving seems unlikely.

Felipe Massa fails to reach Q3, just like Romain Grosjean, for the first time this year, and Nico Rosberg, who is only 17th. Great performance from both Sahara Force India drivers who qualify for Q3.

Eliminated in Q2: Ricciardo, Pérez, Kobayashi, Massa, Grosjean, Senna, Rosberg

Q3: As in Q2, Jenson Button is the first on track followed by Lewis Hamilton and Pastor Maldonado. The three men are on Rain tires. Big scare for Nico Hülkenberg who goes off the track but fortunately without consequence, he gets back on the track without damage to his Force India.

1:46.922 for Jenson Button but Lewis Hamilton does better by three-tenths. The two strong men are behind, Fernando Alonso with a 1:44.745 and Sebastian Vettel who sets a 1:44.605. Nico Hülkenberg records the 3rd time ahead of Paul di Resta and Michael Schumacher. Hamilton ends up 6th, Button 7th, Webber 8th, Maldonado 9th, and Räikkönen only 10th.

Jenson Button improves and takes 4th place while Fernando Alonso returns to the pits but comes out immediately, probably to switch to new tires. Kimi Räikkönen did the same.

Lewis Hamilton takes the best time with 1:44.186 quickly overtaken by Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel who set a 1:42.342. Best time for Mark Webber with a 1:41.680 beaten by Fernando Alonso with a 1:40.904. The rain creates large gaps between the drivers.

The checkered flag is shown, but all the drivers are on a timed lap. Button sets the 6th time, Schumacher the 4th, Webber the 2nd but eventually the 3rd time with the 2nd place taken by Sebastian Vettel. It’s Fernando Alonso who takes pole position by improving in his final lap. It’s the 22nd pole of the Spanish driver’s career, the second consecutive this season in wet conditions. It’s also the 207th pole for the Ferrari team in Formula 1.

Classification of the 2012 German Grand Prix Qualifying: