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2012 German F1 GP: Alonso Victorious, Leads Field From Lights To Flag

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took an emphatic third victory of the year in a lights-to-flag run at the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring. Alonso got a great start and was never bested, despite determined challenges from Jenson Button and Seb


Ferrari's Fernando Alonso took an emphatic third victory of the year in a lights-to-flag run at the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring.

Alonso got a great start and was never bested, despite determined challenges from Jenson Button and Sebastien Vettel. Vettel suffered a post-race penalty for overtaking Button off the track, promoting Kimi Raikkonen to third in the Lotus.

Mark Webber had a day to forget; he never looked comfortable in the Red Bull, and Daniel Ricciardo spent most of the afternoon drifting back from this eleventh place start to finish 13th.

Race

The sun was shining over the grid and all eyes were scanning the frontrunners for clues as to who was starting on which tyre.

The drivers in the top ten had freedom of choice after qualifying on wet tyres, but every driver from first to eleventh started on the soft, option tyre.

Red Bull survived a pre-race stewards hearing after the FIA discovered an irregularity with the Red Bull's Renault engine maps, but there will be more to come from that after Monday's Technical Working Group meeting.

Mark Webber had been demoted to eighth as a result of his penalty, with Grosjean pushed back to 19th and Rosberg to 22nd. Sergio Perez started 17th after his penalty was applied.

Webber got off the line well, immediately muscling past Lewis Hamilton. Schumacher attacked Vettel, the younger German initially struggling to keep the seven-time world champion behind him while another world champion, Alonso, started to pull away.

Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean and Bruno Senna all picked up damage on the first lap. Massa piled into the Toro Rosso of Ricciardo, tearing his front wing away and depositing it on the track.

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