McLaren expected Fernando Alonso’s lap times to suffer at the end of the race – but it was Jenson Button’s that did.
German Grand Prix lap times
All the lap times by the drivers (in seconds, very slow laps excluded):
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | |
Fernando Alonso | 86.842 | 83.25 | 83.187 | 82.6 | 82.697 | 82.645 | 82.812 | 82.631 | 82.546 | 82.396 | 82.419 | 82.214 | 81.994 | 82.108 | 82.101 | 82.065 | 82.125 | 84.523 | 94.951 | 81.681 | 81.659 | 81.768 | 81.727 | 81.609 | 81.26 | 81.251 | 81.251 | 81.089 | 81.429 | 81.402 | 80.904 | 80.784 | 80.926 | 80.914 | 80.851 | 80.373 | 80.826 | 81.146 | 80.65 | 80.776 | 82.863 | 93.711 | 80.169 | 80.195 | 80.325 | 79.884 | 80.173 | 79.91 | 79.888 | 79.902 | 80.19 | 80.086 | 79.977 | 80.035 | 80.061 | 80.111 | 80.042 | 79.837 | 79.775 | 79.835 | 79.889 | 79.593 | 79.641 | 79.62 | 79.892 | 79.044 | 80.832 |
Sebastian Vettel | 88.162 | 82.918 | 82.828 | 82.697 | 82.771 | 82.726 | 82.863 | 82.769 | 82.613 | 82.57 | 82.482 | 82.306 | 82.289 | 82.29 | 82.287 | 82.168 | 82.084 | 82.18 | 82.575 | 84.877 | 94.38 | 81.065 | 81.171 | 81.326 | 81.071 | 80.939 | 80.931 | 80.992 | 81.258 | 81.326 | 81.366 | 80.651 | 80.864 | 80.982 | 81.603 | 80.891 | 80.856 | 80.883 | 80.764 | 80.796 | 82.793 | 93.996 | 80.341 | 79.866 | 80.623 | 79.908 | 80.698 | 79.82 | 79.98 | 79.841 | 80.101 | 80.033 | 80.769 | 79.999 | 79.919 | 79.721 | 79.74 | 79.773 | 79.661 | 79.953 | 79.717 | 79.772 | 79.71 | 80.081 | 80.552 | 80.188 | 79.469 |
Michael Schumacher | 89.271 | 83.669 | 83.414 | 83.229 | 83.324 | 82.996 | 83.05 | 83.246 | 82.916 | 83.145 | 84.3 | 83.111 | 82.89 | 84.904 | 96.945 | 81.944 | 82.073 | 82.058 | 81.734 | 82.197 | 82.944 | 82.315 | 82.078 | 81.986 | 82.129 | 82.247 | 81.47 | 81.54 | 81.502 | 81.78 | 81.782 | 81.312 | 81.37 | 81.588 | 81.744 | 84.146 | 93.841 | 80.291 | 80.415 | 81.206 | 80.234 | 80.249 | 80.204 | 80.103 | 80.35 | 79.914 | 80.539 | 80.846 | 80.191 | 80.226 | 80.092 | 82.538 | 93.488 | 79.585 | 79.007 | 78.794 | 78.725 | 78.833 | 78.875 | 79.144 | 78.942 | 79.005 | 79.165 | 79.27 | 79.208 | 79.545 | 79.658 |
Nico Hulkenberg | 89.793 | 84.177 | 83.595 | 83.393 | 83.184 | 83.041 | 83.217 | 84.307 | 83.128 | 83.302 | 83.374 | 85.157 | 95.656 | 81.833 | 84.42 | 82.796 | 82.343 | 81.992 | 82.261 | 82.081 | 82.322 | 82.36 | 82.343 | 82.066 | 82.382 | 82.191 | 82.09 | 82.026 | 82.824 | 83.711 | 86.27 | 94.902 | 81.868 | 81.21 | 80.971 | 80.595 | 80.566 | 80.212 | 80.644 | 80.437 | 80.499 | 80.483 | 80.33 | 80.827 | 81.354 | 82.366 | 94.384 | 80.446 | 80.271 | 80.001 | 80.626 | 80.073 | 79.678 | 79.649 | 79.607 | 79.372 | 79.607 | 79.914 | 79.937 | 79.957 | 79.886 | 79.749 | 79.941 | 79.715 | 80.159 | 80.046 | 80.107 |
Pastor Maldonado | 90.585 | 84.423 | 83.721 | 83.399 | 83.225 | 83.321 | 82.963 | 83.468 | 83.33 | 83.372 | 83.258 | 83.573 | 85.11 | 97.671 | 82.252 | 82.401 | 82.498 | 82.308 | 82.949 | 84.149 | 83.314 | 82.7 | 85.191 | 83.975 | 82.762 | 82.814 | 82.919 | 82.688 | 82.781 | 82.612 | 82.707 | 82.67 | 82.467 | 82.325 | 82.291 | 83.133 | 84.104 | 84.895 | 97.332 | 81.1 | 81.548 | 81.245 | 81.328 | 80.995 | 81.619 | 81.549 | 81.437 | 80.976 | 81.113 | 81.365 | 80.987 | 80.795 | 80.792 | 81.778 | 81.2 | 83.058 | 83.418 | 95.013 | 79.607 | 79.971 | 80.142 | 79.914 | 79.838 | 79.953 | 79.848 | 80.418 | |
Jenson Button | 90.1 | 84.197 | 83.554 | 83.608 | 83.171 | 83.193 | 83.066 | 82.606 | 82.604 | 82.637 | 82.538 | 82.32 | 82.084 | 82.366 | 82.073 | 82.076 | 82.252 | 81.992 | 84.47 | 94.172 | 81.104 | 81.413 | 80.992 | 81.406 | 81.494 | 81.07 | 80.727 | 80.897 | 80.996 | 81.074 | 81.151 | 80.34 | 80.771 | 80.773 | 80.692 | 81.488 | 80.608 | 80.841 | 80.831 | 83.077 | 91.69 | 80.057 | 79.754 | 79.808 | 80.269 | 79.894 | 80.132 | 79.908 | 80.083 | 79.973 | 80.29 | 80.029 | 80.05 | 79.905 | 79.904 | 79.97 | 80.05 | 80.092 | 80.042 | 80.007 | 79.906 | 79.719 | 80.055 | 80.166 | 80.805 | 81.692 | 81.737 |
Lewis Hamilton | 91.665 | 84.784 | 124.133 | 100.111 | 83.324 | 82.785 | 82.595 | 82.306 | 82.511 | 82.735 | 82.503 | 82.58 | 82.141 | 82.158 | 82.462 | 82.766 | 82.802 | 83.682 | 83.026 | 82.393 | 82.562 | 82.448 | 82.172 | 82.112 | 82.486 | 82.153 | 81.902 | 81.801 | 83.108 | 82.736 | 84.909 | 94.571 | 80.774 | 80.091 | 80.426 | 80.607 | 81.194 | 80.685 | 80.761 | 80.298 | 80.991 | 81.568 | 80.71 | 80.825 | 81.094 | 81.247 | 83.592 | 96.487 | 80.509 | 80.315 | 80.282 | 80.175 | 80.284 | 80.549 | 81.06 | 92.608 | |||||||||||
Mark Webber | 91.284 | 84.253 | 83.977 | 83.449 | 83.146 | 83.265 | 83.247 | 83.31 | 83.297 | 83.319 | 83.221 | 85.789 | 97.185 | 84.051 | 82.186 | 82.159 | 82.291 | 82.671 | 82.319 | 82.257 | 81.781 | 81.967 | 82.02 | 82.297 | 81.956 | 81.981 | 82.136 | 82.498 | 82.291 | 82.507 | 82.303 | 83.251 | 81.88 | 81.489 | 81.603 | 81.64 | 81.408 | 81.524 | 82.59 | 84.17 | 93.904 | 80.51 | 80.605 | 80.557 | 80.757 | 80.671 | 80.885 | 80.659 | 80.949 | 80.801 | 80.638 | 80.61 | 80.833 | 80.236 | 80.358 | 80.141 | 80.043 | 79.972 | 79.794 | 79.906 | 79.859 | 79.926 | 80.101 | 80.001 | 79.927 | 79.863 | 80.329 |
Paul di Resta | 92.922 | 84.497 | 84.209 | 83.677 | 84.614 | 83.627 | 83.439 | 83.439 | 84.332 | 85.616 | 95.871 | 82.169 | 82.44 | 82.871 | 82.73 | 82.432 | 82.494 | 82.39 | 82.511 | 82.698 | 83.116 | 82.848 | 82.534 | 82.543 | 83.195 | 82.344 | 82.456 | 81.907 | 83.276 | 82.731 | 82.567 | 82.486 | 81.828 | 81.752 | 81.732 | 81.753 | 81.933 | 81.802 | 84.569 | 94.39 | 80.672 | 80.758 | 80.613 | 80.668 | 80.246 | 80.354 | 80.614 | 80.412 | 80.395 | 81.631 | 80.87 | 80.779 | 80.296 | 80.661 | 81.207 | 82.102 | 80.791 | 80.478 | 80.087 | 80.358 | 79.959 | 80.023 | 80.057 | 80.182 | 80.362 | 80.057 | 79.717 |
Kimi Raikkonen | 92.446 | 84.227 | 85.402 | 83.596 | 83.072 | 83.408 | 82.596 | 82.72 | 82.712 | 82.987 | 85.637 | 95.436 | 81.942 | 81.988 | 82.685 | 82.247 | 81.931 | 82.037 | 82.087 | 81.83 | 81.377 | 81.242 | 81.211 | 81.687 | 81.674 | 81.717 | 81.753 | 81.627 | 81.523 | 81.53 | 81.633 | 81.229 | 81.045 | 81.315 | 81.185 | 81.703 | 81.637 | 84.029 | 93.888 | 79.726 | 79.722 | 80.047 | 80.199 | 79.724 | 80.004 | 80.087 | 79.639 | 80.694 | 79.881 | 79.993 | 80.63 | 80.1 | 79.562 | 79.66 | 79.726 | 79.485 | 79.512 | 79.775 | 79.903 | 79.904 | 79.789 | 80.212 | 79.764 | 80.046 | 79.821 | 80.109 | 80.566 |
Daniel Ricciardo | 93.386 | 84.721 | 84.835 | 83.93 | 85.859 | 85.694 | 83.612 | 83.76 | 83.431 | 83.359 | 83.262 | 82.883 | 82.793 | 82.665 | 82.43 | 82.748 | 83.255 | 82.994 | 87.14 | 96.932 | 82.371 | 83.47 | 81.811 | 82.496 | 82.124 | 82.154 | 82.256 | 82.393 | 82.232 | 81.973 | 82.125 | 82.109 | 82.956 | 83.013 | 81.988 | 82.629 | 82.465 | 85.019 | 95.639 | 80.357 | 80.153 | 80.28 | 80.193 | 80.066 | 80.359 | 80.293 | 80.614 | 80.772 | 80.587 | 80.531 | 80.38 | 80.326 | 80.316 | 81.161 | 80.594 | 80.174 | 80.303 | 80.687 | 81.218 | 81.534 | 81.479 | 81.256 | 81.113 | 81.167 | 81.376 | 81.968 | 82.522 |
Kamui Kobayashi | 93.641 | 84.813 | 84.775 | 83.918 | 83.901 | 83.443 | 84.174 | 83.192 | 83.291 | 83.623 | 82.873 | 82.858 | 82.189 | 82.174 | 82.115 | 82.18 | 82.24 | 81.924 | 81.899 | 81.96 | 83.401 | 85.207 | 98.078 | 82.57 | 81.672 | 81.054 | 81.136 | 81.113 | 81.707 | 81.822 | 81.82 | 81.242 | 80.653 | 80.491 | 80.483 | 80.528 | 81.21 | 80.421 | 80.7 | 80.599 | 80.22 | 80.606 | 83.865 | 95.73 | 79.55 | 79.562 | 79.818 | 79.794 | 79.252 | 79.698 | 79.658 | 79.324 | 79.306 | 79.279 | 79.164 | 79.344 | 79.572 | 79.56 | 79.325 | 79.352 | 79.161 | 79.416 | 79.489 | 80.179 | 79.981 | 79.645 | 80.847 |
Felipe Massa | 106.843 | 101.703 | 83.314 | 82.767 | 82.596 | 82.439 | 82.596 | 82.943 | 83.558 | 83.423 | 84.156 | 82.942 | 83.441 | 82.78 | 82.511 | 82.459 | 82.457 | 82.422 | 82.608 | 82.952 | 82.925 | 83.544 | 84.135 | 86.172 | 96.036 | 81.134 | 80.937 | 80.94 | 81.01 | 81.801 | 82.2 | 81.079 | 80.81 | 81.108 | 81.147 | 81.008 | 81.279 | 81.186 | 80.977 | 81.202 | 81.281 | 81.664 | 81.197 | 81.119 | 81.444 | 81.161 | 84.02 | 95.377 | 79.683 | 80.022 | 79.981 | 80.117 | 80.368 | 80.166 | 80.373 | 79.906 | 79.418 | 79.531 | 80.043 | 79.718 | 80.137 | 81.305 | 79.419 | 79.258 | 80.185 | 79.632 | 79.225 |
Bruno Senna | 121.666 | 126.708 | 82.977 | 83.029 | 82.889 | 82.864 | 82.824 | 82.602 | 82.377 | 82.328 | 82.437 | 82.093 | 82.07 | 82.237 | 82.292 | 82.351 | 82.311 | 82.442 | 82.331 | 85.054 | 83.002 | 83.476 | 82.863 | 83.263 | 85.738 | 96.472 | 80.999 | 83.754 | 81.616 | 81.772 | 81.802 | 81.244 | 81.403 | 81.686 | 81.335 | 82.528 | 81.304 | 81.118 | 81.315 | 81.281 | 82.521 | 81.38 | 81.42 | 81.515 | 81.408 | 82.83 | 84.849 | 95.041 | 80.74 | 80.597 | 80.211 | 81.531 | 81.211 | 80.329 | 80.116 | 80.047 | 80.158 | 80.244 | 80.46 | 80.417 | 80.112 | 79.894 | 80.046 | 79.958 | 80.128 | 80.008 | |
Jean-Eric Vergne | 94.664 | 84.792 | 85.437 | 84.163 | 85.359 | 87.274 | 98.034 | 82.994 | 83.185 | 82.364 | 82.437 | 82.441 | 83.666 | 82.702 | 82.547 | 82.591 | 82.531 | 82.652 | 82.654 | 82.604 | 82.751 | 82.682 | 82.541 | 82.946 | 82.836 | 82.877 | 85.653 | 96.928 | 81.669 | 84.955 | 81.775 | 82.601 | 81.314 | 80.921 | 81.258 | 81.019 | 81.079 | 81.405 | 81.328 | 81.148 | 81.014 | 81.177 | 81.63 | 81.159 | 83.828 | 96.075 | 80.311 | 80.203 | 79.682 | 80.495 | 80.282 | 80.311 | 80.309 | 80.267 | 80.696 | 80.919 | 80.072 | 79.816 | 79.645 | 79.976 | 80.198 | 79.914 | 80.052 | 80.025 | 79.775 | 79.729 | 80.49 |
Heikki Kovalainen | 96.796 | 85.248 | 86.032 | 85.392 | 84.35 | 83.932 | 84.03 | 84.097 | 83.588 | 83.763 | 83.81 | 84.437 | 86.583 | 97.563 | 83.044 | 83.117 | 83.51 | 82.691 | 82.543 | 82.805 | 82.677 | 82.65 | 82.48 | 82.533 | 82.684 | 82.679 | 82.704 | 82.634 | 82.576 | 83.302 | 85.701 | 96.277 | 81.556 | 81.854 | 82.483 | 82.084 | 81.961 | 81.74 | 85.729 | 82.741 | 82.576 | 82.297 | 82.871 | 85.114 | 96.858 | 81.734 | 81.671 | 83.07 | 81.988 | 82.784 | 82.164 | 82.622 | 89.436 | 106.356 | 87.852 | 85.921 | 80.954 | 80.891 | 80.965 | 81.054 | 80.596 | 81.89 | 80.598 | 85.154 | 81.616 | ||
Sergio Perez | 95.047 | 84.738 | 84.167 | 83.702 | 84.156 | 83.309 | 82.618 | 83.151 | 82.447 | 82.378 | 82.685 | 82.326 | 82.114 | 81.998 | 82.04 | 82.204 | 86.418 | 95.785 | 80.777 | 81.574 | 82.239 | 82.368 | 82.298 | 82.102 | 82.323 | 82.388 | 81.942 | 82.045 | 82.783 | 81.739 | 81.661 | 81.088 | 81.362 | 81.118 | 81.154 | 81.091 | 81.468 | 82.572 | 81.425 | 83.83 | 94.366 | 79.969 | 80.291 | 81.312 | 80.694 | 80.542 | 80.185 | 79.906 | 79.749 | 80.387 | 80.288 | 80.205 | 79.572 | 79.46 | 79.763 | 79.4 | 79.756 | 79.688 | 79.276 | 79.824 | 79.818 | 79.27 | 79.308 | 79.299 | 79.334 | 79.657 | 79.809 |
Vitaly Petrov | 95.914 | 85.664 | 86.148 | 84.313 | 84.172 | 84.39 | 83.979 | 83.821 | 83.993 | 83.787 | 83.83 | 83.969 | 84.345 | 86.701 | 98.846 | 84.331 | 83.25 | 82.855 | 82.91 | 82.65 | 82.654 | 82.937 | 82.61 | 82.711 | 82.739 | 82.478 | 82.543 | 82.758 | 84.032 | 82.876 | 83.162 | 85.804 | 96.464 | 81.644 | 85.26 | 83.109 | 81.802 | 81.73 | 81.685 | 81.75 | 81.959 | 81.5 | 81.841 | 85.229 | 82.622 | 81.814 | 81.634 | 82.379 | 82.045 | 84.448 | 95.718 | 81.001 | 82.749 | 81.8 | 80.457 | 80.335 | 80.165 | 80.394 | 80.613 | 80.607 | 80.052 | 79.997 | 80.108 | 80.117 | 80.113 | 80.165 | |
Romain Grosjean | 124.294 | 112.551 | 84.044 | 84.33 | 83.725 | 83.085 | 83.325 | 83.466 | 82.861 | 82.717 | 82.493 | 83.334 | 82.513 | 82.574 | 82.592 | 82.639 | 82.96 | 82.732 | 83.12 | 83.523 | 83.074 | 83.369 | 83.166 | 85.414 | 98.838 | 81.21 | 81.236 | 81.121 | 81.401 | 81.818 | 81.063 | 81.17 | 81.612 | 81.93 | 81.543 | 81.938 | 81.194 | 81.655 | 81.366 | 83.831 | 82.165 | 84.196 | 102.423 | 84.35 | 80.105 | 80.627 | 81.762 | 84.412 | 81.792 | 81.34 | 80.469 | 80.632 | 82.637 | 80.945 | 80.857 | 80.37 | 82.571 | 82.905 | 80.838 | 80.013 | 81.831 | 80.449 | 80.154 | 80.486 | 80.192 | 80.92 | |
Charles Pic | 97.647 | 86.237 | 85.928 | 85.815 | 85.47 | 85.321 | 85.172 | 85.262 | 85.002 | 85.035 | 85.85 | 84.89 | 84.892 | 85.219 | 84.763 | 85.449 | 85.192 | 84.543 | 84.492 | 84.589 | 87.553 | 97.353 | 82.86 | 82.936 | 82.71 | 82.689 | 82.6 | 82.72 | 83.153 | 84.922 | 83.88 | 83.256 | 83.063 | 84.477 | 84.575 | 83.082 | 83.551 | 82.922 | 84.136 | 83.233 | 83.621 | 84.531 | 86.285 | 98.768 | 81.753 | 82.923 | 83.396 | 83.408 | 82.47 | 82.29 | 82.306 | 82.248 | 82.545 | 84.922 | 82.875 | 85.724 | 82.483 | 82.127 | 82.028 | 82.181 | 83.66 | 83.821 | 82.38 | 82.205 | 84.668 | ||
Nico Rosberg | 96.521 | 84.257 | 84.746 | 84.22 | 83.707 | 84.286 | 83.556 | 83.344 | 83.315 | 83.162 | 82.929 | 84.963 | 96.697 | 81.44 | 82.381 | 82.405 | 82.221 | 82.175 | 81.933 | 82.244 | 82.551 | 82.419 | 84.093 | 82.34 | 82.207 | 82.199 | 82.325 | 81.822 | 81.531 | 82.129 | 81.689 | 83.58 | 94.069 | 81.212 | 80.979 | 80.835 | 80.952 | 80.71 | 80.709 | 80.561 | 80.479 | 80.404 | 80.188 | 80.84 | 80.486 | 80.566 | 80.445 | 80.55 | 80.812 | 82.813 | 94.091 | 79.651 | 79.854 | 79.751 | 81.045 | 80.486 | 79.946 | 79.421 | 79.105 | 79.457 | 79.191 | 79.165 | 79.267 | 79.126 | 79.192 | 79.568 | 79.438 |
Timo Glock | 98.018 | 86.352 | 87.781 | 85.764 | 85.257 | 85.404 | 85.315 | 85.308 | 85.63 | 85.829 | 85.418 | 85.492 | 85.312 | 85.371 | 85.833 | 85.491 | 85.515 | 86.183 | 88.158 | 101.377 | 84.015 | 85.459 | 85.091 | 84.744 | 84.504 | 84.976 | 85.519 | 87.706 | 84.868 | 86.411 | 84.84 | 85.674 | 85.972 | 84.31 | 83.531 | 83.624 | 85.675 | 84.429 | 84.034 | 86.482 | 99.193 | 85.885 | 83.124 | 82.987 | 83.253 | 84.61 | 82.817 | 85.16 | 84.888 | 85.013 | 83.355 | 84.596 | 83.286 | 82.778 | 85.361 | 83.44 | 83.272 | 83.894 | 83.218 | 84.845 | 83.655 | 86.205 | 83.805 | 84.065 | |||
Pedro de la Rosa | 98.867 | 86.634 | 87.469 | 86.606 | 85.804 | 85.756 | 85.583 | 85.68 | 86.036 | 86.045 | 85.492 | 85.564 | 85.482 | 85.349 | 85.41 | 85.082 | 85.523 | 85.337 | 85.882 | 87.925 | 101.589 | 84.872 | 85.179 | 84.569 | 85.029 | 85.131 | 86.488 | 85.201 | 85.559 | 85.002 | 84.286 | 85.124 | 86.183 | 84.413 | 84.171 | 85.022 | 84.927 | 84.176 | 86.579 | 84.299 | 84.28 | 84.767 | 83.891 | 84.01 | 88.442 | 99.9 | 84.079 | 83.72 | 82.613 | 83.65 | 82.407 | 83.403 | 83.613 | 83.224 | 84.071 | 82.48 | 83.629 | 82.728 | 83.126 | 83.195 | 83.405 | 83.293 | 82.765 | 84.209 | |||
Narain Karthikeyan | 101.125 | 86.594 | 86.452 | 86.552 | 85.949 | 85.792 | 86.442 | 86.23 | 86.519 | 85.627 | 85.459 | 85.694 | 85.769 | 85.352 | 85.494 | 85.676 | 86.584 | 85.752 | 85.828 | 86.617 | 86.648 | 89.593 | 105.328 | 84.334 | 86.623 | 85.558 | 84.724 | 84.972 | 84.096 | 84.534 | 83.944 | 83.745 | 83.836 | 84.574 | 84.12 | 84.834 | 84.007 | 84.432 | 83.422 | 85.075 | 84.783 | 84.271 | 87.173 | 85.748 | 84.226 | 87.639 | 100.549 | 83.955 | 84.094 | 84.035 | 84.287 | 82.047 | 83.152 | 82.114 | 81.788 | 81.877 | 82.02 | 82.659 | 83.642 | 83.92 | 84.624 | 82.54 | 82.084 | 82.575 |
McLaren thought Jenson Button would be able to attack Fernando Alonso at the end of the race as the Ferrari drivers’ tyres had begun to go off before the end of the stint on previous runs.
The lap times chart above shows how Alonso’s times began to rise towards the end of his middle stint. At this point he was increasingly preoccupied with Lewis Hamilton, who was trying to unlap himself, but Alonso didn’t do much in terms of defending at this point.
But when it came to the final stint it wasn’t Alonso’s lap times that went off – it was Button’s.
Nico Hulkenberg started fourth and slipped to ninth at the finish. His tyres went off quite sharply at the end of each stint which, he said, made a two-stopped impossible:
“We always knew it was going to be tough to hang on to fourth place because we did not look especially strong in the dry conditions on Saturday morning. But when you’re in that position you hope for the best and actually the first part of the race was strong for me and I had some good battles.
“In terms of strategy, doing three stops was the way forward because a two-stop race was not possible with the way the tyres were degrading.”
German Grand Prix fastest laps
Each driver’s fastest lap:
Rank | Driver | Car | Fastest lap | Gap | On lap |
1 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1’18.725 | 57 | |
2 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1’19.044 | 0.319 | 66 |
3 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1’19.105 | 0.380 | 59 |
4 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’19.161 | 0.436 | 61 |
5 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1’19.225 | 0.500 | 67 |
6 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1’19.270 | 0.545 | 62 |
7 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1’19.372 | 0.647 | 56 |
8 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1’19.469 | 0.744 | 67 |
9 | Kimi Raikkonen | Lotus-Renault | 1’19.485 | 0.760 | 56 |
10 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1’19.607 | 0.882 | 59 |
11 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’19.645 | 0.920 | 59 |
12 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1’19.717 | 0.992 | 67 |
13 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’19.719 | 0.994 | 62 |
14 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1’19.794 | 1.069 | 59 |
15 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1’19.894 | 1.169 | 62 |
16 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1’19.997 | 1.272 | 62 |
17 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1’20.013 | 1.288 | 60 |
18 | Daniel Ricciardo | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1’20.066 | 1.341 | 44 |
19 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1’20.091 | 1.366 | 34 |
20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1’20.596 | 1.871 | 61 |
21 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’21.753 | 3.028 | 45 |
22 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1’21.788 | 3.063 | 55 |
23 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1’22.407 | 3.682 | 51 |
24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1’22.778 | 4.053 | 54 |
Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race shortly after his third and final pit stop. Tellingly he did so with ten laps to go and didn’t continue to improve his lap time, which goes some way towards explaining why he was unable to catch and pass the Saubers.
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Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
Ben Everard (@beneverard)
22nd July 2012, 21:55
I’m surprised Vettel had the audacity to set the 8th fastest lap after that overtake on Jenson Button!
Nah just joshing, shame about Button’s tyres falling away towards the end though :-P
markthornton90 (@markthornton90)
22nd July 2012, 21:59
You can really see how Button made ground during the second pit stop phase. He made up 2.02 secs on Alonso and 2.31 secs on Vettel!
91jb12 (@91jb12)
22nd July 2012, 22:20
Buttons stop was 2.4, Alonsos 3.7 and Vettel’s about the same (they seemed to be stationary v.similar time)
Had Vettel’s been a 3 sec stop he’d have cleared Button and had they replicated Button’s it would’ve been closer to Alonso.
Anyway, unbelieveable stop by the much maligned Mclaren team. It looked ridiculously good live.
Bleeps_and_Tweaks (@bleeps_and_tweaks)
22nd July 2012, 22:21
This data is good news for Mclaren, I think it shows that they are right back on the pace of Ferrari and Red Bull again, if a fraction behind the latter still. I think Button’s drop in pace in the final 5-7 laps may have been due to the excess wear of closely following Alonso for so long.
AndrewTanner (@andrewtanner)
23rd July 2012, 20:46
@bleeps_and_tweaks Yeah, it certainly looks much better for McLaren now. It will be interesting to see them battle Red Bull at the Hungaroring, a circuit which will favour the RB8 more I would think.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
22nd July 2012, 22:27
Well, looking at Alonso’s and Massa’s lap times (factoring in the difference in strategy), it is very clear the Ferrari is now a very good car. Kudos to Ferrari for turning their season around, but I just can’t stand anymore people putting this form down to some kind of miracle by Alonso (not that I’m saying this happening here…) :P
JB (@)
22nd July 2012, 22:54
@guilherme
It is still not the fastest car but FA really does make it look much better… You gotta give him that much… both his poles where in wet, that alone is worth a whole lot!!
suka (@suka)
22nd July 2012, 23:46
You would not think so if he did not start from the pole.
infy (@infy)
22nd July 2012, 23:52
You have to keep in mind that Button and Vettel were able to both catch Alonso.
Guilherme (@guilherme)
23rd July 2012, 0:45
@infy Indeed, Ferrari is not the fastest car, but is far from the rubbish it was at the beginning of the season and it is not as slow as some people like to believe it is. And yes, Vettel did catch Alonso, but he never looked like he would overtake him (not that is has anything to do with Alonso and Ferrari… it just seems to me that the RB8 is slower on the straights than the RB6 was).
infy (@infy)
23rd July 2012, 8:57
Yeah, the top three have similar pace, but I would not say Ferrari are quicker in the dry. Ferrari were lucky to have the qualifying conditions that they had because I doubt they had the pace to catch-up with either a RBR or Mclaren that are in clear air.
I’d like to see Ferrari gain the edge though. It would definitely help them regain that confidence they are so famous for.
sumedh
23rd July 2012, 3:10
Was about to post the same.
Without the first lap incident, I think Massa would have been fighting Kimi for 4th position I am sure.
His pace was pretty good throughout the race. His tyres wore off quicker in his first stint which might have been due to the dirty air encountered while passing Marussias, HRTs and Caterhams.
He needs to have more clean races to keep his Ferrari seat. Too many ifs and buts help propel his case. If he had no first lap crash here, if he had qualified better yesterday, if he didn’t tangle with Kobayashi at Valencia, if he didn’t spin in Canada.
Michael (@michaelf1)
22nd July 2012, 23:48
tough times for massa when your teammate is winning races and your in the exact same car but the pace is there
Drew B
23rd July 2012, 8:38
Very true, tough times for Massa
JOHN.S
23rd July 2012, 14:21
His car is clearly not as fast as Alonzo trust me Massa is a number two driver. Ferrari have clearly put all their eggs in one basket i.e Alonzo. You also seem to forget that Massa had his wing knocked of on the first lap I don’t care who you are but that will undoubtedly destroy your race
remengo
23rd July 2012, 9:04
It seems that Fernando had full control troughout the race, keeping the gap at 1 sec or less and sparing the tires, as he made the fastest lap at 66th 4/10 faster than Vettel (67th) and 7/10 faster than Button (62th), there wasn’t even a chance for them to overlap him…..
xjr15jaaag (@xjr15jaaag)
23rd July 2012, 9:26
I believe that the Fezzas are the fastest cars now; the recent performances prove it, and because no-one can outperform a car, then one has to conclude the Ferrari is the best car
Yoshisune (@yobo01)
23rd July 2012, 10:18
Interesting charts. Alonso set his best time when his tyres were 25 laps old, which shows that he managed the tyres even if he was always very close to Jenson. When he saw that his traction out of turn 3 and 4 was good he never pushed. He actually saw that Vettel and Button were close, so he created a gap.
The same thing happened when Vettel was passed by Hamilton. Alonso did a 1’20.3 which was his best lap so far.
Interesting way of leading the race. Vettel, for example, in the first laps of the stint creates a gap and then he controls it. While Alonso doesn’t push until he sees an occasion to pull away.
sid_prasher (@)
23rd July 2012, 17:37
Felipe wasn’t off the pace but his lap times are far less consistent than Alonso and the other leading drivers.
Looking at the lap times, FI had the pace but they were just not able to do long runs on their tyres…perhaps due to less dry running during practice.
Also surprised to see Narain beating Pedro in lap times a few times but always finishing behind in the race…
claudioff (@claudioff)
23rd July 2012, 17:57
This could be explained by traffic. Alonso had none in front of him while Massa was fighting for positions.
xeroxpt (@)
24th July 2012, 3:32
Vettel is still the quickest for me. Ferrari puts loads of understeer on Alonso’s car. In Hockeinhem you can open up the trajectory in the first sector, before the hairpin alonso was always using the kerb to open the line, having loads of understeer was hurting him on the slower parts, at the end of the 2nd sector and the 3rd, at the last corner he had a better line, his line was crazy wide, in contrast Button was able to turn the car very quickly he was especially fast on the tightest parts, Vettel’s liness were typical of him opening both the entry and exit showing confidence in the car, he didnt cross the white lines on corner entry but he often did on the exit, in the end I think Vettel was quickest, but his lack of luck on the pits and with backmarkers made his 7 gear ratio set-up become a problem, with the DRS open Vettel only did 308 KPH whereas Button did 317 and Alonso 318 (200 MPH for the Ferrari) If Vettel and Red Bull had made a typical red bull race they would have won easily but they didnt, they didnt pit first, they didnt come out of the pits in clear air and they didnt managed the backmarkers well.