The2012 German Grand Prix, formally theFormula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2012,^[1] was aFormula One motor race that took place on 22 July 2012 as the tenth round of the2012 season.^[3] After being held at theNürburgring in2011,^[4] the race returned to theHockenheimring inBaden-Württemberg, making the 2012 race the thirty-third time the circuit hosted theGerman Grand Prix, and the eighth time the shortened circuit hosted the race since its2002 redesign.

2012 German Grand Prix
Race 10 of 20 in the2012 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
The Hockenheimring
Race details
Date	22 July 2012
Official name	Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2012[1]
Location	Hockenheimring,Hockenheim,Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.574 km (2.842 miles)
Distance	67 laps, 306.458 km (190.424 miles)
Weather	Fine and Dry[2]Air Temp 22 °C (72 °F)[2] Track Temp 30 °C (86 °F)[2]
Pole position
Driver	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Time	1:40.621
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes
Time	1:18.725 on lap 58
Podium
First	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari
Second	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Kimi Räikkönen	Lotus-Renault
Lap leaders

Ferrari driverFernando Alonso got his 22nd pole position before going on to win the race.^[5] This race would seeMichael Schumacher set his 77th and finalfastest lap in Formula One, a record he still holds as of 2025^[update].

As there was no race at Hockenheim in 2011, 2012 was the first year that thedrag reduction system (DRS) andPirelli tyres featured at the circuit. The DRS detection zone for the race was located at turn four, with the activation zone located 260 metres (850 ft) further down the road, so that it could be used on the approach to the hairpin.^[6]

Tyre supplier Pirelli chose to run with the most commonly run tyre combination of the year to date, and brought its white-banded medium compound tyre as the harder "prime" tyre and the yellow-banded soft compound tyre as the softer "option" tyre to the Hockenheim circuit.^[7]

Romain Grosjean took a five-place grid penalty afterhis team discovered a terminal issue in his gearbox.^[8]Nico Rosberg andMark Webber were also given five-place penalties for gearbox changes.^[9][10]Sergio Pérez was given a five-place grid penalty for impedingFernando Alonso andKimi Räikkönen in the second qualifying session.^[11]

Dani Clos took overNarain Karthikeyan'sHRT during the first free practice session.^[12]Jules Bianchi replacedPaul di Resta atForce India,^[13] whileValtteri Bottas once again droveBruno Senna'sWilliams for the same session. This race markedLewis Hamilton's 100th race andKamui Kobayashi's 50th race.^[14]

The conditions on the grid were dry and sunny before the race; the air temperature ranged between 20–21 °C (68–70 °F) and the track temperature was between 30–32 °C (86–90 °F).^[15][16]Fernando Alonso won the race, his 30th in Formula One to become the only driver to win three races at this point in the season,Jenson Button was 2nd afterSebastian Vettel was given a 20 second time penalty for passing the former by going off the track, the penalty dropped the German down to 5th.^[17]Michael Schumacher got the 77th and final fastest lap of his Formula One career.^[18]

Notes:

^1 —Romain Grosjean,Nico Rosberg andMark Webber were each demoted five places as a penalty for changing their gearboxes before the race.^[8][9][10]

^2 —Sergio Pérez was demoted five places as a penalty for impedingFernando Alonso andKimi Räikkönen in the second qualifying session.^[11]

Notes:

^1 — Sebastian Vettel was given a 20 second post-race drive-through penalty for an illegal overtaking manoeuvre on Jenson Button on lap 66, dropping him from second to fifth.^[20]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

• 2012 Hockenheimring GP2 Series round
• 2012 Hockenheimring GP3 Series round