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German GP

2012 Formula 1 German GP

Jul 18, 2012 to Jul 21, 2012
Hockenheimring
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Formula 1 German GP

2012 German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix

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Lap 61: Alonso is certainly stretching his lead at the moment, with Vettel now moving in on Button.
Lap 60: Button has been told to increase his engine mode but has fallen to 1.3 seconds behind leader Alonso over the last lap.
Lap 60: So Hulkenberg is ninth, 1.5s down on Webber. Rosberg now begins to pull in the Force India and has the gap down to 5.8s, with di Resta 11th.
Lap 60: Both Saubers, traditionally kind on rubber, continue to lap quickly in fifth and sixth. Schumacher is only slowly gaining on Perez currently
Lap 60: Rosberg remains in 10th spot. He is dropping di Resta, but he is unable to make any inroads into the 6.7s deficit to Hulkenberg.
Lap 59: Lots of marbles building up off-line as the tyres wear significantly on a warm day in Germany.
Lap 59: Maldonado comes in for his third stop of the afternoon, from 15th place.
Lap 58: Hamilton pits the McLaren from 16th position and drives straight into the garage, ending an unsatisfactory day for the British driver.
Lap 58: Traffic now for Alonso, with several lapped cars up ahead.
Lap 57: Rosberg is continuing his charge on those soft tyres. He passes di Resta at Turn 6 to take the final points position.
Lap 57: Still 10 laps remaining for the tyres to survive, so plenty could happen on the degrading rubber.
Lap 57: Meantime, Massa has made it past Maldonado's Williams and is up into 13th spot.
Lap 57: Button is pressing on now, closing to 0.6 seconds behind Alonso.
Lap 56: Kovalainen then came in for his fourth pitstop of the afternoon, losing 18th place to Senna and 19th to Grosjean.
Lap 56: Schumacher sets the fastest lap as he closes to 6.3 seconds behind Perez, although he was ahead of the Saubers before pitting.
Lap 56: Petrov and Kovalainen engaged in a bit of tem formation driving that will cause some conversation in the post-race debrief. Both continued.
Lap 55: Schumacher is now seventh, clocked 7.1 seconds behind the Sauber of Perez and closing on his fresh tyres.
Lap 55: Vergne in 16th is just 2.2s behind the developing Maldonado v Massa fight and ready to pick up the pieces.
Lap 55: Down the order, Massa in 14th is now less than one second behind Maldonado and looking to make it through.
Lap 55: That move by Mercedes will certainly be of interest to the leaders as they try to run the flag on a two-stop plan.
Lap 54: Schumacher resumes from his third tyre change behind Perez in eighth.
Lap 53: Rosberg came in for his final stop and rejoined with soft tyres in 11th place. He is now attempting to charge back into the points.
Lap 53: Schumacher is in the pits again for a costly third stop.
Lap 53: Petrov pitted from 17th position, handing the place back to team-mate Kovalainen.
Lap 52: The lead gap has stabilised at a second between Alonso and Button, with Vettel a further 1.8 behind.
Lap 52: Data from the pitstops show Button's tyre change was a rapid 2.4 seconds, vital in helping to leap past Vettel.
Lap 51: Webber is ninth and has been unable to make any headway this afternoon. Di Resta is 10th and has team-mate Hulkenberg right on his gearbox.
Lap 51: Grosjean runs wide entering the Motodrom and skates over the gravel, before rejoining. He is down in 20th position.
Lap 50: Kobayashi sets the fastest lap once again, closing to 4.7 seconds behind Schumacher and closing on the German.
Lap 50: Massa was another to pit for a third time. He rejoined in 14th spot, just ahead of Vergne.
Lap 50: Alonso is told that he the medium compound tyres should be able to make the distance, with Ferrari confident after the long middle stint.
Lap 49: Hamilton has been in for a third stop from 16th place. Senna also came in that time round.
Lap 48: Positions are relatively static for now down the order, with all eyes on the fight between the top three.
Lap 48: Button is just 0.7 seconds behind Alonso as Button begins to experiment with DRS down to the hairpin.
Lap 48: Hulkenberg heads in for his final stop.
Lap 48: Kobayashi has switched to soft tyres, having completed two stints on the hards. He sets the fastest lap, running in sixth.
Lap 48: Jean-Eric Vergne pits from 14th place in the Toro Rosso. This is his third stop of the afternoon.
Lap 47: Button is right with Alonso now in the battle for the lead of a fascinating German Grand Prix.
Lap 45: Vettel is told to "be smart" with the tyres, which will be towards the end of life by the end of the race - still over 20 laps away.
Lap 45: Charles Pic has pitted the other Marussia for the second time, as Kovalainen comes in for his third stop of the afternoon.

By: Emlyn Hughes, Geoff Creighton

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