2012 European Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Europe 2012 took place on 24 June at the Valencia Street Circuit in Valencia ( Spain) instead and was the eighth race of the Formula 1 season in 2012.
- 3.1 qualifying
- 3.2 race
- 4.1 Drivers' Championship
- 4.2 Constructors' Championship
Reports
Background
After the Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton led the drivers' standings with 2 points ahead of Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel on 3 points. In the design rating Red Bull -Renault led with 31 points ahead of McLaren -Mercedes with 56 points, ahead of Lotus -Renault.
At this Grand Prix McLaren joined the 300th time with engines from Mercedes AMG HPP on.
At the Grand Prix of Europe put Pirelli riders the tire compounds P Zero medium ( white) and P Zero soft (yellow), as well as for wet conditions Cinturato Intermediates (green) and Cinturato Full Wets (blue ) are available.
With Michael Schumacher ( six times ), Alonso, Vettel (each twice) and Felipe Massa (once ) occurred four former winners of this Grand Prix.
As race officials acted Garry Connelly (AUS), Paolo Longini (ITA ), Mika Salo ( FIN) and Manuel Vidal (ESP).
Training
In the first free practice session Pastor Maldonado was the fastest pilot in front of the Red Bull drivers Vettel and Mark Webber. In this training took Jules Bianchi to Force India Nico Hulkenberg of Williams and Valtteri Bottas of Bruno Senna. In the second free practice Vettel set the fastest time ahead of Hulkenberg and Kamui Kobayashi. In the third free practice Jenson Button took the lead of the standings before the Lotus drivers Romain Grosjean and Kimi Raikkonen. After the training Vettel drove the fastest time this training session in the first two sectors.
Qualifying
Timo Glock did not occur to qualifying, because he had to be hospitalized due to stomach discomfort. Maldonado was the fastest pilot. The Marussia and HRT pilots and Vitaly Petrov, Webber and Jean- Éric Vergne dropped out. After qualifying, it was announced that Webber Drag Reduction System ( DRS ) did not work. In the second part of the session Grosjean scored the fastest time. The first seven pilots were within 0.081 s, the Ferrari drivers and Daniel Ricciardo, Heikki Kovalainen, Sergio Perez, Senna and Schumacher did not make it to the last segment. In this Vettel scored the fastest lap and received with 0,324 s before Hamilton claimed pole position. Maldonado was third.
Glock was given after qualifying the permission to start the race stewards because he had achieved in the training time within the 107- percent rule. However, he gave up a start, since it's not his health permitted. Glock was suffering from an intestinal infection. Another driver was not allowed to move up because a driver change before qualifying would have had to be carried out.
Race
At the start of the race, Vettel kept his lead over Hamilton. Grosjean attacked Maldonado and took the third place. While Kobayashi and the Ferrari drivers Alonso and Massa had a good start-up phase, was Nico Rosberg from the sixth back to tenth place.
Vettel broke away in the following rounds from the rest of the field, while Grosjean pressure on Hamilton exercised. In midfield, Paul di Resta and Massa dueled to ninth place. Massa did not come past his opponents. Finally, in the tenth round succeeded Grosjean to drive past with the help of the DRS to Hamilton. He solved immediately by his opponent, but remained well behind Vettel. Three laps later overtook Alonso Hulkenberg and took the seventh position and Raikkonen went to Maldonado past fifth place. One lap later, Maldonado lost another position to Alonso. In addition, there were in the initial phase, a collision between Narain Karthikeyan and Charles Pic.
At the first pit stops Raikkonen went past the previously fourth-placed Kobayashi and Alonso overtook the two racers. As several pilots had not stopped, were up on Vettel, who retained the lead, all other pilots behind drivers who were not yet on the box. First, Hamilton overtook Senna, Alonso then went within two laps past Webber, Senna and Schumacher. Grosjean again took over the second position from di Resta.
Behind Senna meanwhile a train had formed of several pilots. After Raikkonen had driven past him, and Kobayashi tried to pass him. However, Senna closed the door and both collided. It Kobayashi's front wing was damaged and Senna drove with a flat tire on. Both had to a repair pit stop. The race directors saw the guilt in Senna and finished him with a drive-through penalty. Di Resta lost a little later more and more time and went after it had been overtaken by Alonso, Raikkonen and Maldonado, to change the tires to the box.
While Vettel led to Grosjean with more than 20 seconds ahead, it came in the middle of a duel between Kovalainen and Vergne. As both pilots were next to each other, Vergne pulled over suddenly and both pilots collided. Both drivers suffered a puncture and distributed debris on the track. While Kovalainen drove on after a repair, the race for Vergne at the box was finished. Vergne received after the race for causing the collision a starting place penalty of ten positions for the next race.
Due to the debris on the track, the race direction to send the safety car onto the track decided. This decision was criticized after the race by Vettel and his team Red Bull and it was indirectly expressed the suspicion that the safety car came mainly therefore on track to match the field again. Several pilots, including the leaders, went to their last scheduled tire change to the box. It failed McLaren once again the pit stop of Hamilton, causing it fell back to sixth place behind Alonso and Raikkonen. Ricciardo, who had not changed his tires, lay behind Vettel, Grosjean and Alonso in fourth place.
After all outsell pilots had rounded back in to have the box in the appropriate order, the restart was performed. Both Lotus drivers each lost a position there. Alonso overtook Grosjean, who had not been optimal from the last corner, and took the second place, Räikkönen fell behind Hamilton back to sixth place. In the same round, there were several incidents. First Kobayashi collided with Massa. While Massa drove for a repair stop, Kobayashi gave up on the box, because the car was too badly damaged. After the race, Kobayashi was given a starting place penalty of five positions for the next race for causing this collision. Almost at the same time to this collision Vettel was slower at the top and put his car finally starting. A faulty alternator was responsible for the failure of Vettel. The accessory overheated, why ausschaltete the engine. The problems are said to have begun, as Vettel drove slower pace behind the safety car around the track. A little later there was an investigation against Hamilton 's alleged to have ignored yellow flags; However the race stewards came to the decision that Hamilton had not committed an infraction.
While Alonso led the race now and Karthikeyan had been fined for driving too fast in the pit lane with a drive-through penalty, Grosjean dropped to two from lying. Even when it was a faulty alternator, resulting in lack of power resulted, the reason for failure. In midfield Petrov was in the meantime in tenth place, which would mean the first point placement for Caterham. However, he was first overtaken by Schumacher and Webber, who were still times after the safety car period on the box and then collided with Ricciardo, what a repair stop necessitated.
In the final phase initially Hamilton, taking down its tires, and Raikkonen dueled for second place. A little further behind Schumacher and Webber began a series of overtaking maneuvers. First overtook Schumacher and Webber in the 49th round button and took over the eighth and ninth. In the 55th round Raikkonen managed to overtake Hamilton and take over the second position. Alonso profited from the duel between Hamilton and Räikkönen, as both thus lost several seconds. Hamilton had to defend itself against Maldonado it. With two laps to Maldonado tried to drive past Hamilton, hacks, however, on its line, while Maldonado left the track for a short time. When he went back on the track, the two vehicles touched. Hamilton was so badly damaged that the race was stopped immediately. Maldonado is damaged his front wing. Maldonado received after the race a drive through penalty for causing the collision, which was converted into a 20 -second time penalty. He fell back by the tenth to twelfth place.
Alonso finally came in front of Raikkonen in the first place to the finish and became the first pilot in a second race this season. Alonso put his car in the cool-down lap, since there was a technical problem and celebrated the victory in front of a grandstand at first.
Schumacher was third, scoring a podium placing for the first time since the Chinese Grand Prix in 2006 and for the first time Mercedes. Webber was fourth. After the race was still running an investigation against Schumacher because of this in a yellow phase his rear wing was open. The race organizers noted, however, that Schumacher sufficiently slowed, and said no punishment from.
Fifth place went to Hulkenberg, who thus achieved its hitherto best Formula 1 placement. The other points were awarded to Rosberg, di Resta, Button, Perez and Senna.
In the drivers' world championship Alonso took the lead from Hamilton, who dropped back to third place. Webber took over the second position. For the designers, the positions remained unchanged.
Message list
Classifications
Qualifying
Race
WM stands after the race
, The first ten of the race were 25, 18, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 and 1 point (s).