The start of the season brought us an unprecedented seven different winners in the first seven races. At the time, teams were struggling to find pace, and understanding the engineering of the new Pirelli tires.
In round 8 at Valencia, Fernando Alonso broke the string of 1-driver, 1-victory results and earned himself his second victory of the season. Answering the new-found pace at Scuderia Ferrari, the boys at Red Bull took round 9 at Silverstone with a second victory for Mark Webber and a third victory for the team. Hockenheim marks the halfway point, round 10 of the season's 20 Grands Prix.
By now, all teams know exactly where they stand and where they must direct their focus in order to remain in title contention. During the rainy Saturday qualifying, Fernando Alonso edged out the grid for pole position in the second race in a row. Slotting second on the grid is defending champion Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull. Fellow German maestro Michael Schumacher ran a quick lap that put him third on the grid. Nico Hulkenberg of Force India followed in fourth, locking three Germans in the top four slots on the grid. Pastor Maldonado of Williams took fifth, while Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton of McLaren took sixth and seventh. Mark Webber suffered a five slot penalty after a gearbox change, reglating the Australian to eighth. Paul di Resta and Kimi Raikkonen round out the top ten qualifiers.
For Red Bull, scrutiny and controversy loomed over the team the whole race weekend, the first of which occured ahead of the race when a technical investigation was held due to questionable engine mapping in the Red Bull cars. The team defended its technology and the investigation later concluded that the engine management systems were technically legal.
At race start, Alonso's strong catapult launch from pole was capable of gapping the grid but Sebastian Vettel was just as hungry for a win. Farther behind, contact between Felipe Massa and Romain Grosjean caused both cars to damage their front wings and dive back into the pits for new noses. Colateral damage from the Massa and Grosjean incident, Hamilton suffered a left-rear puncture and had to crawl back to the pit as well, costing valuable time, and dropping Hamilton far behind on the grid. Hamilton's teammate Jenson Button faired better fortune as he threaded the McLaren from sixth to third place.
Both Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso were vying for a two-stop strategy for the race. Between the duo, Alonso was first to flinch during the first round of pit stops, and retained his lead over Red Bull. Slightly farther back, Schumacher pulled a wild pit exit when the German committed to a daring pass around the outside of countryman Hulkenburg to gain seventh on the grid. Closely following Schumacher, Kimi Raikkonen found his way around Hulkenburg as well.
Having passed Schumacher at the hairpin of lap eleven, Jenson Button performed with extreme confidence not seen in his previous series of races. Finding pace to catch the leaders, Button was quickly bringing himself into the leading battle between Vettel and Alonso.
Near the second round of pit stops, Lewis Hamilton's McLaren picked up extraordinary pace as well despite a poor start with a puncture on the first lap. Meaning to unlap himself, Hamilton picked a fight with the leaders before threading through the leaders and storming onward, allowing Button to stealthily bring himself even closer to the Red Bull and Ferrari.
Button was one of the first to dive into the second round of pit stops. The McLaren crew completed the stop in an astounding 2.31 seconds, shattering the previous record to become the new fastest recorded pit stop. Responding to McLaren, Vettel went into the pits a lap later and emerged from his tire change just as Jenson Button's McLaren swung around turn 1. Carrying more speed on the straight, Button stormed ahead of Vettel, and was on to the next prey: the leading Ferrari.
As the number of laps remaining dwindled, Button started to run out of time and tires. As the Pirelli tires "fall of the cliff," Vettel loomed in Button's mirrors once again. Sebastian Vettel lined up his Red Bull and deployed his DRS, determined to take the McLaren around the outside. Putting four wheels off the track, Vettel returns the favor and passes Button.
Race end results marked Fernando Alonso's third victory of the season, a second place finish for Sebastian Vettel, and the final podium spot for Jenson Button.
Remaining points scorers are Raikkonen, Kobayashi, Perez, Schumacher, Webber, Hulkenberg, and Rosberg.
However, a post race investigation on Vettel's pass on Button brings scrutiny over Red Bull once again. Because the maneuver caused Vettel to place its four tires off the track, race officials have deemed the pass invalid. According to the steward's statement, "Car 1 left the track and gained an advantage when he rejoined. Breach of article 20.2 of the FIA Formula 1 sporting regulations. Drive-through penalty, imposed after the race in accordance with article 16.3."
The decision resulted to a 20-second penalty added to Vettel's final time, dropping his finish from second to fifth, promoting Button to second and Kimi Raikkonen to third on the podium.
Current point standings are as follows: Fernando Alonso leads the championship with 154 points followed by Mark Webber at 120, and Vettel at 110. The next Grand Prix will be held in September and will take us to Hungary.
