Fernando Alonso’s German Grand Prix victory made him the fifth driver in F1 history to reach 30 race wins.
Here are the other four drivers who have done so, and how many races it took them to reach the milestone:
| Driver | 30th win | Appearances |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Schumacher | 1998 French Grand Prix | 110 |
| Ayrton Senna | 1991 Monaco Grand Prix | 115 |
| Alain Prost | 1988 Monaco Grand Prix | 126 |
| Nigel Mansell | 1992 Portuguese Grand Prix | 183 |
| Fernando Alonso | 2012 German Grand Prix | 188 |
Alonso also started from the 22nd pole position of his career, giving him one more than Lewis Hamilton.
He continues to edge closer to Schumacher’s record for consecutive points finishes, needing just two more to tie on 24. More on that here.
It was Alonso’s third win at the Hockenheimring, adding to his 2005 and 2010 victories. Only Schumacher has won more times at this track, with four victories in 1995, 2002, 2004 and 2006. The first of those was on the track’s previous high-speed configuration.
Lewis Hamilton’s 100th race
Hamilton did not get the result he was hoping for in his 100th race start. For only the 12th time in his career he was not classified, having pulled off with deteriorating handling, a legacy of his puncture on lap two.
Hamilton has claimed pole position in over a fifth of the races he has started (21), set 11 fastest laps and won 18 times. Here are his top ten placings in his first 100 races:
| Position | Races |
|---|---|
| 1st | 18 |
| 2nd | 16 |
| 3rs | 12 |
| 4th | 9 |
| 5th | 9 |
| 6th | 4 |
| 7th | 4 |
| 8th | 4 |
| 9th | 2 |
| 10th | 1 |
It was Heikki Kovalainen’s 100th appearance at an F1 race weekend but not his 100th start: he failed to start the Spanish Grand Prix in 2010 due to a gearbox problem on his Lotus.
Schumacher’s first fastest lap since comeback
Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of the race. This was the first time he had done so since his return to the sport – his last came in his final race for Ferrari at Interlagos in 2006.
He already holds the record for most fastest laps. This was his 77th, increasing his lead over Prost to 36.
Schumacher is the oldest driver to set the fastest lap in a race since Jack Brabham 42 years ago. Only six drivers have set fastest lap at an older age than Schumacher:
| Driver | Race | Age |
|---|---|---|
| Juan Manuel Fangio | 1958 Argentinian Grand Prix | 46 years, 209 days |
| Piero Taruffi | 1952 Swiss Grand Prix | 45 years, 219 days |
| Giuseppe Farina | 1951 Italian Grand Prix | 44 years, 321 days |
| Jack Brabham | 1970 British Grand Prix | 44 years, 107 days |
| Luigi Villoresi | 1953 Dutch Grand Prix | 44 years, 22 days |
| Karl Kling | 1954 German Grand Prix | 43 years, 319 days |
| Michael Schumacher | 2012 German Grand Prix | 43 years, 201 days |
More German Grand Prix stats and facts
Kamui Kobayashi inherited his best career finish to date following Sebastian Vettel’s penalty, which moved the Sauber driver up to fourth.
Team mate Sergio Perez scored points for the third time in the last four races despite not having started any of them higher than 15th.
It was Mark Webber’s 100th race with Red Bull, who he joined in 2007. He also started 34 races for the team in 2003 and 2004 when they were Jaguar. Webber has made 186 starts so far and should pass his 200th next year with Red Bull, who he recently signed a contract extension with.
Jenson Button qualified ahead of Lewis Hamilton for the first time this year. He had started in front of him in previous races due to penalties.
McLaren were the fastest team in the pits for the third race in a row. They changed Button’s tyres in 2.31 seconds during his final stop, a new record.
Romain Grosjean equalled his worst starting position with 19th. He started their twice during his first F1 races with Renault, at Spa-Francorchamps and Yas Marina during the 2009 season.
Review the year so far in statistics here:
- 2012 F1 championship points
- 2012 F1 season records
- 2012 F1 race data
- 2012 F1 qualifying data
- 2012 F1 retirements and penalties
- 2012 F1 strategy and pit stops
- 2012 F1 driver form guides
Spotted any other interesting stats and facts from the German Grand Prix? Share them in the comments.
2012 German Grand Prix
- Fans’ videos from the 2012 German Grand Prix
- German GP Driver of the Weekend: Fernando Alonso
- Rate the Race result: 2012 German Grand Prix
- Montezemolo “more concerned” after German GP win
- Clear win for Ionutf1fanatic in Predictions Championship
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 11:58
Places 1-7 were occupied by former or current World Champions, and both Saubers. Good company.
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 12:03
Oh, and not to bang a nail into his coffin or anything, but if Massa’s team-mate had scored as many points as him this season Ferrari would be joint-8th in the WCC table with Force India.
Rumour was always that Massa’s contract allowed for replacement due to to poor performance (traditionally measured as a percentage of team-mate’s points) after 10 races – has patience run out? Who could they bring in to bolster the WCC points and ensure at least 2nd?
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd July 2012, 12:32
Just because they can drop Massa, it doesn’t mean they will drop Massa. While it might help them get some results, it will also be disruptive to the team – and in the time it takes a replacement driver to settle into the team, Massa could have been scoring more points.
What’s more, there isn’t any really-viable replacement. The team has shown hesitation to take rookies in the past, and have plainly stated that drivers like Sergio Perez are too inexperienced for the team. All of the other potential candidates, like Jaime Algeursuari and Adrian Sutil, have been out of the sport for six months, and have no knowledge or experience of the cars and tyres (even Algeursuari admitted that he hasn’t driven on the final grade of Pirelli tyres).
Felipe Massa might be under-performing, but he is still the best person for that seat right now.
bananarama (@bananarama)
23rd July 2012, 16:38
Nick Heidfeld FTS (for the seat)!! :-D
Massa CAN get the results for Ferrari (as seen in Silverstone), he just rarely has a qiet weekend without mistakes or bad luck, once that changes he will be okay. Meanwhile, he can drive the improved Ferrari qite fast (sure Alonso is faster than him – no pun intended – but how many people out there could drive that Ferrari faster .. and as Alonso has shown time and again, its not always about going as fast as one could) so lets hope Felipe stabilizes and the rumours will become less intense very quickly.
DVC (@dvc)
24th July 2012, 6:12
Rubens Barrichello?
OmarR-Pepper (@)
23rd July 2012, 14:29
How on Earth ca Massa get AS MANY POINTS as Alonso? That would mean A race can have two first places, for example… :) But I get the point, he should deliver better performances (and to buy a big bunch of good luck).
matt90 (@matt90)
23rd July 2012, 15:33
Quite easily. See Hamilton and Alonso in 2007.
Frain stermin (@fanser)
23rd July 2012, 16:53
but ferrari dont have Ronn Denis
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 17:02
Read it again – I was pointing out that if both Ferrari drivers performed as well as Felipe the team would be in dire straits. IE, he’s not good enough for Ferrari, sad though it may be.
sid_prasher (@)
24th July 2012, 18:29
it is all conjecture...if both mclaren drivers had as many points as button had before Germany they would still be beaten by Alonso alone.. Let us just stick to facts….and the fact is that Felipe is 14th on the points table while Alonso is first. He has not finished on the podium for 2 yrs and needs to do so before he runs out of chances.
Jayfreese (@)
23rd July 2012, 20:29
Worst ratio of wins per appearance for Fernando Alonso amongst the only five drivers to have won at least 30 Grand Prix in Formula 1 history. Interesting!
Nixon (@nixon)
23rd July 2012, 20:48
That is interesting, but half of Alonso’s career was in an average car. Unlike the top 4 drivers…
javlinsharp (@javlinsharp)
23rd July 2012, 21:50
Im not so sure about that, that Renault was pretty good back in the day.
Fernando was getting podiums as early as 2004 and finished 4 in the WDC if I recall, only 1 year after replacing Button at Benetton.
Certinally not as good a start as LH might have had, but definatly not too shabby.
leadfoot (@leadfoot)
23rd July 2012, 23:56
I think his first win was 2003? I could be wrong though. I think he has had a couple of great cars but some really poor ones as well. Some of those Renaults at his second stint were terrible. The longer seasons kind of compound that statistic however when you compare him to the company he is keeping there isn’t a lot of shame in that.
AlonsoWDC (@alonsowdc)
24th July 2012, 0:46
2001 Minardi was obviously an unwinnable car.
If the 2009 Championship was played out ten times, I doubt Alonso would have scored a single victory.
I would love to see who else on the grid could have done what he did with the 2008 Renault.
2003-04 Renault were a bit like the 2011 Ferrari, staring down the back of the podium mostly.
That just leaves 200
7McLaren, the best car on the grid.2005-06 Renault, two seasons with one of the two best cars on the grid, though only for about half a season each.
And wherever we consider the 2010 Ferrari.
Compared to Schumacher, Vettel, Hamilton, or Kimi, that’s a lot of races started with very little possibility of victory.
Not to mention the number of GPs started Alonso has over Prost, Senna, and Mansell due to championship expansion.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
25th July 2012, 20:19
+1 @alonsowdc
The only car which Fernando has had which is very special is the R26. Even then the Mass Damper controversy and Ferrari’s development program meant the advantage was really only for the first ten races. Because of Indy 05 the Michelins were slower and FA also had an off day. But in those races Alonso finished first 7 times and second 3 times.
The 2007 Mclaren was speciail but the bridgestones and the brakes (till canada) meant the package wasn’t ideal.
callum (@095cal)
23rd July 2012, 12:07
Fastest laps mean nothing now. Anyone can change a set of tyres close to the end and easily set the fastest lap.
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 12:15
Feel free to have a go….
SirCoolbeans (@sircoolbeans)
23rd July 2012, 16:30
It has always been that way.
hobo (@hobo)
23rd July 2012, 19:41
As SirCoolbeans notes, a short stint on low fuel and new tires = fastest lap. Always has, refuelling or no refuelling.
Eggry (@eggry)
23rd July 2012, 12:09
Definitely Alonso needs some pole to wins.
carbon_fibre (@carbon_fibre)
23rd July 2012, 12:16
Here’s a useless fact.Vettel has never won a race in July.
marcusbreese (@marcusbreese)
23rd July 2012, 12:26
Great fact! If he doesn’t win in Hungary, that’ll be a pretty amazing stat (considering typically 3 races happen in July).
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 12:27
And yet again, still no podium featuring Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel after 93 possible ones.
Eggry (@eggry)
23rd July 2012, 12:48
That’s interesting.
Atanu (@ilovevettel)
23rd July 2012, 18:54
Very interesting indeed if its correct… I mean how did that not happen with the three best drivers in the grid!!!
bag0 (@bag0)
23rd July 2012, 19:13
@ilovevettel
They always drove for different teams, and there were not so many races where three different teams could achieve podium, when it was possible, it was Button who have stood beside Alonso and Vettel, on other occasions it was Webber who was on the podium instead of Vettel.
Gridl0k
24th July 2012, 15:32
It’s statistically very, very unlikely if you look at their individual odds for a podium on any given weekend and their histories. I mean Hamilton has had podiums in what, 43/100 races? Vettel had his dominant year. Alonso is Alonso.
Enigma (@enigma)
25th July 2012, 17:43
@bag0
To be exact, that’s not true – in 2007, there were 8 races where Hamilton and Alonso were together at McLaren and Vettel was already driving in F1, for Toro Rosso (7 times) and once for BMW Sauber.
There was a good chance of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel sharing a podium in Montreal though.
Andy Redden (@andyredden-on-f1)
24th July 2012, 1:34
Better fact: Vettel has never won a race from off the front row!!!!
David-A (@david-a)
24th July 2012, 2:39
Malaysia 2010
cg22me (@cg22me)
25th July 2012, 0:33
lol.
David-A (@david-a)
26th July 2012, 22:44
Well, only Senna, Fangio and Clark have started on the front row more often.
Erivaldo moreira (@erivaldonin)
23rd July 2012, 12:19
Hamilton is the only driver in history who played 100 races
by the same team since his debut
Manalive
23rd July 2012, 12:22
Is this the first time this year that Rosberg has finished a race ahead of where he started it?
paulgilb (@paulgilb)
23rd July 2012, 18:13
It is indeed.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
23rd July 2012, 18:46
Wow. Other than his win from pole in China, that is a sad, sad statistic.
Max Jacobson (@vettel1)
23rd July 2012, 21:08
@adam-tate – and technically that isn’t even ahead!
Slr (@slr)
23rd July 2012, 12:23
Sauber’s best points haul so far this season with 20 points scored.
PieLighter (@pielighter)
23rd July 2012, 21:45
That’s quite sad, considering Perez’s 18 in Malaysia.
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
23rd July 2012, 12:28
Interesting comparison there between Alonso and Hamilton in qualifying. Goes to show that while Alonso is undoubtedly one of the best drivers on the grid, he does have a bit of a weakness when it comes to qualifying. Although it must be noted that while Hamilton has had access to a car which, arguably, has been good enough to score poles pretty much every single season, the same can’t be said for Alonso. If you ignored the years when Alonso was driving a car which wasn’t competitive, then I’m sure the pole:win:race starts ratio would look a lot more healthy.
Despite this, I don’t think many would disagree that Alonso is probably the weakest qualifier out of him, Hamilton, and Vettel.
Gridl0k
23rd July 2012, 12:29
The 2009 McLaren wasn’t really good enough for pole at any point.
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
23rd July 2012, 12:35
Hamilton scored four pole positions in 2009 and won two races. Granted, at the start of the season the MP4-24 was an absolute dog of a thing, but by the middle of the season it had been improved considerably, to the point where Hamilton was able to compete in most races.
Xusen (@xusen)
23rd July 2012, 12:42
The F2012 is now up there with the best, Alonso now has 2 pole positions compared to 0 in 2011 and 1 in 2010.
Xusen (@xusen)
23rd July 2012, 12:44
sorry that should be 2 in 2010*
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
23rd July 2012, 12:49
Exactly. In 2010 Alonso was the strongest driver on the grid after Silverstone. He went on to narrowly miss out on winning the championship. Yet for all his wins and podiums, he scored just one pole position. It’s not to say that he’s a bad qualifier, simply that given roughly equal machinery it’d seem probably that he’d be outqualified slightly by Hamilton and/or Vettel.
Clearly, since the man is a double world champion, and has been in contention for two further world championships since (not counting this one), it doesn’t seem to hold him back much. It’s just interesting that for a man who most would (quite rightly) consider the strongest and most complete driver on the grid, he does seem to have this one area where he isn’t all-conquering. The difference I guess being that for a lot of the qualifying specialists, their strength on the saturday is often marred by other issues on the sunday.
It would be interesting to see a comparison of the conversion rate from poles to wins, to see who has managed to capitalise on their qualifying performances. At a guess, after 2011 I’d say it’s most likely to be Vettel.
Ads21 (@ads21)
23rd July 2012, 12:59
Well Keith pointed out in the Silverstone stats and facts Alonso has converted all of his pole positions into podiums except for Hungary 2009 where he had a mechanical failure. That’s a pretty impressive record.
James (@jamesf1)
23rd July 2012, 17:07
The 2008 and 2009 Renault’s werent much to write home about though. Although it must be said that Hamilton’s hit rate for qualifying and points scored in races isnt impressive.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
23rd July 2012, 18:50
Alonso would have for poles, but look at the qualifying specialists he has been up against in his career: Kimi, Vettel, Hamilton, 3 of the fastest drivers over a single lap that F1 has ever had. Not to mention others with lots of pole positions like Schumacher, Montoya, and Massa. What Alonso does better than the others is that he ensures his pole positions translate to podiums and strong points finishes nearly every time.
bag0 (@bag0)
23rd July 2012, 19:15
Dont forget Trulli and Fischi from that list.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
24th July 2012, 7:17
Good point! Even more qualifying stars. The 2000’s really was a decade full of drivers who could nail it for one lap, but couldn’t put it all together as well as the Schumacher and Alonso.
Tete
23rd July 2012, 18:05
What are you talking about?? Hamilton biased fan. Hamilton has had the 1-2 fastest car in all but one season , while Alonso has had the third fastest car in Ferrari and just take at look at the 2010-2011-2012 standing. He finished ahead of Hamilton in all those years having a inferior car.
MazdaChris (@mazdachris)
23rd July 2012, 20:35
F that was in response to my original comment then I think you have misread what I was saying, since you’ve basically agreed with me. So not sure why you’re saying I’m a biased Hamilton fan, especially since I don’t especially think of myself as a fan of any particular driver; I love F1 as a sport, and simply make observations about drivers based on their performance.
PJ (@)
23rd July 2012, 12:47
While not exactly relevant to Germany, I pulled together some stats about the drivers, after hearing the commentary mention the various champions on the grid (Di Resta taking the DTM line for example):
http://www.reddit.com/r/formula1/comments/x0bch/champions_in_formula_1/
Posted them there. Basically, every driver on the grid has won some sort of championship in their time, if not in F1 then earlier in their careers. The only person not to is Charles Pic. De La Rosa has won in 8 different disciplines.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
23rd July 2012, 18:52
Great work!!
Very interesting stuff there, sure is a shame for De La Rosa, the guy obviously has the talent and experience, he just never got a real shot at it with a top team, his couple races for McLaren showed promise.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
23rd July 2012, 12:58
All twenty-four drivers who started the season have now completed all ten rounds (Glock was sick in Valencia, but was given permission to enter the race if he was deemed healthy, so he did enough to take part). 2012 is the first time since 2003 that every driver who started the season has completed the first ten races without a driver change:
– In 2011, Narain Karthikeyan was dropped by HRT after eight races.
– In 2010, Bruno Senna was dropped by HRT after nine races (but returned to the car for the eleventh race).
– In 2009, Toro Rosso replaced Sebastien Bourdais after nine races.
– In 2008, Takuma Sato and Anthony Davidson completed the first four races before Super Aguri collapsed.
– in 2007, Robert Kubica was replaced at BMW Sauber after six races, but returned for the eighth.
– In 2006, Yuji Ide was stripped of his superlicence after four races.
– In 2005, Takuma Sato was ill and missed the second race, but returned for the third.
– In 2004, Ralf Schumacher was injured in the ninth race, but returned for the sixteenth.
But in 2003, the first driver change was Minardi dropping Justin Wilson after the British Grand Prix, which means that 2012 is the first time since 2003 that every driver who started the season has completed the first ten races.
sumedh
23rd July 2012, 17:57
Nice statistic there!
A small correction though. Kubica was not “replaced” in 2007. Rather, he was injured for the US Grand Prix.
sato113 (@sato113)
26th July 2012, 17:19
@prisoner-monkeys
well i still dont believe Glock should count as he didnt even start the race.
and Petrov never started at silverstone. he pulled into the pits on the formation lap with egine problems.
I Love the Pope
23rd July 2012, 13:14
I love the job Sauber did on Sunday. A question though from a relative F1 rookie:
Did Sauber use a dry set up during qualifying in expectation of a dry race? If so, would that explain why they were slow in qualifying but fast in the race?
Thanks!
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
23rd July 2012, 14:53
It’s probably a moot point. The differences between ‘wet’ and ‘dry’ set-ups are far less drastic now than they used to be, due to things like the 2009 aero regulations change and the parc ferme restriction in force after qualifying.
Also the spare car is not sitting around ready-built waiting for use at short notice, so for example we don’t have drivers having one car set for dry conditions and one set for wet, and opting for whichever is best suited to the conditions moments before the race starts.
Furthermore dry weather was expected on Sunday right from the off, which would have discouraged teams from using compromise set-ups.
So I doubt there were many significant differences.
James (@jamesf1)
23rd July 2012, 17:10
I believe the teams were also given permission to change the set ups on the cars because the change in the conditions was so drastic. At least I’m sure one of the drivers mentioned this on the grid to Brundle at the weekend.
I Love the Pope
23rd July 2012, 19:17
Thank you, Keith. That makes me even more impressed with the job Sauber did on Sunday. Remarkable work from the whole team!
Kimi4WDC
23rd July 2012, 23:40
Also notice Sauber’s gear ratio was considerably higher, they were doing 315 while Red Bulls and a like were bouncing on 308.
I Love the Pope
24th July 2012, 3:53
Forgive me, but what is a gear ratio?