Jenson Button and Pastor Maldanado have set the fastest times in mixed conditions in the opening practice sessions at Hockenheim ahead of the German Grand Prix.
The first session saw Button lead the way in the first on-track appearance of McLaren’s updated MP4-27.
The session was held between intermittent rain showers with Button’s time was set in dry conditions at the start of the session. He edged out team-mate Lewis Hamilton and world championship leader Fernando Alonso.
Williams driver Maldoando was fastest in an even wetter second session, setting his time during the best of some poor conditions.
Maldonado’s team-mate Bruno Senna only competed in the second session after Valtteri Bottas got some laps in the Williams in Practice 1. Bottas’ time in the car was hampered by an incident.
Others to run into trouble included Michael Schumacher, who crashed at the stadium section of the circuit in Practice 2.
Schumacher’s Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg ended up second, ahead of Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull), Sergio Perez (Sauber) and Romain Grosjean (Lotus).
Practice 1
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:16.595 | 27 | |
| 2 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:17.093 | 0.498 | 22 |
| 3 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:17.370 | 0.775 | 21 |
| 4 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:17.382 | 0.787 | 20 |
| 5 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:17.413 | 0.818 | 28 |
| 6 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:17.599 | 1.004 | 17 |
| 7 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:17.915 | 1.320 | 27 |
| 8 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:17.995 | 1.400 | 22 |
| 9 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:18.020 | 1.425 | 20 |
| 10 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:18.130 | 1.535 | 21 |
| 11 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:18.226 | 1.631 | 22 |
| 12 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:18.339 | 1.744 | 21 |
| 13 | 19 | Valtteri Bottas | Williams-Renault | 1:18.422 | 1.827 | 28 |
| 14 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:18.709 | 2.114 | 30 |
| 15 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:18.831 | 2.236 | 14 |
| 16 | 11 | Jules Bianchi | Force India-Mercedes | 1:18.972 | 2.377 | 21 |
| 17 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:19.039 | 2.444 | 34 |
| 18 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:19.674 | 3.079 | 24 |
| 19 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:19.963 | 3.368 | 24 |
| 20 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:20.122 | 3.527 | 27 |
| 21 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:20.169 | 3.574 | 20 |
| 22 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:20.539 | 3.944 | 18 |
| 23 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:21.138 | 4.543 | 24 |
| 24 | 23 | Dani Clos | HRT-Cosworth | 1:21.740 | 5.145 | 27 |
Practice 2
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Time/Retired | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 18 | Pastor Maldonado | Williams-Renault | 1:27.476 | 14 | |
| 2 | 8 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1:27.564 | 0.088 | 24 |
| 3 | 1 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:27.902 | 0.426 | 24 |
| 4 | 15 | Sergio Perez | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:28.402 | 0.926 | 26 |
| 5 | 10 | Romain Grosjean | Lotus-Renault | 1:28.420 | 0.944 | 20 |
| 6 | 12 | Nico Hulkenberg | Force India-Mercedes | 1:28.495 | 1.019 | 22 |
| 7 | 16 | Daniel Ricciardo | STR-Ferrari | 1:28.513 | 1.037 | 23 |
| 8 | 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:28.516 | 1.040 | 16 |
| 9 | 2 | Mark Webber | Red Bull Racing-Renault | 1:28.877 | 1.401 | 21 |
| 10 | 9 | Kimi Räikkönen | Lotus-Renault | 1:29.327 | 1.851 | 22 |
| 11 | 17 | Jean-Eric Vergne | STR-Ferrari | 1:29.364 | 1.888 | 26 |
| 12 | 6 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1:29.719 | 2.243 | 15 |
| 13 | 14 | Kamui Kobayashi | Sauber-Ferrari | 1:29.785 | 2.309 | 24 |
| 14 | 25 | Charles Pic | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:30.090 | 2.614 | 19 |
| 15 | 24 | Timo Glock | Marussia-Cosworth | 1:30.220 | 2.744 | 16 |
| 16 | 19 | Bruno Senna | Williams-Renault | 1:30.291 | 2.815 | 22 |
| 17 | 20 | Heikki Kovalainen | Caterham-Renault | 1:30.331 | 2.855 | 26 |
| 18 | 11 | Paul di Resta | Force India-Mercedes | 1:30.437 | 2.961 | 14 |
| 19 | 4 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:30.617 | 3.141 | 16 |
| 20 | 5 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1:31.207 | 3.731 | 20 |
| 21 | 21 | Vitaly Petrov | Caterham-Renault | 1:32.241 | 4.765 | 22 |
| 22 | 23 | Narain Karthikeyan | HRT-Cosworth | 1:32.349 | 4.873 | 17 |
| 23 | 7 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1:32.777 | 5.301 | 18 |
| 24 | 22 | Pedro de la Rosa | HRT-Cosworth | 1:42.566 | 15.090 | 8 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s German Grand Prix Race Guide
