Red Bull.com

Six Germans, a quarter of the field, were enjoying their home GP…
“It’s really good to be back – I’ve had a lot of good races at Hockenheim, and I hope I can use that to get in front of Lotus.”
Timo Glock, Virgin Racing

“As a German driver, it’s something special.”
Adrian Sutil, Force India

“We [Mercedes] are coming here as kind of the national team, so it’s different to what it has been in the past…”
Michael Schumacher, Mercedes

“Nice to be able to have a German breakfast.”
Nico Hülkenberg, Williams

“I’ve won here in every category I’ve ever raced in – it wouldn’t be too bad to do it in F1 too.”
Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

“Sorry for the weather.”
Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing

Of the Germans, Vettel was the clear favourite, given the continuing struggles of a certain Mr Schumacher
“It would be wrong to say I’m perfectly happy with my own performance, but put it this way: there is an expectation out there which I think is impossible to meet. I’ve been away three years and to come back and start exactly where I finished, with a car that maybe doesn’t allow me to do that, is unrealistic. I’m not a magician.”
Michael Schumacher

Ferrari looked good, but it was Vettel who took P1, albeit only two-thousandths of a second quicker than Fernando Alonso. The crowd had what it wanted: a German on pole.
“It was a good day today. A very close session, very close battle with the other cars and good to be on pole. It is the best you can achieve on a Saturday but the main challenge will come tomorrow.”
Sebastian Vettel

“I’m not disappointed. We have been competitive for the last five races, but in Q3 we have been half a second behind Red Bull. Today we are not half a second behind, so we are very happy.”
Fernando Alonso, Ferrari

The order was reversed on row two, with Felipe Massa ahead of Mark Webber
“It’s a good position. Let’s carry on trying to score good results on a good track. The race is tomorrow, it’s long and our car looks pretty competitive to fight.”
Felipe Massa, Ferrari

“I lost my last run; that was a mistake from my side. It was a pretty tight qually up until then. I got turn one wrong, going a little wide. I lost the chance of the front row, but I also lost a definite third place. First time off the front row for a long time- but I’m looking forward to the race.”
Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Schumacher didn’t make the Q3 shoot-out, pushed out at the last minute by Nico Hülkenberg, his highly rated compatriot
“I was concentrating on my own lap, not anyone else’s. No, I don’t think I’ve killed a legend. That would be Sebastian.”
Nico Hülkenberg

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At the start Vettel didn’t get away well; he attempted – and failed – to cover Alonso, which left Massa free to take the lead.
“I just had good grip. Sebastian wasn’t pulling away, he was a bit slower than I expected with some wheelspin. I saw him coming to the right, so the only possibility was to go to the left, and then they [Vettel and Alonso] were fighting each other, so I took the chance to pass both – it was a great start.”
Felipe Massa

“Yeah, I had a bit of a bog, the first five or 10 metres of acceleration was very poor; I was lucky to not stall the engine. I knew it would be tight with Fernando… I was a little surprised when I saw Felipe on the right.
Sebastian Vettel

Further back, the Toro Rossos were embroiled in drama. Sébastien Buemi took off like a rocket, only to be clattered by team-mate Jaime Alguersuari at the hairpin. Buemi retired, Alguersuari limped to the pits for a new nose
“I was on the inside going into [the hairpin] and I braked well, leaving enough space, but there seemed to be some problems in front of me, as the cars ahead all slowed much more than is normal. I braked again, but it was not enough and I drove into him. Naturally, I am sorry for that.”
Jaime Alguersuari, Scuderia Toro Rosso

“He came from a long way back and ended up on top of my car.”
Sébastien Buemi, Scuderia Toro Rosso

After a first round of pitstops, the Ferraris and Vettel began to build up a lead. Massa hounded by Alonso, Vettel grimly holding on. Behind them, the McLarens were in front of Webber – but Mark dropped back when his RB6 went technical.
“We had an oil consumption problem, so we had to concentrate on getting the car to the end. I wasn't in the main fight today, but I'll be back. It's competitive at the front and that's how it should be, so we're looking forward to the next race."
Mark Webber

With Vettel closing and Massa struggling on the harder tyres, a none-too-subtle message came from the Ferrari pitwall and Massa made a none-too-subtle sacrifice…
"Fernando is quicker than you. Can you confirm that you understand that message?"
Rob Smedley, Ferrari, race engineer Felipe Massa

“You need to think about the team. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Fernando Alonso

“I’m professional and today I showed how professional I am. That’s it.”
Felipe Massa

“Good lad. Just stick with it now. Sorry”
Rob Smedley

"I have to say, that was probably the clearest team order I've ever seen, especially when you've got the team apologising to a driver."
Christian Horner

Ferrari took a dominant one-two followed by Vettel third, Lewis Hamilton fourth, Jenson Button fifth and Webber sixth. Alonso and Massa picked up their trophies with neutral expressions before facing the press whose questions bordered on the aggressive...
“Fernando, you’ve said you’re happy with this win but to be honest, I’ve never seen a driver look less happy in the middle of a podium… Why can’t you just be honest with us and admit that this win was handed to you on a plate?”
PA, International

“To both Fernando and Felipe, we always talk about the show, the necessity of the show in Formula One. Can you conceive that race lovers and show lovers might be a bit frustrated today?”
L’Equipe, France

“Fernando, what have you got to say to the people who would call this a dirty win and if you win the championship, a dirty champion…
you couldn’t beat him on the track, so you had to get the team to do it for you…”
The Daily Mirror, UK

“Fernando, I think we all know what happened on lap 48 and we don’t need any fairy tales… in 2006 in Monza you said that Formula One is not a sport any more but was that which we saw today a sport?”
Financial Times, Germany

“Fernando, you said after Valencia that the race had been manipulated in favour of Lewis. Those words seem a bit hollow now. Where will this victory rank in your career… is it up there with Singapore 2008?”
News of the World, UK

“Felipe, after this afternoon, do you now think you’re the number two driver at Ferrari?”
Reuters, International

“I don’t think I need to say anything about that. He passed me.”
Felipe Massa

“I think we deserved this result for the team.”
Fernando Alonso

“Erm… can I go?”
Sebastian Vettel

The Stewards decided Ferrari had cheated, fined the Scuderia $100,000 and referred them to the World Motor Sports Council who may take the matter further. With much growling, everyone packed up and headed for Budapest feeling a little bit grubby. Red Bull Racing made a minor gain on McLaren, while Lewis Hamilton managed to slightly increase his lead in the Drivers’ Championship. Just past the halfway point, this might be the most compelling title race for years.

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