Top ten pictures from the 2012 European Grand Prix

Ten great pictures which tell the story of the European Grand Prix weekend.

Timo Glock, Friday practice

Marussia only had one driver in the race: the unwell Timo Glock pulled out after practice.

Jean-Eric Vergne, Friday practice

Windy conditions on Friday caught a lot of drivers out: locked wheels and trips across the run-off were a common sight. Here Jean-Eric Vergne trashes a set of Pirellis.

Romain Grosjean, qualifying

Lotus targeted an improved performance in qualifying and Romain Grosjean delivered fourth on the grid, edging team mate Kimi Raikkonen by eight-thousandths of a second.

In the race Grosjean was pressuring Fernando Alonso for the lead when his alternator failed, leaving Raikkonen to take second.

Sebastian Vettel, qualifying

The Red Bull featured a series of changes including revised rear exhaust exits. Sebastian Vettel wielded it to great effect, claiming pole position by over three-tenths of a second.

He dominated the race for 33 laps until his Renault engine’s alternator failed, much as Grosjean’s did a few laps later.

Start, European Grand Prix

As the cars file into the tight first corner, Grosjean squeezes past Pastor Maldonado for third place.

The drivers who went on to finish first, third and fourth are back in the midfield and, in Mark Webber’s case, among the tail-enders.

Fernando Alonso, European Grand Prix

Speedy pit work was one of the ingredients in Alonso’s rapid rise through the field. The reliably quick Ferrari crew helped him get ahead of Raikkonen and Hamilton during the race.

Lewis Hamilton, European Grand Prix

In the build-up to the race Hamilton remarked on how McLaren hadn’t upgraded their car as quickly as their rivals. This was borne out in the opening stages of the race as he watched Vettel pull away at well over a second per lap.

The Canadian Grand Prix winner hit trouble late in the race when his tyres went off: Raikkonen passed him cleanly, but an impatient Maldonado bundled him into the barriers and out of the points for the first time this year.

Nico Hulkenberg, European Grand Prix

Force India admitted they ran their tyres too hot. But despite that, and a Kinetic Energy Recovery System which was not working for most of the race, Nico Hulkenberg brought the car home fifth for his best career finish to date.

Michael Schumacher, European Grand Prix

With 13 laps to go Michael Schumacher was down in 11th place – only one place higher than he’d started.

But a late second pit stop gave him the benefit of fresher rubber late in the race and he ripped through the field, passing Vitaly Petrov, Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button, Sergio Perez and both Force Indias.

Finally the Maldonado/Hamilton collision promoted him to third place for his long-awaited first podium finish since his comeback.

Fernando Alonso, European Grand Prix

But the day belonged to Alonso and his ecstatic Ferrari team. He charged through from 11th to win, taking a 20-point lead in the drivers’ championship.

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Image © Marussia, Red Bull/Getty images, Lotus F1 Team/LAT, Red Bull/Getty images, Red Bull/Getty images, Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo, McLaren/Hoch Zwei, Sahara Force India F1 Team, Mercedes/Hoch Zwei, Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo

20 comments on “Top ten pictures from the European Grand Prix”

callum (@095cal)
26th June 2012, 11:02

Love the Timo Glock one!

Traverse Mark Senior (@)
26th June 2012, 15:11

+1
The Timo pic made me LOL. He looks like a midget! XD
Steveo
26th June 2012, 16:36

“Oh my head hurts”
1. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
  26th June 2012, 18:56
  
  “Oh my head hurts”
  
  Don’t you mean stomach? :-)

GeeMac (@geemac)
26th June 2012, 11:06

How many people do Ferrari bring to each race?!

woogle
28th June 2012, 0:14

i was thinking that seems an aufull lot

a4p (@a4p)
26th June 2012, 11:40

For the ones who are wondering, ‘TANTA ROBA’ is the Italian for ‘Lots of stuff’.

AlonsoWDC (@alonsowdc)
26th June 2012, 13:05

Well, sort of.

It’s more like an idiom for ‘badass’ (American).

1 of the 3
26th June 2012, 14:20

I don’t know if you’re talking about “tanta roba” but I’d that’s too simplistic. Andrea Pirlo’s cucchiaio was “tanta roba” the other night, but a person who is really annoying and always getting on your nerves can also be “tanta roba”. So there’s the good sense and the bad sense. In fact, I see the photo as totally ironic seeing as Massa is hanging out right by the sign. Massa and Alonso have equally been tanta roba this year!

So it’s best not to translate the phrase imo.
1. Traverse Mark Senior (@)
  26th June 2012, 15:21
  
  but a person who is really annoying and always getting on your nerves can also be “tanta roba”
  
  If that is true, than we should all refer to Maldonado as ‘Tanta Roba’ from now on. :-)

Karthikeyan (@ridiculous)
26th June 2012, 13:43

ty @alonsowdc and @a4p

quanttrader
26th June 2012, 15:41

Wow, look at Schumacher’s front tires. Do they make Pirelli tires out of wax?

Dave (@davea86)
26th June 2012, 15:53

That’s just the marbles he picked up after the race to make the car heavier for the scales when it goes through scrutineering.