German Grand Prix qualifying as it happened

Will McLaren bounce back after a lackustre qualifying? Will Michael Schumacher give his home crowd a podium they crave? Will Fernando Alonso run off into the distance to collect his third win of the season? Join me at 12:00 BST to find out. Until then, it's guten tag from me. See ya.

Tune in at 17:00 BST where Lee McKenzie will bring you a shiny qualifying highlights package on BBC Two, the BBC HD channel and this very website. And at 18:45 BST, McKenzie return with Inside F1 with all the gossip from the Hockenheim paddock. You can watch that on the BBC News channel and online.

But do keep an eye on bbc.co.uk/f1 throughout the day to find all the analysis from today's events plus interviews with the drivers and video highlights of the action.

I'll be back at 12:00 BST to warm you up for the 2012 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. Lights go out at 13:00, but we'll have plenty to get through before that, including any developments from overnight.

Another cracking qualifying session, but it's that man Fernando Alonso - our championship leader - who is on pole position for the second race in a row. Here's Andrew Benson's report. Can the 30-year-old double world champion win his third race of the season - and become the first man to do so on Sunday afternoon? You'll have to join me to find out.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who qualified seventh: "We did our last laps first and then the track got better and better and I guess the other guys were able to post quicker times after that. The track was drying so we would have got better if we had one more lap, but it was like driving on ice for us."

A good day for the German drivers on home soil, with three drivers in the top five - Sebastian Vettel (second), Michael Schumacher (fourth) and Nico Hulkenberg (fifth).

More from Mark Webber: "We have a car that is strong in all conditions but there are many quick cars out there. It is never ideal to shoot ourselves in the foot with penalties here and there but these things happen."

Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who starts third: "The session was tricky for all of us, dodgy conditions. We could have done better here and there. We could have stopped [like Alonso], but we're third, which is eighth with the penalty for a gearbox change, and looking to come forward tomorrow."

More from Sebastian Vettel: "For tomorrow, you can't rule out McLaren, they've been quick in qualifying all weekend. In the last part of qualifying, I don't know what went wrong, they were a bit far behind. They will be quick. Lotus have been quick in races. It's still extremely close. We are consistent and able to finish in the top three which is the key, so we try to do our best tomorrow and see what the weather does."

Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel, who starts second: "In these conditions it was tricky, you can lose the car a bit in the rivers, but I think we had the car today to put on pole, we need to look at the strategy Alonso touched on, maybe that was better but in these conditions it is a bit of a lottery. Fortunately we didn't lose the car and we are on the front row which should be good. I am starting on the inside as well so we will see what happens."

More from Fernando Alonso: "It has been a strange weekend for conditions on the track, but the car was performing well in both conditions so we will see what happens tomorrow."

Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso, who starts on pole: "Sometimes it's good to check the circuit conditions as we did in Q3. Going into Turn 6 was not easy for anybody, a lot of aquaplaning, but everything went well for us. We made a good stategy call doing a pit stop in Q3 so we could have fresher tyres in the last minute. I think that helped us a lot to improve the lap time."

Time to hear what the top three have to say in the press conference...

Sebastian Vettel studies the timing screens along with countryman Michael Schumacher as the pair wait to be weighed. Vettel then heads back into the pit lane to meet team-mate Mark Webber and pole-sitter Fernando Alonso for the obligatory post-qualifying top three photo.

Jenson Button outqualifies McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton for the first time this season in seventh, with Paul di Resta and Kimi Raikkonen completing the top 10.

Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber finish second and third respectively ahead of a strong showing from Michael Schumacher in fourth. It's a Force India career best fifth for Nico Hulkenberg with Pastor Maldonado a decent sixth.

An incredible lap from Fernando Alonso for his second pole of the season and second in succession. The Spaniard finishes four tenths quicker than anyone else in such tricky conditions. Remarkable.

*FERNANDO ALONSO TAKES POLE POSITION FOR THE GERMAN GRAND PRIX*

Fernando Alonso goes even fastest, shaving 0.25 seconds off his best lap. Is there anything this man can't do? He's a machine.

Michael Schumacher can only manage fourth as he crosses the line ahead of Sebastian Vettel who slots into second alongside Fernando Alonso.

Mark Webber goes quicker of all but Fernando Alonso is on a mighty lap. The Spaniard is absolutely flying...and he GOES QUICKEST by seven tenths of a second. Wow.

Jenson Button's race engineer on team radio: "This is a much better and hotter set of tyres. We can do a good job here."

Sebastian Vettel eclipses Michael Schumacher's leading time by one tenth to go quickest of all with Lewis Hamilton third, Fernando Alonso fourth and Paul di Resta fifth.

Lewis Hamilton goes fastest now but the times are tumbling. Michael Schumacher crosses the line to go 1.7 seconds quicker than anyone else. It's going to be a case of last man standing in the battle of pole.

Sebastian Vettel is now our leader, one tenth quicker than Fernando Alonso. Great laps from the Force India boys. Nico Hulkenberg is third and Paul di Resta fifth, split by Jenson Button who improves on his second timed lap.

Jenson Button goes quickest, but he is soon usurped by McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The track is improving all the time because Michael Schumacher goes quickest and then Fernando Alonso.

Michael Schumacher team radio: "It's going to be very difficult to stay on track. There is a lot of aquaplaning."

The McLaren boys are out nice and early, sensibly choosing the full wet tyres for their first run but further behind Nico Hulkenberg has a massive moment when he hits some standing water and aquaplanes, sending his Force India spinning off into the gravel. The German recovers and rejoins the track.

Great job by Force India getting both cars into the top 10 shoot-out. McLaren and Red Bull the only other teams to do that. Strong lap from Michael Schumacher, too, who was on the cusp of getting knocked out in Q1 only to go second quickest in the wet in Q2.

Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen gets on the radio to vent his fury:: "It's again Perez, blocking me on my timed lap. Unbelievable. Unbelievable."

The conditions have got worse and those on full wets can't get near the times set on the intermediates. That means that those in the drop zone - Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Kamui Kobayashi, Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Bruno Senna and Nico Rosberg - have little chance of making the top 10.

Nico Rosberg has blinked and headed into the pits for a set of full wet tyres. The German is in the drop zone and has around six minutes to get out and lift himself into the top 10.

Lewis Hamilton looks mighty in these conditions as he hooks up a brilliant lap to go seven tenths quicker than anyone else - 1:37.365. Michael Schumacher stays second ahead of Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button.

Felipe Massa, Romain Grosjean, Daniel Ricciardo, Sergio Perez, Bruno Senna, Kamui Kobayashi and Nico Rosberg are currently in the drop zone.

A horrible moment for the Ferrari team when Felipe Massa makes a mistake, wiggles back onto track just as team-mate Fernando Alonso catches him. The Spaniard gets baulked by the Brazilian who is struggling for grip big time. Even so, Alonso still sets the second fastest time. What a machine.

Jenson Button is sliding around all over the place but he gets the first time on the board - a 1:39.010 but that's beaten almost immediately by Pastor Maldonado.

The rain is really coming down now and Felipe Massa is told that he'll have three laps on this run. "Stay calm because the rain will only get heavier," says his race engineer Rob Smedley.

And he's makes it, just...The German clocks the 17th fastest time, 0.05 seconds fastest than Jean-Eric Vergne who gets bumped into 18th and out of qualifying. Lucky boy.

Michael Schumacher is down on the 17th fastest time in the first two sectors on his final flying lap. He needs a stellar final sector if he is to avoid becoming the first big casualty of the day...

Mark Webber's first flyer is disappointing and he can only manage 15th so he'll need to go again. That drops home favourite Michael Schumacher into the drop zone. Are we in for a shock in Q1?

Romain Grosjean can breathe a sigh of relief. He pops his Lotus up into 12th, which drops Sergio Perez into the drop zone. But the Sauber is on a lap and goes second quickest overall which drops Mark Webber into the drop zone. The Australian has work to do.

Mark Webber has headed out on the soft tyre, as has Fernando Alonso. They are currently 15th and ninth respectively. Looking at the drop zone, Romain Grosjean is the man under pressure. The Lotus driver is 18th ahead of Kovalainen, Petrov, Pic, Glock, De la Rosa and Karthikeyan.

Sauber on Twitter: "Most cars in the garage. We observe the next steps of the others and keep on looking at the weather radar."

Nico Hulkenberg hauls himself out of the drop zone with a good lap on the soft tyres that puts him second overall. Moments later, Kimi Raikkonen delivers an absolute corker, nailing a mid-1m15 on the medium tyre. Sensational stuff from the Finn.

No sign of the predicted rain yet, but the clouds overhead look ominious. Lewis Hamilton's team tell him that they think he's done enough to get into Q2, so he gets out of the car with eight minutes remaining and the team get on with preparing the car for the next session. That's one confident man.

With 10 minutes gone and 10 minutes remaining, Nico Hulkenberg, Heikki Kovalainen, Vitaly Petrov, Pedro de la Rosa, Charles Pic, Timo Glock and Narain Karthikeyan are currently in the drop zone.

Lewis Hamilton is absolutely flying. The McLaren driver is doing a super job at the minute, shaving another tenth off his best to extend his lead at the top. Kamui Kobayashi has nailed a good'un too to go second, splitting the two McLarens.

No he can't. The McLaren driver backs off after making a mistake and saves the tyres ready for another lap. Hamilton is currently eighth fastest, half-a-second slower than pace-setter Fernando Alonso.

Jenson Button now takes top spot with a high 1m16, before Fernando Alonso sneaks ahead by 0.03 seconds. The Mercedes of Nico Rosberg and Michael Schumacher are third and fourth respectively. Lewis Hamilton goes purple on his timed lap...can he go quicker?

Pastor Maldonado sets the early pace with a 1m18.317, one tenth quicker than Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India.

Just five minutes to go until the pit lane opens its doors. So we've got a 20-minute session coming up which will see the slowest seven drivers get knocked out. Vitaly Petrov, Pedro de la Rosa, Narain Karthikeyan, Timo Glock and Charles Pic are the only drivers yet to make it past Q1 in 2012.

BBC F1 weatherman Ian Fergusson has some big news on the weather front. Moderate to heavy rain showers are now looking "inevitable" for qualifying. Let the chaos begin...

Ferrari's Fernando Alonso was fastest in final practice ahead of Lewis Hamilton of McLaren and Sauber's Sergio Perez. Red Bull's Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel were fifth and sixth with Jenson Button down in 24th and last after complaining of a lack of front-end grip.

The session gets under way at 13:00 BST and will be split into three segments. The first lasts 20 minutes and will see seven drivers knocked out. The next lasts 15 minutes and sees another seven shown the door. That leaves 10 drivers to fight it out for pole in a 10-minute shoot-out. Timing will be crucial because as we've seen so far this weekend, the rain can fall at any time...

Red Bull boss Christian Horner speaking on BBC Radio 5 live: "It's important that we start beating Fernando [Alonso] on a regular basis. He's been so consistent, he keeps finishing races, he keeps scoring points. He has shown great form in recent races so for us, it's important that we keep chipping into the lead that he has."

The Hockenheimring is a fantastic circuit that may have lost some of its charm after getting cut in half back in 2002, but still retains some beautiful corners which provide plenty of overtaking opportunities. Qualifying, then, should be a barrel of laughs, especially when the heavens decide to open...

Hello all, who's up for a dose of full-throttle, no-nonsense, spine-tingling Formula 1 craziness, probably on a soaking wet track?

Here's Andrew Benson's final practice report. That's just about it for me for now. I'm off for a spot of lunch and a stretch of the legs before returning at 12:30 BST to begin building up to qualifying. With rain forecast, anything could happen. See you in a bit!

And here's 1-12:

1) Alonso 2) Hamilton 3) Perez 4) Raikkonen 5) Webber 6) Vettel 7) Maldonado 8) Massa 9) Kobayashi 10) Senna 11) Grosjean 12) Hulkenberg

Here's how they finished 13-24:

13) Di Resta 14) Ricciardo 15) Schumacher 16) Vergne 17) Rosberg 18) Kovalainen 19) Petrov 20) De la Rosa 21) Glock 22) Pic 23) Karthikeyan 24) Button

Plenty of running for the teams with everyone apart from Charles Pic getting into double figures, with most completing more than 20 laps and running both medium and soft tyres.

So Fernando Alonso tops the times, 0.77 seconds clear of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren. A strong showing from Sergio Perez in third and Kimi Raikkonen fourth. Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg finish down in 15th and 17th respectively with Jenson Button 24th and last.

This session is effectively over as the rain has intensified. Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg back off and cruise back to the pits. They'll be keen not to make a mistake like Michael Schumacher did yesterday when he put his Mercedes in the barriers in the stadium section.

Michael Schumacher improves to 15th overall, 1.252 seconds off the pace with Jenson Button propping up the timesheets in his McLaren. The Briton is out on the soft tyres, but he's made two mistakes already and it looks like the spits of rain have put paid to any more improvements in this session.

I can see a few people popping on their hoods and bringing out the umbrellas and BBC Radio 5 live pit lane reporter Jennie Gow confirms that big drops of rain are falling at Hockenheim.

Felipe Massa is really pushing that Ferrari. He first locks the front tyres at the hairpin and then runs way wide at Turn 12 coming into the stadium section, bouncing across the grass and gravel.

Michael Schumacher is dead last at the moment. The German has a best of 1:21.882 from his 19 laps which is 5.868 seconds off the pace. I wonder what is going on there...

The rain is coming, people. Dark clouds are hovering over the forest which engulfs this legendary circuit. They may not hit in time to impact on this session, but qualifying is only two hours away....

The new front wing assembly might have done the trick because Fernando Alonso leaps ahead of Lewis Hamilton at the top of the timesheets by 0.077 seconds. Sergio Perez improves, too, closing to within 0.188 seconds of the leading pace in third.

So it looks like that was Ferrari's lower-fuel soft-tyre run. Fernando Alonso was half a second quicker than anyone else. Felipe Massa was sixth tenths slower on his run, but we've just seen a replay of the Brazilian getting held up by Nico Rosberg for a sequence of corners. Massa waves his arm in disgust...

And as I hit return on that last entry, Fernando Alonso sets the fastest time of the weekend on the soft compound tyre.

The sun is shining at Hockenheim but Ferrari are saying they have brought forward their second run because of the threat of rain. Watch this space.

Nico Rosberg is sat in the garage with his Mercedes up on the jacks while his team get to work on his car. "Little too much engine braking, if you could take a look at that," he said earlier on team radio.

As we approach the half-way point of the session, everyone has set a timed lap apart from Charles Pic who is sat at the back of the Marussia garage watching his team desperately try to change an engine before the session ends.

It's a battle between Williams and Red Bull at the moment with Sebastian Vettel on top with a 1:16.652, 0.012 quicker than Pastor Maldonado with Mark Webber third and Bruno Senna fourth. The McLarens of Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button are down in 14th and 17th respectively.

Pastor Maldonado now goes quickest, on the medium compound tyre, as he breaks into the 1m16s. Mark Webber tries to respond, but he stays second quickest despite improving on his last lap.

Times starting to come down now, Bruno Senna going quickest in the Williams before Mark Webber deposes him with a 1:17.331 in the Red Bull.

Marussia confirm they have had to change the engine on Charles Pic's car, which will mean a 10-place grid drop.

Timo Glock, in the Marussia, goes fourth fastest with Pedro de la Rosa in sixth place in the HRT. Enjoy those lofty positions while they last lads.

BBC F1 technical analyst Gary Anderson reports that Ferrari are currently bleeding the brakes on Fernando Alonso's car and adds that he is surprised by the times drivers are setting at the moment. Aside from Nico Rosberg's time, everyone else is lapping around four seconds slower than Jenson Button pace-setting time on Friday.

Nico Rosberg is our new leader, smashing Kimi Raikkonen's previous best by three seconds with a 1:17.892. Lewis Hamilton improves to fourth, three seconds off the pace.

The Ferrari boys have headed out, done their install lap and then headed straight back to the pits as always. The Italian team like a plan - and they stick to it.

Hamilton's first flying lap is nothing to write home about. The Briton clocks 1:22.272, two tenths quicker than McLaren team-mate Jenson Button, but it's only good enough for eighth.

Kimi Raikkonen is our early pace-setter this morning, clocking 1:20.927 in his Lotus, before running very wide at Turn One on his next lap. The Finn is really pushing early doors. Lewis Hamilton has just started his first flying lap - what can he do?

There's no waiting around today with the drivers gagging to get out and put some mileage on their machines after Friday's washout. Kamui Kobayashi, Jean-Eric Vergne and Timo Glock are among the first drivers out of the pits...

The BBC Radio 5 live crew of Jonathan Legard, Jaime Alguersuari, Gary Anderson and Jennie Gow are up and running on this very website. You can click the link at the top right of the page.

While we're talking about grid penalties, it's worth mentioning Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean will both take a five-place hit, too after changing their gearboxes. Lotus found an issue with Grosjean's after the British Grand Prix, while Mercedes changed Rosberg's after practice on Friday.

Mark Webber will take a five-place grid penalty after the team changed his gearbox. It's obviously frustrating for the Aussie, but let's not forget this track offers plenty of overtaking opportunities and Webber has showed all season, including last time out at Silverstone when he passed Fernando Alonso for victory, that he's more than capable of doing it...

I'm hearing that Red Bull broke their curfew last night, but they used one of their four 'jokers' which their allowed per season which means they escape penalty. But there is some bad news, particularly for Australian fans out there...

BBC weatherman Simon King: "During the qualifying period there is a moderate risk of the showers affecting proceedings but as always with showers, it'll be a case of keeping a close eye on the rainfall radar. Gentle winds again with a maximum temperature of 20C."

Yep, former world champion Jenson Button led the way in morning practice on Friday but he was in all sorts of bother when the rain came down later in the afternoon. "Trying to get these wet tyres working is one of our big issues," said Button. Pastor Maldonado timed his lap to perfection to top the times before the rain returned in second practice but it was difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions in terms of performance.

Welcome, one and all, to qualifying day for the German Grand Prix, this year held at Hockenheim (the event alternates with the Nurburgring). First, though, we've got one hour of practice to get through which kicks off at 10:00 BST and after Friday's washout, I suspect we'll see plenty of action from the off.

After the rain lashed Hockenheim on Friday, ruining any hope the teams had of testing the raft of updates they had brought to the race, and with more wet weather forecast today, we have the juicy prospect of another unpredictable qualifying session. Let's get it on.