Sebastian Vettel has been handed a 20-second penalty for overtaking outside of the track limitations and gaining an unfair advantage.
The Red Bull driver had gradually caught Jenson Button in second in the closing stages of the race but in his attempt to pass the McLaren, he ran wide at the hairpin and used the run-off area to complete the move.
The FIA deemed he gained an unfair advantage and added 20 seconds to his final time, which demotes him to fifth behind Button, Kimi Raikkonen and Kamui Kobayashi.
Revised 2012 German GP Results:
| Pos | Driver | Team | Gap | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 25 | |
| 02. | J. Button | McLaren | +6.9 | 18 |
| 03. | K. Raikkonen | Lotus | +16.4 | 15 |
| 04. | K. Kobayashi | Sauber | +21.9 | 12 |
| 05. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | +23.7 | 10 |
| 06. | S. Perez | Sauber | +27.8 | 8 |
| 07. | M. Schumacher | Mercedes | +28.9 | 6 |
| 08. | M. Webber | Red Bull | +46.9 | 4 |
| 09. | N. Hulkenberg | Force India | +48.1 | 2 |
| 10. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | +48.8 | 1 |
| 11. | P. di Resta | Force India | +59.2 | |
| 12. | F. Massa | Ferrari | +1:11.4 | |
| 13. | D. Ricciardo | Toro Rosso | +1:16.8 | |
| 14. | J. Vergne | Toro Rosso | +1:16.9 | |
| 15. | P. Maldonado | Williams | +1 lap | |
| 16. | V. Petrov | Caterham | +1 lap | |
| 17. | B. Senna | Williams | +1 lap | |
| 18. | R. Grosjean | Lotus | +1 lap | |
| 19. | H. Kovalainen | Caterham | +2 laps | |
| 20. | C. Pic | Marussia | +2 laps | |
| 21. | P. de la Rosa | HRT | +3 laps | |
| 22. | T. Glock | Marussia | +3 laps | |
| 23. | N. Karthikeyan | HRT | +3 laps | |
| 24. | L. Hamilton | McLaren | +20 laps |
