Alonso nabs pole for German Grand Prix

Championship leader Fernando Alonso secured the pole position for the German Grand Prix on Saturday, while defending world champion Sebastian Vettel qualified second in his bid to win his home Formula One race for the first time.
Vettel's Red Bull teammate Mark Webber of Australia, who won the British Grand Prix two weeks ago, was third fastest but will be dropped five places on Sunday's grid because of a gearbox change.

As a result, seven-time F1 champion Michael Schumacher of Germany moved up from fourth to third in his Mercedes, putting him in position to win a record fifth race on the Hockenheim circuit. Schumacher has yet to win a grand prix three seasons into his comeback.

Alonso has a 13-point lead over Webber heading into the 10th of 20 races this season and is looking for his third win of the year after victories in the Malaysian and European GPs.

Alonso, who has 22 poles in his career to go with 29 wins, clearly didn't enjoy driving his Ferrari on Saturday's water-logged circuit — despite taking the pole.