Sebastian Vettel’s hard-fought pole position was squandered on the very first lap, with an uncharacteristic retirement from Red Bull. That allowed McLaren to take the top spot with a much-needed boost for Lewis Hamilton. Further back, there was a mixture of strategies going on, with Webber waiting until the last lap to pit, and Paul di Resta opting for a one stop strategy. There were three retirements alongside Vettel, but no major crashes along the way.

Position Driver Team Time Stops
1 Lewis Hamilton McLaren 1:37:11.886 2
2 Fernando Alonso Ferrari +8.4 2
3 Jenson Button McLaren +25.8 2
4 Mark Webber Red Bull +35.7 3
5 Felipe Massa Ferrari +50.5 2
6 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +52.3 2
7 Michael Schumacher Mercedes +75.9 2
8 Adrian Sutil Force India +77.1 2
9 Paul di Resta Force India +101.0 1
10 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber +1 Lap 2
11 Sergio Pérez Sauber +1 Lap 2
12 Rubens Barrichello Williams +1 Lap 2
13 Vitaly Petrov Renault +1 Lap 2
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 Lap 2
15 Jaime Alguersuari Toro Rosso +1 Lap 2
16 Bruno Senna Renault +1 Lap 3
17 Heikki Kovalainen Lotus +1 Lap 2
18 Jarno Trulli Lotus +2 Laps 2
19 Timo Glock Virgin +2 Laps 2
20 Tonio Liuzzi HRT +2 Laps 1
DNF Daniel Ricciardo HRT Lap 52 2
DNF Sébastien Buemi Toro Rosso Lap 22 1
DNF Jérôme D’Ambrosio Virgin Lap 21 1
DNF Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Lap 2 1