Mercedes-Benz in Formula One rejected the protest. At the third race of the season in China, Rosberg took the team's first pole position as a works team since Fangio in ; Schumacher finished the session third, but moved up to second after a grid penalty for Lewis Hamilton. The team secured its first win in 57 years when Nico Rosberg finished first in the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix. In addition to that, Rosberg became the first German driver to win a Grand Prix driving a German vehicle since Hermann Lang's victory at the 1939 Swiss Grand Prix. On 28 September 2012, it was announced
1954 German Grand Prix Scuderia Ferrari. The race was lengthened from 18 to 22 laps, bringing the German Grand Prix up to the approximately 500 kilometre race distance used by the majority of Formula One Grands Prix at the time. Mercedes had brought to the Nürburgring their new open-wheeled version of the W196 for Fangio, Kling and Hermann Lang (in a one-off drive) after Mercedes's defeat at Silverstone in their streamlined cars. Hans Herrmann drove a streamlined W196s. Qualifying saw Fangio take pole position from Hawthorn, but practice was marred by the death of official Maserati driver Onofre Marimón. Going into the Wehrseifen slight