be. The McLaren MP4-27, the Ferrari F2012, the Mercedes F1 W03 and the Lotus E20 joined the RB8 near the top of the Constructors' Championship, and looked likely to make a bid for the title; other cars like the Williams FW34 and the Sauber C31 had produced good results, but looked unlikely to make a title challenge. Also, as a consequence of the race, Vettel lost his lead in the Drivers' championship. After the FIA had deemed a hole in the floor of the RB8 illegal, the team had arrived at the with a slightly altered car. Vettel qualified on pole position, and after a close fight with Hamilton and Alonso for the majority of the race, finished fourth after making an extra stop due to poor tyre degradation. Webber encountered similar problems and dropped to seventh after starting fourth. Hamilton became the seventh winner in seven races and took over the lead in the drivers' standings as a result. At the following race, the , Vettel qualified in pole position for the third time in 2012, three tenths faster than Hamilton. Webber qualified in a lowly nineteenth position, but fought back during the race to finish an impressive fourth; Vettel retired from the lead on lap 33, with an alternator failure which would become a recurring issue for Renault engines and particularly the RB8, having led the whole race up to that point. At the , Webber qualified in second and Vettel was fourth at a wet Silverstone, where new championship leader Alonso took his first pole position of the season. Webber overtook Alonso for the lead of the race with a handful of laps remaining and Vettel finished in third place after losing ground at the start and making it back up to finish 5 seconds behind Webber. The at the Hockenheimring was won by Alonso from pole position. Vettel and Webber qualified well behind him in second and third respectively, but Webber dropped down to eighth throughout the race. Vettel was running in third place in the closing moments of the race when he made a controversial manoeuvre around the outside of Jenson Button to take second place, where he appeared on the podium. After the race, however, Vettel was issued a penalty which dropped him to fifth because his car was completely off the track during the overtake. The 2012 Hungarian Grand Prix was the eleventh