Alonso gains pole in wet qualifying for German GP

Championship leader Fernando Alonso secured 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.Vettels 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 Sundays 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 didnt enjoy driving his Ferrari on Saturdays water-logged circuit despite taking pole.Nico Hulkenberg of Germany was fifth fastest for the session in his Force India and Pastor Maldonado of Venezuela came in sixth in his Williams. Both will also move up a position after Webbers penalty.Alonso and his rivals could have an easier time on Sunday, with the forecast predicting dry weather.After a dry first session, a loud burst of thunder foretold what was to follow a heavy storm that drenched the circuit during the second session. The cars began slipping all over the track, but there were no major incidents.The rain stopped in time for the third session, though the track remained covered by water.As the drivers raced to get better times on the drying track late in qualifying, Vettel lost time with teammate Webber in front of him.Webber said he was pleased with his run, despite losing five places.Schumacher crashed heavily in Fridays practice but emerged from qualifying looking like a contender.McLaren teammates Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton will start sixth and seventh, moving up one place each because of Webbers penalty.The British pair looked good in dry weather but their cars, and tires, were not able to cope with the rain.