Veľkú cenu Nemecka hostí v tejto sezóne okruh Hockenheimring. Počas prvého voľného tréningu, ktorý sa odjazdil na prevažne mokrej trati bol najrýchlejší domáci Adrian Sutil.
Výsledky 1. tréningu na VC Nemecka:
| Pozícia | Jazdec | Tím | Čas | Strata | Kolá |
| 1 | Adrian Sutil | Force India-Mercedes | 1'25.701 | 20 | |
| 2 | Felipe Massa | Ferrari | 1'26.850 | 1.149 | 27 |
| 3 | Jenson Button | McLaren-Mercedes | 1'26.936 | 1.235 | 16 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | Williams-Cosworth | 1'26.947 | 1.246 | 21 |
| 5 | Vitalij Petrov | Renault | 1'26.948 | 1.247 | 21 |
| 6 | Nico Rosberg | Mercedes | 1'27.448 | 1.747 | 20 |
| 7 | Sébastien Buemi | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1'28.114 | 2.413 | 31 |
| 8 | Nico Hülkenberg | Williams-Cosworth | 1'28.193 | 2.492 | 24 |
| 9 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | Force India-Mercedes | 1'28.300 | 2.599 | 19 |
| 10 | Pedro de la Rosa | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1'28.486 | 2.785 | 23 |
| 11 | Sebastian Vettel | Red Bull-Renault | 1'28.735 | 3.034 | 21 |
| 12 | Timo Glock | Virgin-Cosworth | 1'28.735 | 3.034 | 21 |
| 13 | Robert Kubica | Renault | 1'28.903 | 3.202 | 20 |
| 14 | Mark Webber | Red Bull-Renault | 1'29.048 | 3.347 | 13 |
| 15 | Jarno Trulli | Lotus-Cosworth | 1'29.280 | 3.579 | 17 |
| 16 | Jaime Alguersuari | Toro Rosso-Ferrari | 1'29.366 | 3.665 | 34 |
| 17 | Lewis Hamilton | McLaren-Mercedes | 1'29.429 | 3.728 | 8 |
| 18 | Lucas Di Grassi | Virgin-Cosworth | 1'29.500 | 3.799 | 19 |
| 19 | Fernando Alonso | Ferrari | 1'29.684 | 3.983 | 15 |
| 20 | Kamuj Kobajaši | BMW Sauber-Ferrari | 1'29.690 | 3.989 | 17 |
| 21 | Fairuz Fauzy | Lotus-Cosworth | 1'30.938 | 5.237 | 27 |
| 22 | Bruno Senna | HRT-Cosworth | 1'31.720 | 6.019 | 23 |
| 23 | Michael Schumacher | Mercedes | 1'32.450 | 6.749 | 13 |
| 24 | Sakon Jamamoto | HRT-Cosworth | 1'32.791 | 7.090 | 26 |
