The 2018 German Grand Prix started beautifully for Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, he got pole the day before with main rival Lewis Hamilton not able to finish qualifying and starting the race in 14th position. Vettel dominated the race until lap 52 when he lost control of his Ferrari on one of the few turns with no asphalt run-off area and hitting the barriers at Sachs Curve.
The safety car was deployed to clear Vettel's Ferrari, after a few laps it was green light again. Bottas tried to overtake Hamilton for the lead, but Mercedes issued team orders to maintain positions. The race finished with a 1-2 for Mercedes followed by Kimi Raikkonen and Max Verstappen.