In motorsports a safety cars purpose is purely known as a ‘pace car’, which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period.
The use of a safety car has the effect of bunching up competitors together to eliminate any time and distance advantage that a leading driver may have.
The very first safety car was introduced in 1973 Formula One Canadian Grand Prix, where a yellow Porsche 914 was called for duty of being the first safety car following altercations/incidents under treacherous weather conditions.
As the years passed, so did the safety car makes and models. From Porsche 911 GT2, to a Tatra 623, to Ford Escort RS Cosworth and even the more mundane Fiat Tempra, these are all notable cars that took on the role.
However the ultimate safety car we have come across was the Lamborghini Countach used for the Monaco GP in the 1980s. It’s been called the most appropriate safety car ever to see on a F1 track.
Mercedes-Benz has been the supplier of safety cars since the sport officially introduced safety cars in 1993.
