The safety car is a staple in any Formula 1. Whether it’s for the parade lap or collecting the racers after an incident, it’s almost unimaginable to not see a Mercedes-AMG or an Aston Martin controlling the pace of the field. But it wasn’t always an Aston or an AMG that served as the sport’s safety cars of choice.
The Formula 1 safety car story began in 1973 at the Canadian Grand Prix. It was the first race wherein the first safety car was deployed, and it wasn’t a Mercedes-Benz. It was, in fact, a Porsche 914, a mid-engined sports car that was essentially the Boxster’s great grandfather. For the more senior fans of the sport, they may recall that the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix ended in confusion after the safety car pickup up the wrong leading pack. It took hours to figure out who really won the race, but it was eventually awarded to Peter Revson driving a McLaren.
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Despite the blunder, it didn’t put off the sport from trying to give safety cars another shot. Perhaps one of the most epic safety cars of the past was the Lamborghini Countach that led the field during the 1981 Monaco Grand Prix. However, the Lambo wasn’t the permanent and official safety car of sport. Back then, it was essentially any car that was available around the facility. It didn’t matter if it was a humble family sedan or a supercar. If it was there, that car was to be the race weekend’s safety car.
Believe it or not, Formula 1 only started seriously considering adding safety cars to the sport in the early ‘90s, and that’s despite being used sporadically the decade before. The first “real” safety car was the Ford Escort Cosworth and it was tested during the 1992 British Grand Prix. Formula 1 made it official in 1993, sticking with Escort Cosworth. If you’re curious, the driver at the time was Mark Goddard, who would later become one of the founders of Eurasia Motorsport. Unlike today, safety car drivers were mostly racing drivers who were available that weekend.
The Escort Cosworth wasn’t the only car used to bunch up the field in the early ‘90s. Some interesting (or not-so interesting) cars were the Honda Prelude (1994 Japanese Grand Prix), Lamborghini Diablo (1995 Canadian Grand Prix), Fiat Tempra, and, um, an Opel Vectra...of all things.
By the mid-90s, it was clear that the Formula 1 safety car just couldn’t be whatever the grand prix organizers brought to the track that day. That's why in 1996, Mercedes-Benz stepped in and supplied the first of many safety cars of Formula 1, with the first one being the Mercedes-Benz C36 AMG. After that, it was the CLK 55, then the SLK 55, until we get to the AMG GT of today. And, in 2000, Bernd Maylander has been the one and only official safety car driver for Formula 1. These days, Maylander rips around the track with an Aston Martin Vantage or the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
A lot has changed in safety cars since it was first introduced in the ‘70s. From ‘whatever is available’ to dedicated cars with on-board telemetry and real-time information, it shows just how fast-paced the sport is, even outside the racing cars.
Want to watch more about these cars? Check out Formula 1's video about it below
