Gallery: History of safety cars in Formula 1
The safety car made its first appearance in a Formula 1 race back in 1973, but it wasn't until the Brazilian Grand Prix in 1993 that it was officially introduced by the sport.
Between 1993-96, individual race organisers were responsible for supplying safety cars, leading to some strange choices. However, this practice ended in 1997 when F1 handed Mercedes a contract to become F1's official safety car partner - and the German manufacturer continues to supply safety cars to the series till date.
Check out our gallery below to rediscover some of the safety cars that have been used in F1 over the years.
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