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.
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Check out our gallery below to rediscover some of the safety cars that have been used in F1 over the years.

Photo by: David Phipps

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images


Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Photo by: Lyndon McNeil

Photo by: Sutton Images

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

Photo by: Mirko Stange

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

F1 career stats: Rubens Barrichello
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