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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.

The Renault Clio safety car leads the field

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.

Porsche 914 (Canada 1973)
Porsche  (Monaco 1976)
Lamborghini Countach (Monaco 1981, 1982, 1983)
Lamborghini Countach (Monaco 1981, 1982, 1983)
Fiat Tempra 16V (Brazil 1993)
Opel Vectra (San Marino 1994)
Honda Prelude (Japan 1994)
Porsche 911 GT2 (Belgium 1995)
Cette année-là, une Lamborghini Diablo rouge vif avait été prévue lors du GP du Canada, mais n'est pas sortie en piste.
Renault Clio (Argentina 1996)
Mercedes C 36 AMG (1996-97)
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG (1997-98)
Mercedes CL 55 AMG (1999-2000)
Mercedes SL 55 AMG (2001-02)
Mercedes CLK 55 AMG (2003)
Mercedes SLK 55 AMG (2004-05)
Mercedes CLK 63 AMG (2006-07)
Mercedes SL 63 AMG (2008-09)
Mercedes SLS AMG (2010-2014)
Mercedes-AMG GT S (2015-2017)
Mercedes AMG GT R (since 2018)
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