A closer look at the F1 Safety Car

This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the first ever deployment of the Safety Car during a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

That first occasion at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix was characterised by chaos and confusion, but the deployment of the Safety Car in modern F1 is a slick and well-practiced process.

While there have been some questionable choices of vehicle in years gone by - such as a too-slow Renault Clio in 1996 - today's Safety Car is a high-performance Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, boasting 703bhp and driven by former professional racing driver Bernd Maylander, who has been F1's official Safety Car driver since 2000.

In the video below, Maylander takes you on a tour of the 2023 Safety Car, and highlights some of the additional features that make it suitable to lead 20 F1 cars around a track at high speed in potentially difficult conditions.

Check out the video below!