With its terms and rules, Formula 1 sets out to be challenging for beginners to understand quickly, and the F1 safety car or SC is no exception to this complexity. For a new fan, it may seem to distract attention, but it is just at first sight. In fact, it is the FIA’s measures to guarantee drivers keep the regulations on track. Furthermore, its deployment always heads the unpredictableness.
Although you can find the complete explanation of the sport’s technical terms, I’ve decided to write about its integral part – the Formula 1 safety car in simple terms for beginners to quickly understand how it works. If you are one of them, you’re welcome! Let’s figure out how a single car can restrain 20 super-fast racers on the grid to comply with the rules.
Why Is There A Need For F1 Safety Car?
So, what do you think can happen during the Formula 1 Grand Prix – the 1,5 hours race? Cars can crash, right? But that is not all.
As Formula 1 is about the fastest racing in the world, everything can happen because even a tiny thing can head to significant dangers.
So, if F1 drivers were to race at about 60 – 100 km/h, it is unlikely that heavy rain or debris falling on the track would be significant obstacles. Even if the oil from the engine spreads around the track, it is unlikely to change the situation. Drivers can simply swerve around it. But to do it at the speed of three times higher is what is impossible.
Furthermore, sitting on the pit wall, it was difficult for the team members to determine whether the situation was good enough to continue the race or bad enough to stop it.
That is why it was necessary to have an additional participant who is as fast as the participants but can inspect the track for safety firsthand.
Therefore, a Formula 1 safety car has come into the deal since the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix.
As the purpose is no longer a challenge for beginners, let’s figure out how exactly does it work?
Imagine you are Formula 1 driver Max Verstappen…
Let’s think in this way: imagine you are a Formula 1 driver. Since you’re a beginner, I can guess Max Verstappen is your favorite driver. So imagine yourself at the wheel of a speedy Red Bull car on the Silverstone circuit.
You successfully negotiate a few corners, lead the grid, and are about to cross the line for the second lap. You’re flying at 300 km/h when your team reports that one of the mid-grid drivers has hit the wall with the car. The debris is thrown into the small pieces that litter the corner you’re about to take after a few seconds.
You cannot see it because it is out of sight. You have no time to slow down because your teammate Sergio Perez is staring at you less than a second behind you. Your closest opponent, Charles Leclerc for Ferrari or Lewis Hamilton for Mercedes, is also staring at you. So you cannot race, but you cannot stop. How do you think it would end?
Yes, it would be the end of the game. Slowing down promises that your rivals will pass you soon. However, going full throttle guarantees you will get a puncture. However, Formula 1 is not a game with a “backup” function.
Therefore, as soon as an incident occurs, the safety procedure takes place. And the F1 safety car is not a measure of first necessity but its integral part.
How Does The F1 Safety Car Protect Drivers?
Let’s back to when your Red Bull team asked you to watch out for debris. When you reach the danger area, you will see the marshals waving the yellow flags, which means that this sector is yellow or unsafe, and all drivers here must reduce their speed by 30%.
The first problem is solved, as you can see some of the debris, but what about your teammate waiting to pass you? Well, all cars behind you lose the right to overtake.
You pass the corner and see that the driver is okay and the car is undamaged, but parts of the rear wings and gravel are on their way out of the sector area.
Then, the Virtual Safety Car mode, or simply VSC, starts. This is the pre-SC action. The stewards, contacting the marshals and the race director, decide what to do next.
With the other 19 drivers, you drive at a reduced speed and race cautiously without overtaking each other.
However, you notice that gravel is already on your tires, and you are losing grip. So, if the race director decides to turn off the procedure, you immediately lose any advantage.
It is unsafe – you inform the team, but the Formula 1 Direction already hears the calls and decides to send their safety car driver, Bernd Maylander, to inspect the area.
Formula 1 Safety Car Rules
At this point, any driver can go to the pits and change to fresh tires. And most of them take advantage of this opportunity.
Bernd Maylander’s Mercedes-AMG GT R or Aston Martin Vantage will be waiting for you on the next lap to take control of the action.
Despite the rule reducing speed even more – for 50%, SC driver Maylander sets a comfortable pace. Even though the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT R can reach 315 km/h, the pace cannot be very slow or high.
Driving slowly harms your tires because the temperature of the compounds drops quickly, causing you to lose grip. Conversely, going fast would be unsafe.
In the five following laps, you will follow Bernd Maylander’s Aston Martin to warm up the tires, while some of the lapped cars – racers you have passed for a lap – will pass you back to return. During this time, the marshals pick up the debris and clean the surfaces at various locations.
By the fifth lap, you’ll see that the track is clear, the gravel has been removed, and everything is ready for the race to continue, but you’re not the only one. The stewards are also monitoring the situation. That is why the FIA informs the participants and spectators with the message “Safety car on this lap”.
So, on the following lap, you can finally accelerate at full throttle as the safety car turns towards the pit wall before the start/finish straight.
The track is clear, the lights are green, and you’re back in the game, pushing as hard as you can but just until the new old one happens.
How Does The Formula 1 Safety Car Affect Strategy?
The F1 safety car affects drivers’ race strategy in different ways. The easiest way for beginners to understand is to compare.
If you thought you were on the same path as Max Verstappen and the fastest Red Bull, you get a free stop like the other mid-grid drivers. The pace is slow, and the pitting for fresh tires means you don’t lose much time. However, what if you’ve already stopped a lap or three before?
Put yourself in Lewis Hamilton’s shoes at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The safety car deployed a few laps before the finish. Thus, you already had a somewhat fresh compound and thought it was enough to hold off Max Verstappen – in vain. Verstappen refreshed his compound and overtook you immediately when it was the restart. Your strategy was destroyed.
A SC reduces the advantage of those who have already switched tires. It eliminates the speed advantage. However, the opposite effect also takes place.
So for now, imagine yourself a bottom grid driver, like Alex Albon, at the wheel of a slowly William’s car. Yes, you can fight for the points, but it depends on many things, and a safety car is one of them.
So, you made a mistake and damaged the nose of the car. You’re thrown backward and dragged to the pit lane while drivers pass you for a lap.
A sudden safety car is your chance because you pit, take a new part, and get back in the race. This way, it reduces the gap – the time you lose due to the incident.
Therefore, the F1 safety car can destroy the race strategy of one and give a chance to another.
For now, even such a complex term doesn’t look too challenging for beginners, right? Then let’s finish!
Takeaways
If you can imagine the situation, you can see that Formula 1 safety car is a measure to protect the drivers and keep the race running smoothly in dangerous conditions such as weather, debris, or a crash.
In addition, the entire procedure depends on many people working in close connection with each other, including marshals, stewards, and the race director. Therefore, the deployment and withdrawal of the F1 safety car are strictly regulated. No wonder a single vehicle can hold back 20 super-fast racers on the grid.
As for the driver, Bernd Maylander is a permanent SC driver. He is a former professional racer who won the 1997 FIA GT Championship and the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring. He can stay on the track as long as necessary, even for 34 laps, as in the 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix.
But even the restart after the SC brings new thrills and excitement to the track because it has a decisive impact on the driver’s race strategy.
Today, it is impossible to imagine Formula 1 without its on-track control device. Perhaps only in this sport does a safety car make so much sense, with so much at stake.
Would it be better to claim one of the Formula 1 cars as SC instead of Aston Martin or Mercedes? Leave the comments below!
References
- DIVEBOMB, Paul O’Grady and Simran Kanthi ‘Brazil 2016: Max Verstappen’s Magical Drive in the Wet‘ https://www.dive-bomb.com/post/brazil-2016-max-verstappen-s-magical-drive-in-the-wet (January 23, 2023)
- Motorsport, Rebecca Braybrook ‘F1 SAFETY CAR: WHAT IS IT AND HOW DOES IT WORK?’ https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/f1-safety-car-how-does-it-work/10553952/ (December 2, 2023)
- Formula 1, Nadim Bart-Williams ‘TIMELINE: The 50-year history of the Safety Car’s evolution in Formula 1‘ https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article/timeline-the-50-year-history-of-the-safety-cars-evolution-in-formula-1.3pYd8T6uM4dVWnp1VQ30Vz (June 17, 2023)
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