EXPLAINED: How do Safety Cars work in F1 ACADEMY?

There have been few occasions this season where you might have spotted another vehicle out on track during an F1 ACADEMY race. This isn’t just any old car, it’s one that is critical to ensuring the wellbeing of drivers and personnel — the Safety Car.

In the next instalment of our EXPLAINED series, Tina Hausmann gives us the lowdown on how drivers deal with Safety Car appearances and challenges they have to overcome on the restarts.

WHAT IS A SAFETY CAR?

The Safety Car plays a critical role during a race weekend and comes in two forms, either a physical car that leads the field around the circuit or a Virtual Safety Car.

Most often seen if there is a crash or an incident on the track, the role of the Safety Car is to slow the cars down to give the marshals time to resolve a situation in a safe manner, such as recovering a damaged car or removing debris. They can also be deployed during a formation lap of a race during wet weather to keep the drivers at a low speed and prevent an accident.

“When there is a crash or something is blocking the roads, the Safety Car will enter the racetrack and will control the speed,” Hausmann explains. “So, all the drivers have to go very slow at reduced speed and follow the Safety Car in a strict line.”

WHEN DID THE SAFETY CAR MAKE ITS FIRST APPEARANCE?

The Safety Car made its first appearance in Formula 1 during the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix but has evolved over the years since its official introduction in 1993.

The Safety Car was first used in F1 ACADEMY during its debut race in 2023 at the Red Bull Ring and most recently, at the final race of the 2024 season in Abu Dhabi, which led to a one-lap dash to the line.

WHAT SAFETY CARS ARE USED IN F1 ACADEMY?

Two different cars are used in both F1 ACADEMY and F1 — an Aston Martin Vantage, which accelerates from 0-60mph in just 3.4s, and a Mercedes-AMG Black Series which has been painted red to aid visibility.

These cars are equipped with additional screens, a rear-view camera, a switch pack and radio to allow the Safety Car driver to keep an eye on other areas of the track and keep Race Control updated with any changes in conditions.

HOW DO DRIVERS AND TEAMS KNOW WHEN A SAFETY CAR IS DEPLOYED?

When the Safety Car is deployed by Race Control, both visual and audios cues are used. On-track, drivers will be shown yellow flags and large screens around the circuit flash “SC”.

On the pit wall will see a notification on the timing screens from the official messaging system and will use the radio to inform their drivers that the Safety Car is heading out, with its orange lights illuminated.

Entering the track ahead of the leader at a predetermined safe speed, all drivers must reduce their speed significantly. This bunches up the field in a line behind, as all cars must remain no more than 10 car lengths apart until the Safety Car period ends. Additionally, no cars are allowed to overtake each other or the Safety Car unless they are told to by Race Control, such as to unlap themselves.

“We get a notification that the Safety Car is out. First of all, from the engineer via the radio. Also, they will put out the SC board so we know it’s Safety Car time. Once the light goes off on the car, we know that the leader of the race can decide when to restart and go again.”

HOW LONG CAN A SAFETY CAR LAST?

Unlike a race, there is no minimum or maximum time that a Safety Car can be used for. If the formation lap is started behind the Safety Car, the number of race laps is reduced by the number of laps the Safety Car carries out minus one.

“It depends on how big the crash is for how many laps the Safety Car will be out. It can be one lap, but it can also be five laps and if the crash is too big, they will put the Red Flag out and that will stop the race and everyone has to enter the pits. The goal is to keep the drivers out (on-track) so the Safety Car is the better option usually.”

Additionally, no points are awarded in a race unless a minimum of two laps have been completed by the leader without a Safety Car appearance.

WHAT HAPPENS ON A SAFETY CAR RESTART?

One of the drivers’ biggest challenges during a Safety Car is keeping their tyres warm, as they lose temperature once they drop out of racing speed. Newer tyres return to their operating window fairly easily, but older tyres lack the rubber needed to find the grip and heat back up quickly. Therefore, cars will often weave left and right to generate more energy into their tyres.

“What you can do as a driver is to weave to warm-up the tyres for the restarts. Once the track is clear, we can do the restart. The leader controls the speed and when they decide we go, the race is on again.”

Once the track is deemed to be clear and safe for racing to resume, the message “SAFETY CAR IN THIS LAP” is sent to all teams and the Safety Car’s orange lights are turned off.

This signals to the drivers and the teams that the Safety Car will enter the pit lane at the end of that lap. From then, the race leader is responsible for setting the pace and no longer has to stay 10 car lengths behind the Safety Car, but no cars are allowed to accelerate or brake erratically.

As the Safety Car reaches the pit entry, the “SC” boards are withdrawn and the Green Flag is flown to tell drivers that racing conditions are back underway once the start/finish line is crossed.

“For the restart itself, there is a lot of pressure on you because everything is going super slowly. You don’t do weaving anymore because you need to be very ready to react once the leader goes. Then, it’s flat out and you have to overtake as many (cars) as possible after the Green Flag because you’re not allowed to do it before.”