At the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix, a Porsche pace car intervened for the first time after a collision between Francois Cevert and Jody Scheckter.
The FIA's 50-year safety car anniversary is somewhat misleading, however, as further appearances were few and far between. The safety car as we know it has only been a regular fixture since the 1993 season.
One man has been at the wheel for 24 of those 30 years. Former DTM and sportscar racer Bernd Maylander was entrusted with the role by the late Charlie Whiting in 2000, after starting the year prior in Formula 3000.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that Maylander has seen it all and has long settled into a routine role, but after to speaking the 52-year-old German at the anniversary weekend in Montreal, it is clear that that is far from the truth.
"Maybe it's my character," he tells Autosport. "On the Saturday evening before the race I'm still thinking: 'Have I done this right? Is this correct?'
"I haven't lost this passion, because I like my job. I like what I'm doing and I'm fully focused. I think that's the kind of passion you want to cover your job as well as possible.
"And if you're asking if I still get nervous, yeah, that's a kind of nervous. I think that's like an actor or a singer. If they have to go on a stage and they're not nervous anymore, I think the voice will be not as good as it could be.
"So yeah, I'm really on. That's my character and I love this. If I lose that, then maybe I have to think about doing something different. But even at 52, after 24 years, I'm still full on and always looking forward to every race."
Source: Autosport