In Formula 1, a safety car is a vehicle that is deployed to the track in order to control the field if and when there is a need to bunch up the pack to allow for vital recovery work to be completed. It is used when there is an incident on the track that requires the marshals to intervene, such as a car that has broken down or a collision. The safety car is driven by an experienced racing driver who is familiar with the track and is capable of driving at high speeds in a safe manner. The safety car is also preferred over restarting the race (red flag) as the latter takes longer. The safety car is usually a high-performance car chosen for its speed and handling capabilities. The car must be able to keep up with the F1 cars while also being able to slow them down to a safe speed. In F1, there are two official safety cars, both the Aston Martin Vantage and the Mercedes-AMG GT R that was already used in previous seasons. Since 2022, Mercedes provides a Black Series variant of the GT. The safety car is deployed whenever there is an immediate hazard but the conditions do not require the race to be interrupted. It ensures the safety of the drivers and marshals by limiting the speed of competing cars or motorcycles on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather.