Pace cars, also known as safety cars, are arguably the most important cars on any racetrack. It's actually not about going slow in front of the actual race cars, but rather going as fast as humanly possible, all in the interest of safety.
Contrary to popular belief, most pace cars are actually racing along themselves. In Formula One, the safety car must maintain a high velocity in order to keep heat in the tires and the race car engines themselves cool. If it didn't, the race would probably be more dangerous than less. That's why Mercedes employs Bernd Mayländer – better known as a champion of the Nurburgring 24 Hours – as its safety car driver.
Now I'm not saying the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is the best safety car, but it's definitely a good one. Not many cars can keep the pace in F1, and the SLS is one of the few that's fast enough to do so.
What do you think is the best pace car? Let us know in the comments!
Photo credit: Mike Elleray