The safety car changes races: it bunches the field, opens free pit windows and decides strategies. With the race-control messages Formuradar stores you can count how many times it has come out each year since 2018 and at which 2026 Grands Prix.
Safety cars by season
| Year | Races | With safety car | % with SC | Safety cars | Per race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 21 | 12 | 57 % | 15 | 0,71 |
| 2019 | 21 | 9 | 43 % | 18 | 0,86 |
| 2020 | 17 | 12 | 71 % | 20 | 1,18 |
| 2021 | 22 | 13 | 59 % | 15 | 0,68 |
| 2022 | 22 | 16 | 73 % | 20 | 0,91 |
| 2023 | 22 | 13 | 59 % | 16 | 0,73 |
| 2024 | 24 | 8 | 33 % | 13 | 0,54 |
| 2025 | 24 | 12 | 50 % | 17 | 0,71 |
| 2026 | 20 | 10 | 50 % | 15 | 0,75 |
Source: race-control messages (FastF1) stored in Formuradar. Safety-car deployments are counted (one per deployment lap); the VSC is not compared across years because its messages changed format.
Neutralisations per 2026 GP (safety car + VSC)
- Great Britain2 SC + 2 VSC
- Bahrain (in Malaysia)2 SC + 1 VSC
- Mexico2 SC + 1 VSC
- Australia3 VSC
- Canada3 VSC
- Belgium1 SC + 2 VSC
- Monaco2 SC
- Azerbaijan2 SC
- Italy1 SC + 1 VSC
- Barcelona-Catalunya2 VSC
- Austria2 VSC
- Netherlands2 VSC
- Singapore2 VSC
- United States2 VSC
- China1 SC
- Japan1 SC
- Miami1 SC
- Hungary1 VSC
- Spain1 VSC
- Brazil—
How many safety cars have there been in 2026?
15 in 20 Grands Prix, spread over 10 races: China, Japan, Miami, Belgium and Italy had one, and Monaco, Great Britain, Azerbaijan, Bahrain in Malaysia and Mexico had two. That is 0.75 per race, in line with 2025 (0.71) and below the series peak, 2020 (1.18).
The year with the fewest safety cars: 2024
In 2024 only 8 of 24 races (33 %) had a safety car, the lowest since 2018. At the other end, 2022 had a safety car in 16 of 22 races (73 %) and 2020 in 12 of 17 (71 %).
The virtual safety car: 25 in 2026
The VSC has come out 25 times (1.25 per race): Australia and Canada had three each, and Great Britain, Belgium, Barcelona, Austria, the Netherlands, Singapore and the United States two. Great Britain is the GP with the most neutralisations, four (two SC and two VSC). Only Brazil ran without any.
Frequently asked questions
How many safety cars have there been in 2026?
15 in 20 Grands Prix (0.75 per race), spread over 10 races. There were also 25 virtual safety cars (VSC).
Which 2026 GPs had two safety cars?
Monaco, Great Britain, Azerbaijan, Bahrain in Malaysia and Mexico City.
Which year has had the fewest safety cars since 2018?
2024: only 8 of 24 races (33 %) had a safety car.
Sources
- Formuradar · Resultados 2026
- Jolpica / Ergast (resultados y paradas)
- FastF1 (vueltas y mensajes de dirección de carrera)
Figures and quotes come from the linked sources and may have changed since.
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