NETHERLANDS — As the Formula 1 (F1) cars took to the winding Zandvoort track with tricky banked corners and unpredictable wind gusts, many drivers were caught out and crashed during the practice sessions. This is one of several courses on the F1 calendar where teams consider a safety car period a near certainty over the course of a race, and the race on Aug. 31 delivered on the promise.

Racing is inherently unpredictable and between accidents and mechanical reliability, a number of drivers fail to finish a race. From 1979-97, at least 50% of the cars that started a race retired from that race in all but two of those seasons. After 1997, more than 50% of the cars finish the race with recent years having a completion percentage as high as 87%.

Rule changes and the advanced technology that

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