This year’s F1 pace car is the Mercedes AMG SL63. The base car was no slouch even before AMG's engineer’s started tweaking it, but it is now packed with extra performance designed to keep the F1 field in check.

The car has been stripped of all excess weight and much of the body has been replaced with carbon fibre panels. Under the bonnet the production 517bhp 6.3-litre engine is used, but adapted by way of a larger cooling system and a new quad exhaust set-up. An important addition is a rear number plate that incorporates 672 LED’s, which should make the back of the car easy to spot even in the very worst weather.