F1: What is the safety car for?

I am new to the sport and I see a safety car heading the pack for awhile before steering to the side and then the race picks up.|||To guide the cars around the circuit at a reduced speed when there a potentially dangerous situation on track (a retired car park on certain areas on the circuit, debris / oil on circuit, poor visibility due to rain etc)





A more detailed explanation can be found on the Formula 1 Official site|||Thanks everyone for your answers! It helped!

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|||Basically when ever there is a crash , the safety car is brought out to restrict the speed of all the F1 cars so that the track marshals can clear the debris. When ever the safety car is out no one can overtake.|||To slow the the speeds of the race cars before the start and when there's danger if the cars continue racing.