Since 1996, Mercedes-Benz has been supplying safety cars to the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. That changes this year, although Mercedes-AMG is still part of the new safety and medical cars.
Breaking the decades-old tradition, Aston Martin will now supply medical and safety cars for the 2021 season. It is official: the Aston Martin Vantage is the Formula 1 safety car, while the DBX, the automaker’s first SUV, will be the medical car – both powered by the same 4.0-liter Mercedes-AMG M177 V8 engine with turbocharging.
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As can be seen in the images above, both Vantage and DBX will use the color of the Racing Green team from Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team. Both will have lime green details on the body, while certain modifications are added to better suit their purposes, such as the ceiling-mounted LED light bar and FIA markings, along with chassis and aerodynamic improvements.
FIA-nominated driver Bernd Mayländer and ex-driver Richard Darker will be driving the safety car. Meanwhile, Alan van der Merwe will be in charge of the medical car.
Power has increased for the safety car Vantage – an additional 24 horsepower for a total output of 528 horsepower (394 kilowatts) and 505 pound-feet (685 Newton-meters) of torque. The Aston Martin DBX medical car, on the other hand, is content with its 542 hp (405 kW) and 516 lb-ft (700 Nm) of twists.
The two AMG-powered Aston Martin vehicles will make their F1 debut in the three-day pre-season test in Bahrain on March 12 and 14, 2021. They will then join the opening round of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at same track two weeks later.
It is worth mentioning that the Mercedes-AMG GT R has been the official F1 safety car since 2018, after the passage of the AMG GT S from 2015 to 2017. This is the first time in the history of Formula 1 that the British luxury brand provides safety officer and medical cars.