Aston Martin to lead F1 this season...as the safety car

F1 adds Aston Martin Vantage and DBX as new safety and medical cars alongside Mercedes-AMG models

Racing News

03/08/2021

The 2021 Formula 1 season is shaping to be an exciting one with various driver changes and new cars. But it's not only the teams that have something new this year. F1 organizers have introduced new safety and medical cars for 2021. And no, it's not a new Mercedes-AMG model like we've been used to in the past 20 years. Instead, it's an Aston Martin Vantage and DBX.

Breaking the long tradition of Mercedes-supplied safety and medical cars, Aston Martin will also supply the Vantage as a safety car and the DBX as a medical car. Big fan of the Mercedes-AMG GT R and C63 Wagon? Don't worry; they won't be going away. Instead, they'll be sharing double duties with their Aston Martin counterparts.

Taking a closer look at the new Aston Martin safety and medical vehicles, it wears in the same shade of green as the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 Team. Both feature lime green accents on the body, a signature color of Aston Martin Racing models. Similar to all F1 safety and medical cars, various modifications were made to the Vantage and DBX, including FIA markings on the side along with roof-mounted LED light bar. Aston Marin also made several chassis and aerodynamic improvements to improve handling, the most obvious being the large rear wing.

To properly lead the pack of F1 cars and keep their tires warm, the Vantage safety car has its engine tuned to produce an additional 25 horsepower. The Mercedes-AMG sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 now produces 535 horsepower and 685 Nm torque. As a result, 0 to 97 km/h now takes only 3.5 seconds.

Long-time safety car driver Bernd Mayländer will pilot the new Aston Martin safety car. Alongside him is Richard Darker, the present technical assistant of Formula 1. Meanwhile, Alan van der Merwe and Dr. Ian Roberts will be in the DBX medical car.

Excited to see the new Aston Martin safety cars in action? We won't have to wait too long. The Vantage and DBX will be making their F1 debut at the pre-season test in Bahrain on March 12-14, 2021. They will also be joining the opening round of the 2021 F1 season at the same track later on.