FIRST LOOK: New Aston Martin and Mercedes F1 Safety Cars revealed
Aston Martin and Mercedes’ have presented their new fleet of Safety and Medical Cars for the upcoming 2021 Formula 1 season.
For the first time in 25 years, different vehicle manufacturers’ will supply the official vehicles during an F1 campaign, with Aston Martin and Mercedes agreeing an alternative supply deal for the upcoming 2021 season.
Aston Martin will run a specially equipped version of their Vantage for its Safety Car, while the DBX will act as the Medical Car, with both featuring the same ‘British Racing Green’ colours that will adorn the British manufacturer’s first grand prix cars in 60 years as it celebrates its return to the F1 grid this year.
Meanwhile, Mercedes - who have supplied the F1 Safety Car and Medical Car since 1996 - will continue to run their Mercedes-AMG GT R and Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Estate vehicles for 2021, sporting a new bright red paint scheme.
Aston Martin’s Safety and Medical Cars will make their first official F1 appearance during this week’s pre-season test in Bahrain, as well featuring at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix on 28 March, before Mercedes supplies the cars for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix on 18 April.
The two manufacturers will split their supply for the rest of the 2021 F1 season, with Bernd Mayländer and Alan van der Merwe continuing their roles as the drivers of the Safety and Medical Cars.
“We are very pleased to announce our new partnership with both Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG to provide the Official Safety and Medical Cars to the FIA Formula One World Championship,” said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG are iconic automotive brands, and we are proud of their place in our incredible sport. The safety and medical cars are a hugely important part Formula 1 and are always there to keep our drivers safe.
"Last season we witnessed the heroic speed and dedication required by the crews in rescuing Romain Grosjean from his dramatic accident, and the both the Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG cars are perfectly equipped to respond at a moment’s notice to ensure the safety of the drivers.”
More shots of the new 2021 Safety Cars
— Formula 1 (@F1) March 8, 2021
First impressions? #F1 pic.twitter.com/yNGQ9TdeP5
FIA F1 race director and safety delegate Michael Masi added: "We are delighted to welcome Aston Martin as a supplier of FIA Formula 1 Safety and Medical Cars, sharing the role together with our longstanding partners at Mercedes-AMG who have been with us since 1996.
“The Safety and Medical Cars are an essential part of running a safe and successful FIA Formula One World Championship event - from track tests and inspections to race interventions and neutralisations, they are a vital tool for myself as Race Director and my team to utilise in order to keep everyone safe and get back to racing as efficiently as we can following an incident.
“These cars need to be fast in all conditions and carry a huge amount of cutting-edge technology onboard, and looking at the Vantage and DBX, Aston Martin has done an impressive job getting the cars ready for action.
“I think the fans are going to really love the new additions at selected events this year - Aston Martin is an iconic brand with a huge amount of racing heritage - and likewise also with the new-look Mercedes-AMG GT R, it will certainly keep Formula 1 looking fast even when we have to slow the racing cars down.”
