British luxury sports car brand, Aston Martin, has been named the official Safety and Medical Cars of Formula 1, making its anticipated return to the FIA Formula One World Championship more significant.
Aston Martin will lend a specially equipped version of the Aston Martin Vantage engineered by an experienced team at Aston Martin’s Headquarters in Gaydon. This Aston Martin Vantage has been designed and developed for the critical role of intervening and controlling the pace of an event involving the fastest racing cars in the world, thus having an improved chassis and aerodynamic design.
The new safety car will have a few additional modifications to it to make it FIA compliant, but will epitomize the pinnacle of Vantage performance nonetheless.
Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Tobias Moers tasked Aston Martin engineering team of improving the already sporty Vantage. The team focused on improving track performance and lap times, outfitting the Vantage with a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 engine. They also worked on the Vantage’s transmission giving the Vantage better precision and control through upshifts and downshifts.
A Vaned Grille, modified suspension, improved steering and dampers, as well as detailed underbody bracing modifications were in order. This was finished with a comprehensive aero kit and a switch to lower profile tires to make sure that the Aston Martin Vantage Official F1 Safety Car is fully equipped to take on a Formula 1 circuit.
Distinguishing the Aston Martin Vantage from other vehicles is its new and unique paint color. And although the safety car is reminiscent of the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team car, it will have a light-bar sitting atop a carbon fiber plinth. And when this safety car joins the track, bright orange lights on the outer edges of the light-bar makes the Vantage’s presence known.
The newly appointed safety car will be piloted by veteran driver, Bernd Mayländer, who has been driving the F1 safety car for over two decades. The buffed-up Aston Martin Vantage will remain on standby in the pit lane throughout the race until summoned by Race Control in the event of an accident, or bad weather.
Mayländer will be accompanied by former race driver Richard Darker to safely control the pace of the race. While herding the pack both drivers in the Vantage safety car will neutralize the event and allow circuit officials to manage any incident.
Along with it, the luxury sports car company’s critically acclaimed SUV, the Aston Martin DBX, will also don the role of being Formula 1’s Official Medical Car. This will give the Aston Martin DBX to showcase its power and handling prowess as it drives into action to support in the event of an emergency.
Under the hood, the DBX will sport a 4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine paired with an active exhaust system allowing the medical car to not only be seen, but heard. As a medical car, the DBX is more than capable of carrying a substantial amount of equipment including a large medical bag, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a burn kit. The Aston Martin DBX will also accommodate the driver, the FIA Formula 1 Medical Response Coordinator, and a local doctor.
According to Tobias Moers, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, "Together with the whole company, I am extremely proud of the Aston Martin brands return to Formula 1, the pinnacle of motorsport for the first time in more than 60 years and represents the start of a significant new era for Aston Martin. To see our acclaimed Vantage, our most dynamic sports car, performing the role of the Official Safety Car of Formula 1 and our first SUV, DBX, operate as the Medical Car on Formula 1 circuits around the world is a proud moment for us all”.
Both cars will make their debut at the pre-season F1 test in Bahrain on March 12-14.
Photos from Aston Martin
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