Mercedes have introduced new safety car and medical car models for the upcoming Formula 1 season.
The previous AMG GT R safety car has been replaced with an AMG GT Black Series. The medical car, previously a C 63 S estate has been exchanged for a GT 63 S 4Matic+.Both cars are from the manufacturer’s AMG performance line, which Mercedes has been using more prominently in connection with its F1 team. The manufacturer has showcasing track-to-road technologies from F1 in its most recent products, including a hybrid powertrain which borrows heavily from HPP research.
The two cars Mercedes are providing are mostly unchanged from the production models except that the AMG GT Black Series will not have a light bar on its roof, as previous safety cars. Mercedes say this would have interfered with the aerodynamics of the car and so instead lights will flash at the top of the windscreen and on the rear spoiler.
F1 safety car driver Bernd Maylander said he is impressed by the performance of F1’s new safety car. “I’ve already had the chance to test this amazing vehicle many times and I’m simply blown away by how close it is to a thoroughbred race car.
“It really is a major step compared to last year’s GT R – which was already at an extremely high level. To have a workplace like this in the name of safety is a dream come true.”
The AMG GT Black Series safety car has a top speed of 325kph (201mph) and the GT 63 S 4Matic+ of 315kph (195mph), with 730 and 639 bhp respectively.
Mercedes will continue to share provision of the F1 safety and medical cars with Aston Martin, as it did for the first time last year. The British brand will continue to provide a Vantage as the safety car and DBX as the medical car.
Mercedes’s new safety and medical cars will be used at the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Aston Martins will be seen for the first time in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, and the remaining races shared between the two.
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2022 F1 safety and medical cars
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Velocityboy (@velocityboy)
8th March 2022, 13:08
And yet, the drivers will likely continue to complain that the safety car is too slow.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
8th March 2022, 13:13
Indeed, at least we always get to see a car pushing 100%.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
8th March 2022, 14:28
@velocityboy Which is it’s entire purpose of course. It’s out there to slow the field down for safety reasons so isn’t meant to be going too quickly.
That’s why I never get the argument you see come up every so often from drivers & some fans about how the SC should be something closer to race car speeds. It’s purpose isn’t to drive fast or be doing race car speeds.
@peartree It won’t actually always be going at 100% as the FIA will dictate it’s speed depending on the situation & sometimes the circuit. If there are people on track (Or in a place with smaller runoffs meaning they are closer to the track) recovering a car or debris for instance it will reduce it’s speed so they can have a bit more time to work between cars going by.
Always amuses me a little how you have other categories (Such as Indycar) who use a much less capable/slower safety car & also don’t have tire warmers with it been harder to bring tires upto temperature due to the cars putting less load into them & you never hear drivers complaining about the SC speed been slow (Outside of ex-F1 drivers who have come over & are still trying to get used to the differences).
DaveW (@dmw)
9th March 2022, 21:48
I think the issue is that the race cars need their tires, brakes, and fluids at a certain temp which can’t be maintained behind even one of these fire breathing road cars.
Jere (@jerejj)
8th March 2022, 13:18
The differences between Medical car models are more noticeable than SC equivalents.
Ciaran (@ciaran)
8th March 2022, 13:59
We’re in a golden age of safety car aesthetics! Both look great but I think the Vantage still wins out.
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
8th March 2022, 14:03
you think so? i think that merc sc is the automotive equivalent of a tramp stamp tbh
Kerry Maxwell (@kerrymaxwell)
8th March 2022, 15:18
The Aston Martin looks positively dowdy in comparison to the Mercedes to me. And I love a green car.
Leroy (@g-funk)
8th March 2022, 14:47
A clever bit of subliminal marketing from Mercedes there. Their safety car is so aerodynamic that a light bar on the roof interferes with its performance. Whereas the Aston safety car can have a light bar because its aerodynamics aren’t as tuned.
I have to say I prefer the Aston’s aesthetics (sans light bar) more than the Mercedes though.
The Dolphins
8th March 2022, 14:50
I’m surprised the Medical Car isn’t the “GT63 S E Performance” to market their plug-in hybrid offering.
cduk_mugello (@cduk_mugello)
8th March 2022, 14:55
Shame it’s only the new Mercedes safety car that gets to race around Hockenheimring.
ryanoceros (@ryanoceros)
8th March 2022, 15:12
All aside from the aston martin safety car are hideous again. I also preferred when they were silver and less obnoxious. Thank larry stroll for that!
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
8th March 2022, 15:16
Is there a new Virtual Safety Car as well?
someone or something
8th March 2022, 15:21
Not really. It continues to exist as a perturbation, not excitation, in the Safety Car field.
DaveW (@dmw)
9th March 2022, 21:49
And it can be in superposition at any point on the track.
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
8th March 2022, 15:25
It switched from zen2 to zen3 with rdna2.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th March 2022, 20:23
Wouldn’t it be great @bullfrog if for each race there was a lottery for someone to get to drive the Virtual Safety Car!
I would doubtless lose control by the third or fourth corner and re-join at the back!
Then they would all have to let me pass ….. unless the RD said otherwise of course :/
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
8th March 2022, 18:43
Pretty cars, but I wouldn’t mind not seeing much of them this year.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
8th March 2022, 20:10
Maybe it’s just me, but having “Crowdstrike” on the bonnet of a safety car seems wrong somehow ;)
Tyler S
8th March 2022, 20:30
Yeah, that would be more appropriate on a Mustang safety car. Those are always striking crowds.
DaveW (@dmw)
9th March 2022, 21:51
That’s only at suburban “cars and coffee” meets lol.
Qeki (@qeki)
8th March 2022, 21:32
What on earth is happening behind that Mercs safety car. It’s like a christmas tree.
macaque (@macaque)
9th March 2022, 6:41
So Mercedes painted these cars red as some sort of tribute to Ferrari and now that Ferrari added some black they added black too?