Aston Martin will provide the official safety and medical cars for the 2021 Formula One season, and now we have full details of the vehicles to be used. The Aston Martin Vantage will be the first ever Aston to get the 'Official Safety Car of Formula 1®' tag, while the 'Official Medical Car of Formula 1®' will be the Aston Martin DBX SUV. They make their debuts at a pre-season test in Bahrain this coming Friday.
Most powerful Vantage money can't buy
First up, the safety car. The Aston Vantage has had significant upgrades to cope with the rigours of sustained racetrack lapping at the front of a pack of impatient F1 cars. For starters, it gets a new front splitter, helping to increase downforce at 200km/h by 60kg over the regular model, to 155.6kg. That should enhance stability at the high speeds it is likely to achieve. As should the large rear wing. Further improving its circuit prowess are modifications to the suspension and steering, while the torsional stiffness at the front has been increased with additional bracing. This Vantage also rolls on lower profile tyres than the roadgoing model and, naturally, gets a new livery that mixes elements of Aston Martin's own new Formula One contender with that of the FIA's requirements.
The safety car uses the same carbon ceramic brakes as found on the road car, though with extra brake ducts to aid cooling. Speaking of which, there are new bonnet vents to help cool the engine, and Aston says that because 'the vehicle must be capable of going from top speeds, back to idling in the pit lane without so much as a cool-down lap' it has transferred tech from its Vantage GT4 racer. Incidentally, the safety car is powered by the usual twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 AMG petrol engine, with the same 685Nm of torque, though peak power has been upped 25hp to 535hp.
Inside, there are two FIA-approved racing seats with six-point harnesses, two large display screens and a wealth of extra information available to the driver, Bernd Mayländer, and his co-driver, Richard Darker.
A DBX you don't want to see
The same Aston Martin Racing Green paint with Lime Green paint scheme is applied to the Aston Martin DBX medical car. Inside, it gets four seats with six-point harnesses and the same display screens as in the Vantage safety car. It gets another that can show live biometric data from a racing driver's gloves. In the boot are a large medical bag, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a burn kit. Alan van der Merwe drives the medical car, accompanied by Dr Ian Roberts - the 'FIA Formula 1® Medical Response Coordinator', as well as a local doctor. Apparently one seat is kept empty intentionally in case a driver needs to be brought back to the pits.
Aston Martin has not detailed any mechanical changes to the DBX, and has confirmed that its twin-turbo V8 makes the same 550hp and 700Nm as the road car.
A word from the new boss
Tobias Moers, Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, said "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".