Aston Martin joins Mercedes as FIA F1 Safety and Medical Car suppliers

The FIA is pleased to confirm Aston Martin and Mercedes-AMG as official suppliers of the Safety and Medical cars for the FIA Formula One World Championship from 2021.

Both manufacturers will share the supply of the vehicles at different events throughout 2021 with this being the first time in 25 years that two vehicle manufacturers have supplied the FIA Formula 1 Safety and Medical Cars. Aston Martin will run a specially equipped version of their Vantage – the most powerful model in the luxury British brand’s production range – for its safety car, while the Aston Martin DBX will fulfil the carmaker’s medical car commitment. Both the Aston Martin Vantage and Aston Martin DBX will be feature a ‘2021 Aston Martin Racing Green’ livery, each with Lime Green accents, to celebrate the marques return to Formula 1 after more than 60 years.

Mercedes-AMG, who have supplied the Official Safety Car and Official Medical Car since 1996, will continue to run their Mercedes-AMG GT R and Mercedes-AMG C 63 S Estate vehicles as their safety car and medical car respectively, with both sporting a brand-new look for 2021. New bright red paintwork will adorn both Mercedes-AMG vehicles from the beginning of the campaign.

Aston Martin will make its debut in Sakhir on 28 March at the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix, with Mercedes-AMG’s rebranded safety vehicles running in Imola for the 2021 FIA Formula 1 Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on 18 April. The remainder of the 2021 season will be split between the two manufacturers.

Germany’s Bernd Mayländer will remain behind the wheel of the FIA Safety Car at each Grand Prix, while South African Alan van der Merwe will continue his role in piloting the FIA Medical Car.

Michael Masi, FIA Formula 1 Race Director and Safety Delegate, said:

"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!"

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO, Formula 1, said:

“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. 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.”