The New F1 Safety Car Is Very Eye Catching
Mercedes has maintained its hold on F1's safety car spot. Find out why it has everyone talking.
Written by Alex Healey
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Table of Contents
After last year’s debacle involving a safety car restart, you might assume Formula 1 would go lowkey with its safety car this season. You’d be wrong! Just in time for the start of the
2022 F1 Championship
, a new safety car has been announced by Mercedes-Benz
, and it's a genuine supercar.In the 2022 season, F1 will be using a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series. Boasting over 700 horsepower, this is comfortably the fastest and most powerful safety car of all time.
As was the case in 2021, Mercedes will share safety car duties with Aston Martin, who are again relying on the Vantage F1 Edition. The Vantage is no slouch, but all eyes are on the new Merc ahead of Sunday’s race in Bahrain.
How do safety cars work in Formula 1?
In F1, as with all professional motorsports, a safety car is used to slow the racers whenever there is a hazard up ahead. It gets out in front of the racers to ensure they maintain a safe speed.
Following a collision, for example, a safety car may be deployed to ensure debris can be cleared from the track. And in Formula 1, you often see safety cars during heavy rain, when the race marshall has deemed it unsafe to continue at regular speed.
While the safety car’s primary job is to slow the race action, it must maintain a high enough speed that the competitors' engines do not overheat. For this reason, F1 safety cars are high-performance models operated by professional drivers. There is also a co-driver to assist with operations and communications.
Once the hazard is gone, the safety car will exit the track and the race can resume.
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The new Mercedes safety car
As announced by
Formula1.com
, the tournament’s newest safety car will be a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, replacing 2021's Mercedes-AMG GT R. The GT Black Series sells for over $400,000. It can do 0-62 mph in just 3.2 seconds, and has a top speed of over 200 mph! It is capable of cranking out 730 hp, and safety car driver Bernd Maylander says, “I’m simply blown away by how close it is to a thoroughbred race car…to have a workplace like this in the name of safety is a dream come true.”
The new safety car will debut alongside a new medical car, also from Mercedes. The AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ can accommodate three medics and all of their equipment.
It’s not quite as fast as the GT Black, but with 639 hp and a top speed of 195 mph, it’s another reason for car nerds to get excited about the 2022 F1 Championship!
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