Aston Martin announced today that it will once again supply the Medical and Safety Cars for 12 Grands Prix for the 2022 Formula 1 season, starting with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park in Melbourne from April 8-10. Like last season, Aston Martin will field a Vantage as the Safety Car. It has been updated this year, though, to mirror the new Aston Martin Racing Green that can be found on the Aston Martin racing team’s AMR22.
The car, as ever, will be driven by the
FIA’s appointed driver, Bernd Maylander. He will be lucky, because the car has
been expressly designed for this purpose by the engineering team at Aston
Martin’s headquarters in Graydon, UK. Using its experience from GT competition
around the world, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Vantage Safety Car
has been adapted to perform on the Formula 1 circuits of the world. In addition
to its performance upgrades, it also receives bodyside mounted radio antennas,
an LED rear number plate, and a bespoke, roof-mounted LED light bar.
Inside, the driver and passenger have
access to the FIA’s marshaling system, which shows lights corresponding to any
warning flags being shown at any part of the track. It also gets cameras
inside, just like the F1 cars to display a live camera feed for the viewing
audience.
The DBX, reenters duty as the
Medical Car, getting its own unique modifications. These include FIA-approved
racing seats with six-point safety harnesses, a marshaling system, and TV screens
to give the doctor a live feed of the race as he sits in the pit lane. It must
carry fire extinguishers, a defibrillator, and a large medical kit back, as
well.
Aston Martin says that its reasons for
supplying the FIA with this Medical Car aren’t entirely altruistic. The data
gathered from the SUV’s time on track last year directly helped the development
of the high-performance DBX 707.
