This Aston Martin Vantage Is Formula 1’s New Safety Car

The Formula 1 World Championship is getting a new safety car this year in the form of a specially-equipped Aston Martin Vantage.

Adorning the new safety car is the same shade of Aston Martin Racing Green as the automaker’s new Formula 1 car. The Vantage also features a Lime Essence pinstripe across the front lip, side skirts, and rear diffuser.

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Like the Mercedes-AMG GT that will share the role as Formula 1’s official safety car with partner brand Aston Martin this season, the Vantage has a prominent light bar sitting atop a carbon fiber plinth. This light bar hasn’t just been designed to flash when the car joins the track but it has also been designed to offer the least possible aerodynamic resistance and optimizes air flow towards the rear wing. The latter is also equipped with a rear-facing camera that feeds a live image into a secondary rear-view mirror in the cabin.

Speaking of the interior, it has been equipped with FIA-approved racing seats with six-point safety harnesses. The center console has also been modified and now supports a switch control system used to operate various functions, such as activating the car’s siren, radio communications, and controlling the light bar.

Aston Martin also tweaked with the performance of the car, extracting an additional 24.6 hp from the 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8, bringing power up to 528 horses. The new front splitter also adds 60 kg (about 132 lbs) of extra downforce over a road-going Vantage while the British marque has also tweaked the suspension, steering and dampers.

The car will be driven by Bernd Mayländer.

Joining the Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car in the F1 paddock this year will be an Aston Martin DBX serving as the official medical car. It too has Aston Martin Racing Green paint with Lime Green accents, a distinctive livery, LED rear number plate, and a roof-mounted LED light bar.