The Aston Martin cars will support 12 of this year’s F1 races, starting with the long-awaited return of F1 to Albert Park in Melbourne. Both the specially prepared Vantage and DBX will run in the new 2022 Aston Martin Racing Green that was showcased at the launch of the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team’s challenger, the AMR22 on 10 February.
The Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car of
2021 inspired the Vantage F1 Edition, the fastest, most track-focused
Vantage to date and the ultimate expression of performance and dynamism.
Driven
by the FIA’s appointed driver, the vastly experienced Bernd Mayländer,
the Official F1 Safety Car Vantage is one-of-a-kind, developed purely
for this role by the engineering team at Aston Martin’s Headquarters in
Gaydon, UK, in collaboration with the FIA, the governing body of world
motorsport.
Using the learning from the Vantages that compete in
GT competition across the globe, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the
Vantage Safety Car has been adapted for the ultimate speed and handling
to perform its important role in F1. An additional FIA safety car
livery, bodyside mounted radio antennas, an LED rear number plate and a
bespoke, roof-mounted LED light-bar, developed by Aston Martin, mark it
out as the leader of the pack.
Inside the Vantage, the driver and
passenger have access to the FIA’s Marshalling System, which displays
lights corresponding to any warning flags being shown, just as inside
the F1 cars themselves, and the car is well covered by cameras inside
and out to provide live TV footage.
The DBX Medical Car enjoys
an output of 550 PS and 700 Nm of torque which launches the DBX from
0-62 mph in just 4.5 seconds, reaching a top speed of 181 mph, which
will bring Dr Ian Roberts, the FIA Medical Rescue Coordinator, to the
scene of an accident as quickly as possible.
Having the DBX
deployed on the best race circuits in the world provides invaluable data
for the vehicle dynamics experts at Aston Martin. Information gathered
during F1 race weekends has enhanced the evolution of the new DBX 707,
the world’s fastest luxury SUV.
Similarly, the DBX Official
Medical Car has been uniquely modified to be on a race track at the same
time of some of the fastest cars in the world. The Medical Car has to
carry a lot of equipment, from fire extinguishers to a defibrillator and
a large medical kit bag and the DBX provides more than ample boot space
for this. Like the Vantage, the DBX has been fitted with FIA-approved
racing seats equipped with a 6-point safety harness, the marshalling
system and even TV screens so the Doctor can see exactly what is
happening in the race as he sits, ready to go in the pit lane.
The
2022 F1 starts in Bahrain on 18-20 March. The Aston Martin Official
Safety and Medical Cars of Formula 1 will make their 2022 debut at the
Formula 1 Heineken Australian Grand Prix 2022 on 8-10 April.
