Motorsports
Formula 1: The 5 hot facts about the new safety car, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series
Mercedes-Benz has unveiled the new safety and medical vehicles for this year’s F1 season.
Before the first race in Bahrain, which takes place next weekend from March 18th to 20th, Mercedes-Benz presented the new safety car and the medical car for the 2022 Formula 1 season.
The new safety car, the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, will act as the official safety car for half of this season as Mercedes-AMG continues to share this role with Aston Martin. The Black series replaces the Mercedes-AMG GT R, which served as a safety car last year.
Let’s see the 5 Hot Info of the new Mercedes-AMG Safety Car:
- The Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series features a 730 hp V30 engine, 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, specially advanced suspension, ceramic brakes and Pirelli P Zero tires. The 0-100 km/h takes 3.2” and the top speed reaches 325 km/h.
- A notable change in the new Safety Car is the omission of the roof lamp and its replacement with a new traffic light system integrated into the windscreen and rear spoiler.
- The rear license plate lights up in the same colors to give a signal to drivers during the race.
- Special lights in the side windows help spectators in the stands to see when the safety car enters the pits.
- The safety car is driven by Mered Maylander. It will be assisted by co-driver Richard Darker, who will have access to two screens with all the information from the race, as well as TV footage to see exactly what’s happening on the track.
In addition to the Safety Car, Mercedes-AMG replaced the Medical Car this year. The station wagon C 63 S used from 2015 to 2021 gave way to the GT 63 S 4MATIC+. According to the German company, with 639 hp, a top speed of 315 km/h and 0-100 km/h in 3.2”, it is the most powerful and fastest medical supply car ever used in Formula 1.
Mercedes-AMG has been supplying the vehicles needed for emergencies in Formula 1 since 1996! This year, the Safety Car and Medical Car retain the red color adopted by Mercedes last year and are sponsored by Crowdstrike.
Mercedes-AMG Safety Cars from 1996 to today
- 1996: C 36 AMG (W 202)
- 1997-1999: CLK 55 AMG (C 208)
- 2000: CL 55 AMG (C 215)
- 2001-2002: SL 55 AMG (R 230)
- 2003: CLK 55 AMG (C 209)
- 2004-2005: SLK 55 AMG (R 171)
- 2006-2007: CLK 63 AMG Black Series (C 209)
- 2008-2009: SL 63 AMG (R 230)
- 2010-2012: SLS AMG (C 197)
- 2012 (GP Germany) -2014: SLS AMG GT (C 197)
- 2015-2018: Mercedes-AMG GT S (C 190)
- 2019-2021: Mercedes-AMG GT R (C 190)
- 2022: Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series (C 190)
On weekends when Mercedes does not deliver any rail vehicles, the Aston Martin Vantage and the Aston Martin DBX SUV take on the role of safety and medical cars.
Sophia Jhon is a sports journalist and author. He has worked as a news editor for Sportish and is now a sport columnist for the same publication. Alberta’s professional interests lie largely in sports news, with an emphasis on English football. He has also written articles on other sporting topics.