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Mercedes have unveiled their brand-new safety car and medical car for use in the 2022 F1 season.
The German manufacturer has replaced their existing AMG GT R safety car, in use since 2019, with its GT Black Series. Additionally, the company’s AMG GT S4MATIC+ sports saloon will be replacing the existing medical car.
In a statement accompanying the announcement published on the Mercedes F1 team’s website, CEO of Mercedes-AMG GmbH, Philipp Schiemer, stated:
“Recent years have seen Mercedes-AMG celebrate a huge number of amazing successes in the FIA Formula One world championship. Eight constructors’ titles and seven drivers’ titles in the last eight years speak emphatically for themselves.”
He then went on to state:
“Added to that is the extensive and widespread transfer of technology and image from this greatest of all motorsport stages and our series-production vehicles. Motorsport means so much to us, as does the best possible level of safety. There was absolutely no question that, after more than 25 years, we would extend our commitment as the provider of the safety car and medical car - with two absolutely outstanding vehicles from our line-up.”
The new AMG GT Black series is one of the fastest sports cars currently produced by the company and is a highly tuned version of the AMG GT-R. Its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 puts out a whopping 720 horsepower and 800 Nm of torque, enough to help it keep up with F1 cars in a straight-line.
Meanwhile, the aero-work and chassis improvements made by AMG allowed this beast to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 6.48 seconds, meaning it is quite fast in the corners as well.
The new medical car is no slouch either. The AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ has the same 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 as the GT Black, albeit slightly detuned to produce just 630 bhp. This car, however, has 100 Nm more torque compared to the GT Black and can also easily keep up with an F1 car in a straight-line.
Mercedes has supplied F1 safety cars for more than 25 years
The German manufacturer has been the official safety car and medical car supplier for F1 since the 1996 season. It has been supplying top-of-the-line performance vehicles in its line-up to the sport, and replacing them with newer models every few years.
In 2021, Aston Martin joined the German manufacturer as a co-supplier, with each manufacturer’s cars sharing their duties in alternate venues.
