Mercedes-AMG GT R is the most powerful Formula 1 Safety Car ever

Mercedes-AMG will use the most powerful Official FIA F1 Safety Car of all time in the 2018 Formula 1 season: the 430 kW (585 hp) AMG GT R will have its debut as the Official FIA F1 Safety Car of the FIA Formula 1 World Championship at the Grand Prix in Melbourne, Australia from 22 to 25 March 2018.

The top-of-the-line model of the AMG GT series will lead the Formula 1 field on all 20 race weekends. The performance and sports car brand from Affalterbach has supplied the pace car in the premier racing series of international motorsports since 1996.

With an output of 430 kW (585 hp) and a top speed of 318 km/h, the AMG GT R is the most powerful and fastest Official FIA F1 Safety Car of all time. In this, the 23 consecutive year, Mercedes-AMG will safely lead the Formula 1 field around the track when bad weather or accidents require its deployment.

It must be able to maintain a minimum speed level to prevent the tyres and brakes of the Formula 1 vehicles from excessive cooling and the engines from overheating. With a top speed of 318 km/h and 3.6 seconds for the sprint from zero to 100 km/h, the AMG GT R poses no risk for this to happen.

“I am very much looking forward to my new company car. It is an absolute highlight in terms of driving dynamics and is one level higher up still than the AMG GT S of recent years. Of course, ideally the safety car should be deployed as rarely as possible – but when we have to safely bunch up the Formula 1 field and lead it around the track, we will be superbly equipped with the AMG GT R,” says Bernd Mayländer, who will again be the driver of the Official FIA F1 Safety Car in the new season.

The AMG GT R is powered by a 4.0-litre V8 biturbo engine, matched to an elaborately designed chassis and sophisticated active aerodynamics.

Wide front and rear wings allow an increased track width for optimum grip and even higher cornering speeds. The front apron with active air control system and the active aerodynamics profile in the underbody, the large rear aerofoil and the rear apron with double diffuser increase the aerodynamic efficiency and help ensure optimum grip.

Mercedes claims only a small number of modifications were required to transform the road-going AMG GT R into the official FIA F1 Safety Car. The AMG Track Package with roll-over protection system and the ceramic high-performance compound braking system are on board as optional extras. The advantages of the ceramic brakes are a lower weight, a longer service life and even better fade resistance.

In terms of appearance, the Mercedes-AMG GT R Official FIA F1 Safety Car differs from the series production vehicle above all by virtue of the FIA and F1 car film and the light bar on the roof. The latter is positioned on a carbon-fibre air scoop that is designed to offer the least possible air resistance while at the same time providing for an aerodynamically optimised flow of air towards the rear aerofoil. It’s claimed that the positioning and design of the carbon-fibre air scoop and the light bar are the result of extensive wind tunnel tests.

While Official FIA F1 Safety Car driver Bernd Mayländer focuses on the track and at the same time keeps an eye on the field in the rear-view mirror, co-driver Richard Darker maintains radio contact with race control. Richard Darker monitors the Formula 1 vehicles by means of two iPads. The display of the left one shows the international TV broadcast. The right one can feature either an animated display of the current position of the vehicles or show current lap times. Data management for the visual communication solutions is handled by an InCar Hotspot with WLAN wireless network.