When Aston Martin makes its return to the Formula One World Championship this month, it will be with more than two Grand Prix contenders on the Bahrain Grand Prix grid.
For the first time in the history of the sport, the Official Safety and Medical cars of Formula One will also bear the famous wings of the British luxury brand with Aston Martin and Mercedes agreeing an alternative supply deal for the upcoming 2021 season.
Aston Martin DBX, the brand’s critically acclaimed first SUV, will also take on the role of an Official Medical Car of Formula One, showcasing its own power and handling prowess as it launches into action to support in the event of an emergency.
The safety car mimics the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team's AMR21 with an all-new paint colour, 2021 Aston Martin Racing Green, which was developed specifically to celebrate the marques return to Formula One after more than 60 years.
A Lime Essence pinstripe highlights the front splitter; a colour synonymous with Aston Martin’s successful racing pedigree, and most recently used on the ultra-successful Vantage that competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). The Formula One Safety Car is otherwise distinguished by its prominent 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.
Like the safety car, the medical car is distinguishable by its 2021 Aston Martin Racing Green paint with Lime Green accents - as well as the prominent FIA medical car livery, LED rear number plate and roof-mounted LED light-bar which sits upon the roof rails.
The Official Medical Car of Formula One is required to carry a substantial amount of equipment including a large medical bag, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a burn kit - and the DBX is more than equipped with 632 litres of boot space. Whilst the interior trim is fully representative of a customer vehicle, the central rear seat has been removed, and the remaining four have been replaced with sport bucket seats, each equipped with a 6-point safety harness.
These provide seating for the driver, Alan van der Merwe and Dr Ian Roberts - the FIA Formula One Medical Response Coordinator, as well as a Local Doctor, leaving one spare, in case an incident requires a racing driver to be driven back to the pit lane.
Much like the safety car, two screens have been mounted onto the dashboard to provide live race footage. An additional screen is used to read live biometric data delivered via technology in the drivers’ gloves, which in the event of an accident, provides critical information on their condition.
The ‘Marshalling System’ and the rear-view mirror camera display have also been installed into the medical car. The development of both these Official Safety Car of Formula One and Official Medical Car of Formula One was carried out by the engineering team at Aston Martin.
Both vehicles have endured significant testing, which included high-speed durability assessments and aggressive circuit driving at the Aston Martin facility at Silverstone, totting up almost 15,000km collectively. The vehicles have also been tested in a dyno climate chamber to ensure they will perform in all race conditions.
コメント