The New Aston Martin Vantage Is F1’s Latest Safety Car

Since 2021, the Aston Martin Vantage has acted as the safety car at certain Formula 1 races, marking the first time since 1996 that anything other than a Mercedes had led the field during full course yellow periods. The move coincided with Aston’s re-entry into the sport the same year, with the Mercedes-AMG GT R, and later the Black Series, continuing Merc’s long-running representation at other rounds.

That division of duties is set to continue into the 2024 season, with a new version of the Aston safety car based on the recently unveiled facelifted Vantage. The new safety car has been spotted wearing a camouflage wrap at F1’s pre-season testing in Bahrain, which kicked off today.

Updated Aston Martin Vantage F1 safety car

The updated Vantage road car kicks out 656bhp from its AMG-sourced twin-turbocharged V8, leading to a 0-62mph time of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 205mph. It also has a thoroughly overhauled chassis.

All of this will come as good news for F1 drivers, particularly reigning world champion Max Verstappen, who has previously complained about the significant pace difference between the old Vantage safety car and the 720bhp, downforce-heavy AMG GT Black Series. Following the 2022 Australian Grand Prix, he said the Aston was “like a turtle” and its slower pace was causing his Red Bull to lose tyre temperature.

2024 Aston Martin Vantage – front

That was despite the old car getting a power boost from 503 to 528bhp for safety car duties, as well as a unique aero package. These changes were later implemented on the roadgoing Vantage F1 Edition.

It looks as if the new safety car might have some tweaks, too. The images from Bahrain show a rear wing and front splitter that we’ve not seen any evidence of being available on the standard car. It’s unclear at this point if any changes have been made to the engine or chassis, or if this is another precursor to an even more hardcore road version of the new Vantage.

The old Aston Martin Vantage F1 safety car

The updated Vantage safety car will first see action in the event that the safety car gets called on at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 9 March, with the AMG GT taking on responsibilities at the season opener in Bahrain a week earlier.