In March 2021, Aston Martin and AMG signed a multi-year partnership with the FIA to supply the official Safety and Medical Cars in Formula 1. For the upcoming 2023 championship, the British automaker will provide its familiar Vantage Safety Car used in previous seasons, joined by the new DBX707 Medical Car. Both will be wearing a green livery akin to the race cars driven by two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso and his teammate Lance Stroll.
We'll see them first this weekend at the inaugural race in Bahrain. To perform their respective duties, the coupe and SUV have received special equipment inside and out. In the case of the DBX707, it'll have fire extinguishers, medical bags, and a defibrillator. Compared to the regular version, the medical car gets a pair of FIA-approved bucket seats with a six-point harness.
Aston Martin DBX707 F1 Medical Car
Those inside the car will be able to access the FIA marshaling system and communicate with race control. In addition, they'll also check out biometric data from the drivers and look at the live TV feed. Doing so will help with the early assessment of an accident. Hopefully, that won't happen often.
Inspired by the Vantage F1 Edition, the gorgeous sports car will be driven by Bernd Mayländer, while behind the wheel of Aston Martin's Urus rival is going to be Alan van der Merwe.
Mercedes has yet to reveal which vehicles it will deploy this year, but it used an AMG GT Black Series as a Safety Car last year when the GT 63 S 4-Door Coupe served the role of the Medical Car.
In 2023, the championship will encompass 23 rounds, starting on March 5 in Sakhir for the Bahrain Grand Prix and ending on November 26 at Yas Marina for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The season was supposed to have a record 24-race calendar, but the Chinese Grand Prix was canceled in December due to the coronavirus pandemic.
