Formula 1 News: Aston Martin exits F1 safety car role
(GMM) Aston Martin will no longer supply Formula 1’s safety and medical cars from 2026, ending a five-year arrangement at a moment when the team itself is ramping up ambitions under the new regulations.
From this season, Mercedes will once again be the sole provider of both vehicles, bringing an end to the shared setup that has been in place since 2021. The change returns Formula 1 to a familiar look, with the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series continuing as the safety car and the GT 63 S fulfilling medical duties.
Aston Martin, headed by owner Lawrence Stroll, joined Mercedes as co-supplier in 2021, but early versions of the Aston Martin Vantage were quickly criticized by drivers for lacking pace compared with the Mercedes equivalent.
At the time, the Vantage was around 45 kilograms heavier and down roughly 200 horsepower, a gap that frustrated the field whenever it was deployed. Max Verstappen famously labeled it a ‘green turtle’ after the 2022 Australian GP.
Aston Martin responded with successive upgrades. Power climbed to 656 hp for 2024 following changes to turbochargers, cooling and camshafts, before the Vantage S arrived during the 2025 season with around 670 hp and revised aerodynamics. Despite those improvements, the manufacturer has opted not to continue in the role.
No official reason has been given, though economic considerations are understood to have influenced the decision. One low point during Aston Martin’s tenure came at Monza in 2024, when long-time safety car driver Bernd Maylander crashed the Vantage at the Parabolica due to a technical failure – the first such incident of his career.
From 2026, Maylander will again drive exclusively for Mercedes, which has served as Formula 1’s safety car partner since 1996. The Stuttgart brand marked its 500th grand prix in the role during the 2025 US Grand Prix weekend.
The timing is notable. Aston Martin’s withdrawal comes just as the Silverstone-based team enters what many view as a defining phase – the first Adrian Newey-designed car, the start of a full works partnership with Honda, and a wholesale reset under the 2026 technical rules.
With resources stretched and expectations high, the decision to step away from non-core commitments fits a wider pattern across the grid.
