F1's new safety car has all-wheel drive for the first time in history
Thirty years of leading the field, and finally four driven wheels
The safety car is the only road-going machine that has to keep a Formula 1 field warm, in the wet, in front of a global audience, and it has always done that job through the rear wheels alone. That changes in Hungary. The new Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ is the first F1 safety car in history with all-wheel drive.
The car
Power comes from AMG's 4.0-litre biturbo V8, producing 612 hp and 850 Nm through the AMG Speedshift MCT 9G gearbox. Braking is handled by AMG High Performance ceramic composite discs, and the drivetrain is the fully variable AMG Performance 4MATIC+ system. It succeeds the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series, which held the role before it.
Why all-wheel drive matters here
This is the genuinely significant change rather than a specification detail. A safety car leading a field in heavy rain has to be quick enough that the cars behind can keep temperature in their tyres and brakes, while never putting itself in trouble. Traction is the limiting factor in exactly those conditions, and four driven wheels address it directly.
The aero and the lights
There is a new front splitter, a modified rear wing with an active flap and aerodynamic dive planes for extra downforce and high-speed stability. More interesting is the signalling system now integrated into the rear wing, with additional LEDs to improve visibility for the drivers following: orange means no overtaking, green means overtaking is allowed. Small detail, but one that matters when a driver is trying to read it through spray.
Thirty years, fourteen cars
This is the 14th official Mercedes safety car in Formula 1 history, and both cars deployed at the Hungarian Grand Prix carry a one-off livery marking 30 years of Mercedes supplying the category's safety car. Mercedes also took over as sole supplier of both the safety car and the medical car this season, having previously shared the duty with Aston Martin.
The man driving it
Bernd Maylander remains at the wheel, as he has for most of those 30 years. "The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+, as official FIA F1 Safety Car, combines the highest safety with impressive sportiness," he said.
AutoNext Take
Safety car announcements are usually marketing dressed as news, but this one contains a real engineering decision. Every complaint drivers have made about safety car pace over the past decade comes down to the same thing: not enough speed in the wet to keep temperature in the cars behind. All-wheel drive is the obvious fix, and it is mildly surprising it took until the 14th car to arrive. The rear wing signalling is the other quietly sensible change, because brighter, better-placed lights are worth more to a driver squinting through spray than another 50 hp ever would be.
