The first Formula One race of the year at the Melbourne Grand Prix usually sees a track load of new cars and new technology for fans to get used to.
This year, there will be two more than usual, with Mercedes-AMG delivering two brand-new models to Formula One’s safety crew.
Ex-DTM star Bernd Maylander, who has been F1’s safety car driver since 2000, will swap the traditional AMG SLS for the sparkling new AMG GT S for the season opener, with FIA fuel analyst Peter Tibbets in the passenger seat.
The rear-drive 375kW GT S is the cheaper, smaller successor to the SLS, powered by a dry-sump 4.0-litre biturbo V8 and moving through corners on an all-new rear suspension system.
It differs from the standard GT S in a few key areas, including a louder Performance exhaust and some upgrades to the Edition 1’s go-faster package. It will run the carbon-ceramic brake discs and its roof-mounted light pod sits on a new carbon-fibre spoiler that redirects airflow to the rear spoiler.
While Maylander keeps the GT S on the track and watches the race cars, Tibbets is in constant radio contact with race control and monitors the race field on two iPads mounted in the car.
Last year’s SLS was deployed 14 times across 10 out of the 19 races, nearly winning two of them.
In the second of the Mercedes-AMGs, South African racer Alan van der Merwe will chauffeur the FIA’s head physician Dr Ian Roberts and two local medics in the C63 Estate, which had its global media launch just last week.
It follows the F1 field on the opening lap when the cars race at their closest and, like the GT S, it also gets a modified, louder exhaust system. Its seating has been modified to include four racing bucket seats and the luggage area is filled with medical equipment, including a defibrillator and a respirator.
Also powered by the new 375kW/700Nm 4.0-litre V8 biturbo, the medical car reaches zero to 100km/h in just 4.1 seconds.