AUTONEWS

Aston Martin F1 Safety Car may have crashed due to serious brake disc failure

The safety car is a key part of an F1 race, leading the racing cars on the grid formation lap and following the drivers on the first lap of the race, to ensure that, in the event of an accident, help reaches the drivers seconds after the impact. But this time, at the Italian Grand Prix, it was the safety car, the Aston Martin Vantage driven by Bernd Maylander, that crashed into the wall and needed help.

The crash occurred during an initial test, for Maylander and the Aston Martin technicians responsible for the Vantage to determine if everything was okay with the unit that would serve as the safety car for the rest of the weekend. And (apparently) it wasn't, because when braking for the Parabolica curve, the last corner of the track before the home straight, Maylander lost control of the car and crashed. 

The video below shows no signs of, for example, a disc breaking and locking one of the wheels, as none of the four wheels are locked. What we see in the footage seems consistent with Maylander having run out of brakes and resorting to a typical driving technique in rallies on dirt or snow to put the car sideways, causing it to cross over and ensuring that the friction of the rubber on the abrasive asphalt of Monza would help to reduce its speed. 

Unfortunately for Maylander and the Vantage, this was not enough. Luckily, Aston Martin always takes a second unit to each F1 World Championship race, which this time proved to be very useful. The Aston Martin Vantage that is acting as the safety car this year, alternating with the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4Matic+ Black Series, is a more advanced version of the previous year, in which it was accused of not having the necessary power, especially to act as a pace car in a full yellow situation (yellow flags all over the track prohibiting overtaking). It benefits from an additional 155 hp, despite, curiously, mounting an improved version of Mercedes' 4.0 V8 biturbo, the same one that equips the German brand's safety car, the AMG GT 63 S, which in 2024 provides 640 hp against the Vantage's 665 hp.

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