F1 Safety Car Three Decades Of Mercedes AMG Dominance

The safety car has become part of Formula 1’s basic make up, saving races from chaos while pretending not to be the star. Mercedes-AMG has owned this honour since 1996. The latest car to wear the orange lights is the GT 63 Pro 4Matic+. It will make its first official appearance at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. It replaces the GT Black Series after a 51-race stint. 2026 marks 30 years of Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG serving as the FIA’s safety car partner with the GT63 Pro becomes the 14th Three-Pointed-star official safety car.

A proper track tool

The GT63 Pro has a twin-turbocharged 4,0-litre V8 that sends out 450 kW and 850 N.m, enough for a claimed top speed of 317 km/h. This matters because the safety car’s main job is to keep a Formula 1 field awake, warm, and ready without dragging the tyres or brakes into the wrong temperature window. Mercedes-AMG says the production cooling package already meets track demands.

The engine is matched to the AMG Speedshift MCT 9G, a nine-speed sports transmission. Mercedes-AMG also keeps its ceramic high-performance braking system in the package, with six-piston fixed calipers up front.

This is the first Official FIA F1 Safety Car to use an all-wheel drive system. This is a meaningful shift. Previous safety cars managed their pace with a rear-drive bias. This one can shuffle torque between the axles as conditions change. It is built to keep its footing on a dry track, damp patches, or a full wet line, without forcing Bernd Mayländer to throw in some unexpected opposite lock.

Built to lead the field

The safety car’s aerodynamics have been reworked for the job. Up front, there is a new splitter and dive planes. At the back, the wing has been modified with an active flap. The aim is simple: more downforce on the nose, more stability in fast direction changes, and less drama when the car carries the field through a tricky sector at speed.

The cabin carries a roll cage, six-point safety harnesses, and Recaro racing bucket seats, plus an internal fuel tank holding 75 litres. The tyres are Pirelli P Zero R items, developed with Mercedes-AMG at the Nürburgring and Nardò.

Lights, cameras, race control

The most interesting part of the GT63 Pro Safety Car may be the stuff you barely see. Mercedes has built a specialised FIA communication package around a central control panel in the console, with radio, GPS, and camera technology tied into an onboard network management system. The FIA tablets are larger than before.

The signalling system is integrated into the car rather than bolted on like an afterthought. It runs through the rear wing, the front section, and the headlights and taillights. That keeps the car clean aerodynamically while still making its intentions obvious to the field. Orange means no overtaking. Green means the safety car can let the field past.

Even the glazing gets attention. Makrolon is used for the front and rear windows, helping prepare the car for the kind of punishment that comes with repeated race use. Camera hardware sits in the rear wing, and all the light modules are dimmable so the system can be tuned for daylight, dusk, rain, or whatever else the circuit throws at it.

Bespoke Appearance

For the Hungarian Grand Prix, two modified GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ cars will be on standby for emergencies, both wearing a special anniversary livery. The black paint is cut with red foil elements, while the CrowdStrike partner logo and the 30th-anniversary logo sit on the hood, roof, and rear wing. Mercedes-AMG is celebrating 30 years of being the car that arrives when the race needs order, and doing it with a machine that looks fully capable of keeping up with the best drivers in the world.