For the first time since 2021, Mercedes will once again supply the sole official safety car, ending the rotation with Aston Martin and its Vantage that had remained in place up to last season.

Powering the Black Series is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 mounted in a front-mid layout and combined with a dry-sump lubrication system, a configuration designed to cope with sustained track running.

The unit produces in the region of 720–730 horsepower and around 800 Nm of torque, placing it among the most potent V8 engines ever fitted to a road-legal Mercedes. The performance numbers mirror its intent, with the 0–100 km/h sprint covered in roughly 3.2 seconds and a top speed of about 325 km/h in road or circuit specification.

It will continue to be supported by the AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ as the medical car, while Aston Martin’s DBX will no longer appear on track.

This marks a milestone season for Mercedes and the Formula 1 Safety Car partnership, which reaches its 30-year anniversary after first appearing at the 1996 French Grand Prix on June 30.

The German manufacturer also hit another landmark in Austin last year, celebrating its 500th Grand Prix as the championship’s official Safety Car supplier.

Another Mercedes-linked milestone will be marked in Melbourne in March, when long-time Safety Car driver Bernd Mayländer is set to reach 500 Grands Prix in the role, more than two decades after first taking the wheel back in 2000.

Christoph Sagemüller, Head of Mercedes-AMG Motorsport, commented: “Safety is an absolutely central value of our brand and our products. That is why we have been providing the Official FIA F1® Safety and Medical Car in Formula 1® since 1996.

He finally added: “For Mercedes-AMG, Formula 1 is not only a sporting platform, but also an environment in which the performance, reliability, and safety of our vehicles become visible under extreme conditions.”