Aston Martin End Safety Car Role Ahead of F1 2026

Formula 1, Sportrik Media - Aston Martin has taken a surprise decision to end its involvement as a Formula 1 safety car supplier, paving the way for Mercedes to resume sole responsibility for safety and medical cars from the 2026 season.

The move brings to a close Aston Martin’s five-year chapter as a co-safety car provider alongside Mercedes. Since 1996, Mercedes had held exclusive responsibility for supplying Formula 1’s safety vehicles, before the FIA introduced a shared arrangement in 2021 that saw Aston Martin rotate duties with the German manufacturer across the calendar.

From the outset, Aston Martin’s tenure proved controversial. The Vantage F1 Edition, officially designated as its safety car, was widely regarded as suffering from a clear performance deficit compared to Mercedes’ offering. Heavier and significantly less powerful, the car struggled to maintain the pace required during safety car periods, prompting concern within the paddock over race neutralisation standards.

Criticism was not confined to internal discussions. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen was particularly outspoken, publicly branding the Aston Martin safety car the “green turtle,” a pointed reference to both its green livery and its perceived lack of speed during critical phases of a grand prix.

In response to mounting scrutiny, Aston Martin invested heavily in performance upgrades. For the 2024 season, the manufacturer introduced a substantially revised Vantage with a significant increase in power output, narrowing the gap to Mercedes’ safety car. That effort continued at the 2025 Dutch Grand Prix, where a third evolution, the Vantage S, was unveiled featuring a V8 engine delivering further performance gains.

Despite these developments, Aston Martin has elected to withdraw entirely from safety car duties. According to RacingNews365, the British manufacturer chose not to renew its contract after five seasons of shared service. An official statement outlining the rationale behind the decision is expected from Aston Martin in due course.

As a result, Mercedes will once again become Formula 1’s sole supplier of safety and medical cars from the 2026 season onward. The AMG GT Black Series will continue in that role, now carrying the red livery of Mercedes partner CrowdStrike instead of the traditional silver.

The decision marks a return to a familiar structure within Formula 1, ending an era of dual safety car suppliers. While Mercedes’ exclusive role is restored for the foreseeable future, the possibility remains that Formula 1 could revisit the concept of an additional supplier should sporting or commercial conditions change in the future.