Over the past 25 years, F1 has stuck with Mercedes for playing the safety car role. And the evolution of the Stuttgart manufacturers has been quite evident. From a simplified Mercedes C36 AMG, the sport is now owning an impeccably powerful Mercedes-AMG GT R.

However, 2021 witnessed a minor change to the reign of Mercedes; F1 ended up signing a deal with Aston Martin, weeks after the racing team announced their return to the sport. Of course, Aston Martin did not take over the job from Mercedes altogether, rather sharing the 22-race calendar.

Now that we’ve seen the two cars hit the track in the last 15 Grand Prix weekends, one might wonder, which of them is faster?

Yes, the question hardly changes anything, as neither of the safety cars is battling for a championship trophy. But, there’s pretty much nothing wrong in knowing an answer to this safety car question. So, here you go. The safety car driver, himself, revealed which among the two is quicker.

What did F1 safety car driver Bernd Maylander say?

Bernd Maylander, who has been behind the wheel of the safety car for 23 years now, opened up that Mercedes is the quickest car of the two. According to the German, the difference in horsepower between the two cars is almost 50, despite both donning the Mercedes engine.

“It is just fantastic to drive a Red Mercedes and an English Green Aston Martin Vantage in Formula 1, also for the other categories,” the German said while featuring in the ‘In the Fast Lane‘ F1 podcast.

“Drivable-wise it’s great. By the way, it’s made with the same engine, the Mercedes engine also in the Aston Martin, 535 horsepower compared to the AMG GTR’s 585 [horsepower]. So, she’s a bit quicker, a bit more powerful. But, in the end, for a safety car, those cars are absolutely fantastic.”

The Aston Martin Vantage made its debut in the very first race of the seat at the Bahrain Grand Prix. And now, as we inch towards the showdown at Abu Dhabi, will the same Vantage see off this season? Or will the vibrant Red Mercedes GT R take over the services over the final race weekend? We’ll know in time.

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