By: Dave Abrahams
Albert Park, Melbourne - Sunday 15 March will not only be a baptism of fire for the new season's Formula One cars, but also for the two most widely televised AMGs in the world.
The FIA's new official F1 safety car and medical car - a specially-built GT S sports coupé and a kitted-out C63 S Estate will take up their duties at the back of the grid.
Former DTM star Bernd Mayländer, now 43, has been the official F1 Grand Prix Safety Car driver since 2000, with fuel analyst Peter Tibbetts in the hot seat.
The safety car works under difficult conditions, Mayländer explained. It only comes out on to the circuit in extreme conditions, it has to accelerate very hard and corner at speeds that, although slow by Formula One standards, are radical in what is basically a lightly modified road car carrying considerable extra weight in the worst possible place - on the roof.
And if he goes too slowly the brakes and tyres of the cars backed up behind him will cool off, and their engines will overheat.
STANDARD DRIVETRAIN
Surprisingly, the 375kW four-litre biturbo V8 and seven-speed dual-clutch transmission of the safety car are bog standard; 0-100km/h in less than four seconds and more than 300km/h flat out are enough to get it out on circuit ahead of the pack. The only mod is a big-bore exhaust - more for its sound track than any performance gains, says Mayländer.
The Dynamic Plus transmission package on Mayländer's company car is available to any GT S customer, including dynamic engine and transmission mounts and a customised engine mapping when you select 'RACE' mode and manual transmission mode 'M', as well as stiffer springs and damper tuning, more negative camber on the front axle and an upgraded speed-sensitive sports steering system.
It runs on special lightweight cross-spoked, forged rims in matt black with polished flanges shod with road-legal 265/35 R19 front and 295/30 R20 rear tyres over 402mm front and 360mm rear carbon-ceramic brakes and yes, this combo is also available for your GT S.
'TIJUANA TAXI' LIGHT BAR
What you can't order on your street-legal GT S is the LED light bar, mounted on top of a special carbon-fibre air-scoop that channels airflow down to the street-legal Edition 1 rear wing. When the safety car goes out on the circuit the centre panels flash green while the outer panels shine a steady orange, meaning that the safety car is to be overtaken.
As soon as the race leader comes up behind the GT S, the centre panel is changed to flashing orange, meaning 'absolutely no overtaking'.
Special number plates front and rear flash orange or green to match the light bar, while the head and tail-lights flash like those on an American police car to make sure of getting the race drivers' attention.
The interior of the safety car is standard, other than deep bucket sports seats and six-point safety harnesses; the sports steering wheel trimmed in black Dinamica microfibre faux suede and the yellow highlights in the instrument cluster are part of the optionally available Dynamic Plus performance package.
GPS, iPADS AND RADIO COMMS
While Mayländer keeps one eye on the circuit and one eye on the Formula One field in the rear-view mirror (and he must be the only tintop driver in the world who can say that!) Tibbetts is in full-time communication with Race Control by radio - with a second system built into the car as back-up.
Tibbetts also monitors the race on two iPads; one shows the international television feed, so he sees exactly what we are seeing at home, minus the commentary. The other shows either the same lap-scoring as in the timekeepers' booth or a real-time graphic showing exactly where all the cars, including the safety car and medical car, are on the circuit .
That's made possible by a timing transponder, high-resolution GPS and standard telemetry built into each Formula One car and both AMGs. The system also uses coloured LEDs to show all the drivers the flag signals in use on every part of the circuit - no excuses there - while the two AMGs have one extra function.
Each Formula One car has a G-force alarm; if an impact triggers it, it the whole board flashes a number of times in both AMGs, warning their crews in no uncertain terms that the soft and soggy has hit the air-circulation device.
SOUTH AFRICAN CONNECTION
The C63 S medical car has exactly the same running gear as the safety car, other than specially adapted AMG Ride Control adaptive suspension and slightly smaller rims shod with street-legal 245/35 R19 front and 265/35 R19 rear rubber, all available to order for your C63.
It also has a similar light bar and LED number plates, the same two iPads and dual-redundant radio comms - but has been specially fitted with four sports bucket seats, each with a six-point harness. The 490-litre luggage compartment carries full emergency medical equipment including ventilator and defibrillator.
It's driven at each Grand Prix by former Grand Prix test driver, A1 GP driver, British Formula 3000 champion and LMP-2 endurance racer Alan van der Merwe from Johannesburg, with official FIA head physician Dr Ian Roberts in the right-hand seat and one or two assistant medics from a selected specialist hospital near the circuit.
Van der Merwe follows the field in the starting lap, when the cars are tightly grouped; during the race, he parks next to the safety car at the exit of pit lane.