Formula 1 is unveiling a safety car with all-wheel drive and 612 hp in Hungary

Bernd Mayländer debuts a new Safety Car at the Hungaroring. The Mercedes-AMG GT 63 PRO 4MATIC+ replaces the GT Black Series that, since 2022, accumulated 51 interventions and becomes the fourteenth vehicle that Mercedes-Benz has delivered to the FIA for Formula 1. The main innovation is the AMG Performance 4MATIC+ all‑wheel‑drive system, the first to be fitted to a Safety Car in 30 years of history.

Photo By Mercedes Benz

The system distributes power variably between the two axles, a solution that Mayländer values especially in corners and during acceleration phases, where the Safety Car is most exposed when running at the limit. "The all‑wheel‑drive system allows us to exit slow corners much better and maintain a more consistent pace, exactly what the drivers have been asking us for years," he explained. The engine retains the configuration of the outgoing Black Series, a 4.0‑litre V8 biturbo with 612 horsepower and 850 Nm of torque, now paired with a nine‑speed automatic gearbox. The high‑performance ceramic brakes and active suspension received a specific calibration so that behaviour is predictable during neutralisations, without losing the stability required to lead the pack of single‑seaters.

Photo By Mercedes Benz

The arrival of the GT 63 PRO reopens a discussion that Mayländer has often been at the centre of regarding the Safety Car's ability to maintain a pace that allows the single‑seaters to keep tyre temperatures up. Drivers have asked him on several occasions to go faster, and the all‑wheel drive should help with better exits from slow corners and a more consistent speed through twisty sections. On circuits like Hungaroring, where linked corners punish any loss of rhythm, that improvement could be noticeable from the first intervention.

Photo By Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-AMG uses the launch to celebrate 30 uninterrupted years as the supplier of the championship's Safety Cars, a period that began with the C 36 AMG in 1996. The GT 63 PRO has already turned laps at the Nürburgring and Nardò during its development, but the Hungaroring will be the first real test in race conditions.