Aston Martin Vantage safety car from 2021 Abu Dhabi finale is now for sale

An Aston Martin Vantage, which previously served as the Formula 1 safety car in the controversial 2021 season, has gone up for sale for £599,990 via Auto Trader.

The 4-litre, V8-powered coupe was piloted by safety car driver Bernd Mayländer in 34 races between 2021 and 2023. The advert reveals that two of the three safety cars have become available for sale via the Silverstone outfit and have been signed by two-time champion Fernando Alonso and his Aston Martin F1 team-mate Lance Stroll.

"'SC02' VIN N00045, as you see here, has helped create a lot of sporting history, appearing at 20 Grand Prix between 2021 and 2023, totalling 4280km across track tests and race deployments for F1, F2, F3 and other support series," the advert stated.

SC02 was used for the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. In the closing laps of the season-ending race, the safety car was deployed after a crash involving Nicholas Latifi.

As the laps went on, it looked as though the race would end under safety car conditions, something that would have seen Lewis Hamilton claim the victory and the championship title. But race director at the time, Michael Masi, ordered only the lapped cars between Hamilton and Verstappen, who was in second place at the time, to unlap themselves rather than all lapped cars, so that racing could resume - a decision that has been a hot topic of debate ever since.

Verstappen, on newer tyres, made the most of the decision and overtook the seven-time champion to win the race and secure his first championship title.

Aston Martin stopped supplying F1 with official safety and medical cars after its contract came to an end following the 2025 season, meaning Mercedes continues as the exclusive provider of the vehicles for the championship.

"Having amplified the brand’s return to F1, we are grateful for the association and success of holding this critical role on the grid for the past five years," Aston Martin said.

Safety Car

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images

Mercedes will continue to supply the Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series as the F1 safety car and the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S 4MATIC+ as the F1 medical car.

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

"From the 2026 season onwards, the FIA F1 Official Cars will once again bear the star at all F1 events. In this way, we will continue to make an active contribution to safety in the premier class of motorsport.

"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."