The FIA has responded to Max Verstappen’s criticism of the performance of the Safety Car during last weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Since last year, Formula 1 has used two different Safety Car models during the season. The car used last weekend was an Aston Martin Vantage, while a Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series appeared at the first two rounds of the season.
The Red Bull driver complained the Safety Car was being driven too slowly during the race and afterwards described it as being like a “turtle”. Red Bull were sponsored by Aston Martin until 2020.
Mercedes driver George Russell claimed there is a significant performance difference between the two Safety Car models.
“We don’t have the issue with the Mercedes AMG Safety Car,” he said. “On a serious note, the Mercedes AMG is like five seconds a lot quicker than the Aston Martin Safety Car, which is pretty substantial.”
Charles Leclerc, who followed immediately behind the Safety Car during the race, said “it always…