If you want to rile up any Lewis Hamilton fan – or Max Verstappen critic – you only need to say three words: 2021 Abu Dhabi.
The closing laps of the race saw a record-breaking eighth World Driver’s Championship slip from Hamilton’s grasp, after his comfortable race lead was quashed following a crash by Nicholas Latifi.
With title rival Verstappen pitting to take fresh tyres behind him and only part of the lapped cars cleared out of the way, Hamilton was a sitting duck on the final lap restart, losing the lead to the Red Bull driver who took his first championship title.
While much of the focus at the time was on the two drivers and the call of the FIA stewards to not follow standard procedure, a third car was at the front of the pack playing a small part in history.
And now, that car can be purchased, with one UK dealer selling the Aston Martin Vantage safety car which was driven by Bernd Maylander on that memorable night – for an eye-watering sum of £599,990 (A$1.14 million).
Listed on Autotrader, the safety car was first brought into use in the 2021 season, after Aston Martin not only decided to come onboard as a racing team but also as one of the safety and medical car suppliers.
In addition to its minor role in Abu Dhabi, “SC02” was used across 20 Formula 1 races from 2021 to 2023, clocking up 4280km across Grands Prix, support races and other tests.
It was replaced in service by a significantly updated Vantage in 2024, and later the Vantage S in 2025 before the carmaker elected not to return as a safety car supplier for the 2026 season.
Though Verstappen can in part associate the Vantage safety car with his title win, it’s unlikely the now-four-time champion will be wanting to make an offer on the example listed for sale.
In 2022, Verstappen compared the Vantage to “a turtle” following that year’s Australian Grand Prix, due to its relative lack of pace compared to the AMG GT.
He may end up having similar comments about this year’s Aston Martin Formula 1 car, which has endured a difficult development period, with reports claiming it may not complete the full distance of this week’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix.
Discussion about this post