Official wings

Guaranteeing that a Mercedes-Benz will lead for at least one lap of every race in this years formula one season, the manufacturer will once again supply support vehicles, including the official pace car and medical team car, for the 2010 season.

This will be the 14th consecutive year that AMG will provide the Official F1TM Safety Car and the Official F1TM Medical Car to the pinnacle of racing series'.

For 2010, former DTM driver Bert Mayländer will once again pilot the car that leads the field around for the warm-up lap and stands ready at the pit exit for the duration of the race in case required to hold up the pack while an accident scene is cleared. His weapon of choice for this season will be the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

With 420 kW of power and 650 N.m of torque available the Formula One cars following should at least have to engage second gear while shadowing the pace car. Aside from a revised carbon fibre hood, which incorporates a front-mounted camera, and an upgraded tailpipe, the car remains in standard specification.

Out of interest, Mercedes-Benz claim a 0-100 km/h time of 3,8 seconds for the SLS AMG.
A total of 700 LED lights scattered around the car, including in an "aerodynamically optimised roof light bar" should make the car just about visible from the Hubble Space Station too.

South African driver Alan van der Merwe will be behind the wheel of the C63 AMG Estate that hopefully doesn't get too much track time this year. He will be the official transport for the chief medical officer, Dr Gary Hartstein, as well as, two assisting medical experts at the rear.