Aston Martin claim $80m profits solely due to F1 Safety Car!

Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll claims they have pocketed $80m because of the regular appearance of the F1 Safety Car at grands prix.

Aston Martin are the manufacturer of the F1 Safety Car, the vehicle deployed to slow the speed of a race after an accident.

The Vantage F1 edition has sold between 300 and 400, Stroll says, totalling $80m.

“Sounds like a small number, but for a company of our size it’s relatively important,” Stroll said at the Financial Times Future of the Car Summit.

A Vantage F1 edition costs $200,000 (£159,000).

“There’s an expression, I didn’t believe it but we’re actually experiencing it: race on Sunday, sell on Monday,” Stroll said.

The Safety Car’s most infamous moment came at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix when race director Michael Masi’s incorrect application of the rule to deploy it essentially cost Lewis Hamilton a record eighth title, and gave Max Verstappen the chance to instead win it.

Canadian billionaire Stroll bought the Aston Martin F1 team in 2020 for a reported £235.6m.

His son Lance Stroll, and former two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso, are their drivers this season.

But Aston Martin is worth 63% less than it was in 2018.

Stroll insists he will see a return on his investment.