Not the family wagon
One of the fun parts of Thursday at the USGP is the relatively sparse crowd and getting to see some of the preparations for the race. You’ve got drivers and crew out walking the track, along with some surprisingly quick hot laps by the Safety Car and Medical car, shown here. They probably pounded in 30 laps or so while we were out wandering around and they were pushing the cars hard. The drivers got the cars sideways and looked like they were having fun taking them all they way out to the rumble strips and (a couple of times) beyond.
The Medical Car may look like the family station wagon, (a wealthy family that is) but this Mercedes C55 AMG is nearly a race car in its own right. It just has air conditioning, comfy seats, and a lot of trick electronics. Developed with the help of Bernd Maylander, the 5.5 liter V8 sounds like it means business. And it does… with 367 horsepower on tap. Two AMG engineers in addition to drivers and medical staff are on hand to look after the cars on race weekends.
When I got a look at this picture on the computer it was a fun surprise to discover that the driver had glanced at me just as the shutter closed. Maybe it was my clown suit and tinfoil hat.
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