Bernd Mayländer celebrates his 25 years as a Safety Car driver
There are essential figures whose faces we never see and whom we never hear about. This is the case of Bernd Mayländer, the safety car driver for 25 years.
Bernd Mayländer, although never having won a Grand Prix in his career, is the driver who has participated in the most Formula 1 races. The 53-year-old man drives the safety car on all circuits.
In the new millennium, he was 28 years old and to celebrate that, he started his first season. Mayländer is now so closely associated with the safety car that retirement is hardly imaginable. “I never would have thought I would still be here 25 years later, but it means you’re enthusiastic and you love what you do,” Mayländer smiles.
In the past, he participated in the DTM while also working as a safety car driver, but today, his job leaves him hardly any free time.
His beginnings on the track
« People tell me that I participated in so many races or did so many laps, but I’m not very good with numbers », smiles the German, who has now made countless appearances.
Mayländer’s journey with the safety car began in 1999, when he received a call from Formula 1 race director Charlie Whiting during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola. A few hours later, the 27-year-old was behind the wheel, but for the F3 championship, which allowed him to gain experience.
Mayländer finally made his first appearance in the premier category less than a year later, at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. It was a job where you could really put your whole heart and soul into it. I knew the safety car procedure from F3; the races were just shorter. I think all the drivers knew the rules and what the intervention of the safety car meant.
Nothing has changed over the years, except for the car he drives. And although Mayländer doesn’t earn points or trophies for his laps in the lead, he is very happy. « You have a job to do. For me, a good deployment of the safety car means managing a situation in the safest possible way. The best scenarios are those where I do a few laps, do everything correctly, and provide the right information to the race director and the marshals. For me, the best races are those without a safety car, because then nothing dangerous happens on the track. »
The evolutions of safety cars
Mayländer explains that his objectives have not changed, unlike the details, such as the equipment and tasks, which have become increasingly complex over the years. We have a procedure for almost every situation because we have more information before deployment than we did 20 or 25 years ago.
When he started, there was only one radio. Or even the second car, which was an ordinary car for everyday people, without any technology onboard.
During the 2015 season, the introduction of the virtual safety car allowed Mayländer to skip certain races. However, there are a few races the German particularly remembers. “Fuji 2007 and Montreal 2011 are memorable,” he says.
For a quarter of a century, Mayländer has driven a wide range of safety cars on international tracks, from the Mercedes-Benz CL 55 AMG in the 2000 season to the latest models by Mercedes-AMG and Aston Martin. “Every time a new car is presented, I tell myself that this is the one to choose,” laughs the experienced driver. “But then the engineers continue to develop for the next generation.”
And of course, as a self-respecting German, he has his preference: « the CLK 63 was an incredible car in the Black Series edition. The SLS was the first car fully developed by AMG. »
His racing weekends
In Japan, in 2017, despite the torrential rain, Mayländer led the pack for 19 laps before being called back to the center of the race. In Canada, four years later, the safety car intervened six times and led the pack for 29 of the 70 laps. Impressive performance!
Every race weekend, the German spends more than twelve hours behind the wheel, but he’s not always in motion. “We have a lot of screens in the car that we didn’t have in 2000, which is an advantage,” smiles Mayländer, who doesn’t miss a second of the race. “We have several television screens and access to all radio systems.” This makes the intervention much more efficient and faster.
« We see what all the teams and the race director see, which allows us to switch from live to replays. Whatever happens, we are always up-to-date, always ready. We have our headsets on and the radio in our ears. »
But the fifty-year-old is not alone in the car. “I have a co-driver with me, which is also very important when you need to focus on your work,” says Mayländer, happy with the company he has in his beloved job, which he will likely continue doing in the years to come.
Some time ago, we had the opportunity to interview the German.
