(Motorsport-Total.com) – During the last race in Canada, Formula 1 celebrated a special anniversary: 50 years of the safety car! A Porsche race car was first used at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix after Francois Cevert and Jody Scheckter collided.
When a safety car was first used in 1973, things went wrong
However, this 50th anniversary is somewhat misleading, as continued safety car use was rather sporadic in later years. It wasn’t until 1993 that the safety car was introduced in the form we know it today.
And of those 30 years, one man has spent 24 behind the wheel: Bernd Mayländer. In 2000, the former DTM and sports car driver from Waiblingen was given the task by Charlie Whiting, which he still performs today.
Now, you would think that the work of the 52-year-old man has now become routine, but this is not the case, as he reveals on the sidelines of the anniversary weekend: “Maybe it’s my character , he says, but on the Saturday evening before I stop thinking: did I do well?
“I haven’t lost that passion because I love my job. I love what I do and I’m fully focused,” says Mayländer. “And I think that’s the kind of passion you need to do your job as well as possible.”
“And if you ask me if I still get nervous, then yes, it’s a kind of nervousness”, he admits, comparing him to an actor or a singer: “When you have to go on stage and you don’t I’m more nervous, I think the voice isn’t as good as it could be.”
“So yeah, I’m really into it. And that’s my character and I love it,” he says. “If I lose that then maybe I’ll have to think about doing something else. But even at 52, after 24 years, I’m still fully involved and looking forward to every race.”
What makes Mayländer particularly proud is the evolution of safety standards in motorsport during his tenure. It’s not just about flashy things like Halo or HANS, but also how the FIA’s safety protocol has matured over the years.
“In Formula 1 we are the highest racing league, so we always have to lead by example in our championships to make every class as safe as possible,” he explains.
Bernd Mayländer has been driving the Formula 1 safety car for 24 years
“It is certainly a learning process for all parties. Just as each team needs to understand their car at the start of the season, we also need to understand what we can do better. The development of the safety car in different ways, communication and security devices with the HANS, with the Halo, with all the big security issues of the last few years.”
He himself started out in an aluminum chassis, “and now I’m sitting in a carbon fiber chassis. All this development helps tremendously,” says Mayländer. “In motorsport it is still possible to develop things in a very short time and that makes motorsport very important also for ordinary road cars. And that is quite impressive.”
“Formula 1 is not just ten teams, it’s 12 teams with Formula 1 and the FIA. Competition is another part, but when it comes to safety we are all in the same boat. And we have to be so good at he covers as much as possible.”
Just as safety procedures in F1 have evolved by leaps and bounds, so have safety cars in F1. Mayländer now drives alternately with a 527 hp Aston Martin Vantage F1 Edition and a 730 hp Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
Two highly specialized sports cars optimized for the race track, a far cry from the sedans and hatchbacks that were used in the early years.
At the time the “perfect” car, obsolete today: the Safety Car 2000
Mayländer enjoys being involved in the development of safety cars and his experience as a racing driver comes in very handy: “In 2000 I thought it had to be a perfect car,” Mayländer recalls of his Mercedes-Benz Original CL55 AMG. “Sometimes I have the opportunity to drive these old cars and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is an old car…’”.
“But at the time it really was the best sports car. And if you jump into the Aston Martin Vantage or the Mercedes-AMG now, it’s like getting into a race car 20 or 30 years ago. years,” he said.
“The standard is very, very high, but we never stop improving and improving things. And that’s pretty impressive to me. Even if you compare Formula 1 cars from 20 years ago with those of today, it’s quite impressive what is possible.” said the German.
And despite all his experience, he doesn’t think any two weekends are alike.
Sometimes it gets stuck in its usual waiting position at the end of the pit lane. And sometimes he ‘leads’ most laps of the race, with some calculations showing he’s still in the top 5 for most laps in the lead on Singapore’s treacherous roads. His total race lap count should now be well over 1,000.
“Well, I say there are no more standard races in my life because anything can happen,” he explains. “You might think that until Sunday morning it’s a normal, smooth weekend, and then when the lights go out, anything can happen. And that’s what you have to be prepared for. And that doesn’t doesn’t just apply to me, it applies to the driver of Medical-Cars and everyone else.”
“If there’s an accident, we’re involved with all the cars, with all the teams, so we’re ready for anything. And that can change any second.”
“It’s only when the checkered flag drops that we’ll know what’s going to happen.”
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