Bernd Maylander has a very important role in Formula 1, he has been an almost permanent driver of the FIA safety car since 2000 and the current season is already the 24th in his racing biography.
And she is a 51-year-old Bernd in all aspects of racing. He first attended a Grand Prix in 1977, aged six, at Hockenheim, where Niki Lauda, then driving for Ferrari, scored another victory en route to his second world title.
Bernd started karting in 1984, then competed in Formula Ford, the Porsche Carrera Cup, the DTM series and the FIA GT Championship, driving the cars of the Mercedes factory team. In 2000, Maylander won the Nürburgring 24 Hours Marathon in a Porsche 911 GT3-R.
One of his achievements is a unique world record: in April 2005, as part of a team of other professional racers, they drove 100,000 miles in one month in three production Mercedes E320 CDI diesel sedans. The record-breaking run took place 24 hours a day for 30 days at Texas Oval Speedway and participants maintained an average speed of 239.7 mph.
Bernd must be ready to drive the safety car for all 23 World Championships this year. In some races there is no such need – this is exactly what happened a week ago in Miami, in some Maylander and his assistant, Richard Darker, go to the track several times, as in Melbourne.
But every race weekend there is work to be done on the track: on Thursdays, Bernd and Bruno Correa, the driver of the FIA medical car, drive laps for an hour to see what the maximum speed they can drive on a given circuit or city ring.
Maylander always logs his lap times to compare to the previous year. But if he takes to the track during the Grand Prix in case of any incidents, he proceeds more carefully, because in those situations it is not his main task to create a calamity himself.
“A few times I was on the verge of aquaplaning on a wet track. It’s good that the safety car has both stabilization systems and ABS,” he said in an interview with business magazine Aston Martin Magazine. – It is important to remember that we do not participate in competitions and I cannot win anything.
The pressure is always the same, but the conditions are different. Track conditions change, the weather can be unpredictable and no two accidents are the same. But the pressure is always palpable, which is good, because it is always necessary to maintain concentration.
There is no room for error. The handling of modern safety cars is much better than 20 years ago, I can say that with certainty. For example, the Aston Martin Vantage is particularly suitable for circuits such as Baku and Singapore. It’s a bit softer than the Mercedes AMG GT and glides around the track more, which is great when you’re driving at the limit as you feel the feedback better.
I would liken Richard’s job to the role of the co-pilot of the plane. He monitors all incoming information and negotiates with the course management. As soon as we get a readiness command, we immediately turn on the signal lights and wait for the order to go to the runway. However, I think the best races are the ones where you don’t see me.
My family and friends call me “Mr. Safety Car. Not to say I like it, because deep down I’m still a racer. I don’t believe more than 35, and I’m certainly not older than Fernando Alonso I think we’re both still pretty fast.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
