Racing
© Jonathan Borba
Bernd Mayländer says leading a Formula 1 field under the Safety Car is still intimidating after more than 500 grands prix, and that the nerves and adrenaline are exactly why he wants to keep going toward 600 or even 650 races.
Speaking on the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast, the FIA Safety Car driver said the pressure of having 22 F1 cars behind him has never really gone away. Asked if it remains intimidating, Mayländer said: “It still is. I’m still impressed even now. Yeah, absolutely.” He added: “If you ask me if I’m still nervous, yes, I’m nervous.”
For Mayländer, that tension is part of the job rather than something to escape. He said the role would lose its appeal without it. “Without this adrenaline, I think it would be boring, and I would not be a safety car driver anymore. But I need that,” he said.
He linked that feeling directly to the moments that define a Safety Car deployment. As the field prepares for a restart, Mayländer said he can sense the intensity building behind him. “With these F1 drivers behind you, you can feel the power, you can feel the spirit,” he said. “Everyone is looking forward to the restart, where everything can happen.”
That is why his own preparation remains as strict as ever. Mayländer said that 10 minutes before the race he checks everything “like I’m jumping in my race car,” including the radio and onboard systems, so he is ready if Race Control calls him into action.
His long stay in the role was never planned in exact numbers, but it was built as a long-term project from the start. In an exclusive interview with RacingNews365, Mayländer said he took the opportunity in 1999 through a Formula 3000 offer because he wanted “getting a foot in the door at a role in F1.” He said: “I didn't really have a specific number of years in my head at the time,” adding that once he commits to something, “it becomes a long-term project.”
That project has already carried him past a major landmark. Mayländer reached 500 grands prix at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, and the later RacingNews365 summary put his total at 502. He said he is “realistically thinking about 600 or 650 Grands Prix,” although he also made clear he does not see himself still doing the job “at 78.”
His motivation is also tied to the precision he brings to the role. Mayländer told RacingNews365 that after Thursday track tests, the first thing he does is study the official timing sheets. He checks where the purple sectors are and compares them to his own times from the previous year, calling it “my own personal competition.” He added that the work around Safety Car procedures “has to be done at the highest level,” and said the Thursday sessions and daily checks with Race Control are essential.
That experience also shapes how he deals with the drivers behind him. Mayländer said some competitors may complain about the Safety Car’s speed, but that there is respect because they understand the difference in priorities. “They know I have experience. They are focused on the race, I am focused on safety,” he said.
Looking in his mirrors over the years, he said the most aggressive champions stand out. “Schumacher was aggressive, just like Max and Lewis are now,” Mayländer said, a reminder that even after a quarter-century in the role, the challenge is still defined by the same thing: controlling the pace while some of F1’s hardest racers wait for the moment everything starts again.