Latest news with #BerndMayländer
Times
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Times
My terrifying stint driving F1 safety car at Silverstone
Driving the safety car around a track at Silverstone hammers home how speed is relative. Watch the Aston Martin flying around a Formula 1 grand prix and they appear to be creeping around in neutral, compared with the competitors. Then you sit in the passenger seat next to Bernd Mayländer or Karl Reindler and you realise that they are on the edge. On a remarkably wet Thursday in June, Aston Martin invited The Times to Silverstone to handle the Vantage safety car and the DBX707 medical car for ourselves, and to speak to the men behind the wheel. What are my high-speed bona fides? I'm glad you asked. I was caught speeding twice in the space of four minutes in 2016, on the approach to Cardiff from Aberavon Rugby Club, at 46mph and 34mph respectively (I thought it was still 70mph), and 13 days before this event, I placed fifth out of 17 in go-karting on a Ljubljana stag do. The safety car is deployed from near the track to control the field while a dangerous incident, such as a crash or breakdown, is dealt with, causing the competitors to slow down and bunch up before restarting proper racing. The medical car follows the pack on the opening lap and waits until they are required, speeding around to offer first-response assistance, before 'getting the show on the road'. According to data supplied by Aston Martin (who share duties with Mercedes over a campaign), their safety car was deployed seven times over the course of 12 races last season for a total of 20 laps, and the medical car 19 times. After six grands prix this season, the safety car has already had eight deployments for 34 laps, while the medical car has had ten deployments. How fast are we talking with these vehicles? The Vantage can accelerate up to 60mph in 3.4seconds, with a top speed of 195mph. On a short, winding circuit, Mayländer and Reindler approach only half that, but it is still enough to instil the fear of the divine into a first-time track user such as myself. They talk as if hurtling around a race track is a walk in the park, rather than a curdling of stomachs at 100mph. They simulate a race start, and Reindler in particular shows his skills in sliding around a bend at a speed I deem unnecessary. Every fibre in my body tells me we are destined to topple over, yet this is controlled oversteer by a professional in a luxury SUV. I have absolutely no desire to copy it. The conditions are such that my lack of petrolheadedness and love of 60mph is masked by the drenching of rain, worthy of a red flag in a race proper. My aim for the day is to get home. I feel the need not for speed, but for lunch. F1 first deployed a safety car — a yellow Porsche 914 — at the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix. It is much more professional now: Mayländer described the interior of the car as like an aircraft cockpit, with constant communication between him, his co-driver and race control. He was not an F1 driver but had been competing in the Porsche Supercup when asked to fulfil the role, and made his debut on March 12, 2000. Twenty-five years later he remains in post. An F1 celebrity in his own right, who has led more laps than most drivers ever will. 'I interviewed the safety-car driver,' I told my brother-in-law. 'Bernd Mayländer?' he replied. 'I have no problem to give autographs, selfies — it's great because I think if people are asking you for a selfie, that means it's a positive thing,' Mayländer, 54, says. 'It's great to have fans around the world, but for sure compared to other people, I'm quite normal.' Reindler shares duties with Bruno Correia as driver of the 'fastest ambulance in the world', enabling him to spend some time at home in Australia. His interest in safety came from his own career in motorsport. 'I had a very big accident myself in 2011,' Reindler, 40, says. 'The car caught on fire and I was rushed to hospital with burns to my face and hands and leg. 'As a young driver, you think you're invincible and you have to think that you're invincible. Otherwise, what are you even doing? You need the conviction when you're driving. And it was a bit of a turning point for me because I quickly realised I am human and I'm not invincible. 'The rewarding part of it for me is this continuous improvement. We've seen just how far we've come in the sport. Everyone talks about that fateful weekend at Imola in 1994 with Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna, of course. That was probably the big turning point for the sport. But there's this constant progression and need and desire to be better and safer.' Since Senna, Jules Bianchi is the only driver to have died after a collision in an F1 race, yet crashes still occur. When Max Verstappen struck a barrier at the 2021 British Grand Prix, the impact was measured at 51G. Mayländer et al arrive at a race on Wednesday. Track walk and testing on Thursday, media on a quiet Friday, then a weekend of races. It is a familiar routine given Mayländer has missed only a handful of grands prix over the past 25 years (though he still has time for a business — Mayländer Wine — on the side). 'I'm happy to have my 25th anniversary, let's see what's the next one,' he says. 'I have already had many busy days, even if you just think about this year in Melbourne, it was quite busy. If I look really into the history: 2007 Fuji was very busy, we didn't expect in the morning that we were doing so many laps; 2011 Montreal, the longest Formula 1 race ever, I was on track for 34 laps, in between two red flags.' Both men live in a world where having nothing to do is the best, safest course of a day. 'A weekend with no deployments, while boring per se, it's a successful weekend,' Reindler says. 'We have a full suite of medical equipment. We have a defibrillator, oxygen, trauma kit, burns kit. We always have a local doctor with us because they can legally practise medicine in that respective country. You have all sorts of drugs required for that first level of intervention. 'We also have first-response equipment. We have two different types of fire extinguishers in the car. We have the jaws of life. The Holmatro device, which can cut through the titanium halo, cut through Armco [crash barriers] if we needed to remove any hazards or obstacles for us. There's electrical safety equipment as well, because the hybrid systems in these modern F1 cars now, it's a very small risk. But we cater to that minimal risk of electrocution.' Despite their important roles on race day, they enjoy the thrill of driving around a track at speed, like the competitors. 'My favourite circuits are probably the old-school circuits,' Reindler says. 'Suzuka is the first one that comes to mind. It's high speed. It's narrow. 'No matter how many times you go to Monaco, my heart rate will sit 20 or 30 beats per minute higher driving around there than anywhere else because it's just zero margin for error around that place, going through the tunnel. You finish a lap there and you take a breath, you wipe the sweat off your brow. It's a rewarding feeling when you're driving around those sorts of circuits.' Reindler is generous with his encouragement as he accompanies my drive around the track, a hare giving a pep talk to a tortoise. Meanwhile Mayländer has to turn the safety car on for me because I forgot how to (what's the world got against a key in an ignition?). They are the men who embody the paradoxes of motorsport: safety in danger. For me, back to my red car (the extent of my knowledge) and a peaceful drive home.
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
I've led 1,400 F1 laps without scoring a point
Here is a question. In Formula One 's 75-year history, which driver has led for more than 1,400 laps, yet never won a single championship point? The answer: Bernd Mayländer. F1's official safety car driver will again don his fireproof overalls at this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. It will be the German's 492 nd F1 race since making his debut in Melbourne in 2000 and he says he is looking forward to it, even if he hopes he will not be needed. Silverstone was, Mayländer says, the scene of 'probably the craziest experience' he has ever had at a race. In 2003, the now-defrocked Irish priest Cornelius 'Neil' Horan ran down the Hangar Straight wearing an orange skirt and waving a religious banner, which stated 'Read the Bible. The Bible is always right'. 'I didn't believe Herbie [Blash, then FIA deputy race director] when he came on the radio and said there was a guy running on the track,' Mayländer recalls. 'But I went out, saw him and then the marshals jumped on him. Absolutely crazy. 'But I love Silverstone. Just look around. The grandstands are always full. Even if the traffic is not nice, or the British weather. It doesn't matter. You can feel the passion. You can feel it's the home of racing. Also the fans. They're coming to me with pictures from 30 years ago, from Donington or Brands Hatch. I'm like 'That can't be me'. But it is!' On the day we meet, the weather is decidedly 'British' in the sense Mayländer meant it. None of this heatwave nonsense, it is hosing it down. We are on an 'Aston Martin Experience' day. The kind of day of which that heads dream about; the chance to put two souped-up Aston Martins through their paces. Firstly the Vantage, one of two safety cars currently used in Formula One (Aston Martin and Mercedes have shared safety and medical car duties since 2021). And secondly the DBX707, which is the sturdier medical car. By the time I go out for my laps in the Vantage, it has been raining steadily for about an hour and puddles of standing water are dotted all over Silverstone's inner Stowe circuit. It is huge fun, albeit I get a bit too cocky ahead of my final lap, giving the four-litre twin-turbo V8 too much of a rip out of the final corner, only to lose control and start spinning towards a tyre wall. Thankfully the car's Automatic Traction Control (ATC) system kicks in in time, arresting my slide, and I am able to get going again, waving cheerily to an Aston Martin engineer peering anxiously over the pit wall at me. Aston Martin prefer to do their high-speed passenger laps after their guests have had their turn, which is eminently sensible. If you went second, you would realise how much you were leaving on the table. When I go out with Mayländer, it is like he is driving a different car (see video below). 'Sebastian and Lewis whinge the most' What F1 viewers probably do not realise is quite how fast a safety car goes in the race. When you watch a safety car period in F1, it always appears to be trundling along at a snail's pace, with a long line of F1 cars weaving behind it. Drivers occasionally pipe up over the radio to whinge about how slowly the safety car is going and complain about losing heat in their tyres. 'Immediately I would say Sebastian [Vettel] and Lewis [Hamilton],' Mayländer says when I ask which drivers are the worst for whingeing. 'But I don't blame them for it.' In actual fact, he is flooring it much of the time. 'Once the track is clear, I'm probably going at 95 per cent race speed,' Mayländer says. Given the fact the German is a former DTM (German touring car), GT and Porsche Supercup race-winning driver, and given the fact the Vantage produces 656 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque, allowing for a top speed of 202mph and a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds, his '95 per cent race speed' is seriously quick. Take a ride on board with a safety car around the Las Vegas Grand Prix circuit! 🤩 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 16, 2023 'If I'm going my race speed, no one is complaining any more by the way,' he says. I can see why. When we do our hot laps, Mayländer throws the car aggressively through every corner, drifting, braking violently despite the wet conditions, always on the limit of traction, correcting each slide expertly with a dab of opposite lock. The final lap is particularly violent, including the pit-lane re-entry, which he appears to relish taking at breakneck speed, braking hard at the last second. 'I never get a penalty if I go in too quick!' he says, laughing after we come to a stop. 'Okay, even we are allowed to make jokes sometimes. Sometimes it comes up on the dash 'Safety car report to the stewards, speed limit!' That's OK. I think that's allowed sometimes.' 'When I started, Schumacher was winning everything' Mayländer has become a bit of a legend in Formula One; a part of the furniture. Now 54, the German's 25 years in the sport comprises one third of its entire existence. In all that time he has missed only a handful of races. 'In 2001, I broke my heel jumping over a fence and missed Imola, Monaco and Canada,' he says. 'Then in 2002 I missed one race in Imola when I got a pneumothorax [collapsed lung] on the right side.' F1 has changed markedly in that time. Mayländer is a bridge to a completely different era. He was recruited by Charlie Whiting, F1's long-time race director, sadly no longer with us, while competing in the 1999 Porsche Supercup series. Initially invited to drive the safety car at Formula 3000 races, he stepped up to F1 the following season when Oliver Gavin, the then safety car driver, decided to pursue a racing career in the United States. 'I started when I was 29, so I've nearly doubled my age since then, which is amazing to think,' he says. 'But I tell you, the time has gone by so quickly. I've seen different generations. When I started, it was Michael Schumacher winning everything. Then it was Fernando [Alonso], then it was Sebastian [Vettel], then Lewis [Hamilton], now Max [Verstappen]. But I still love it. I still get nervous when I'm on the grid, which I think is important.' How long can he go on? Mayländer, it should be noted, also handles safety car duties in F2 and F3, meaning his weekends can be extremely busy. Plus, there are now 24 race weekends per season as opposed to 16 or 17 when he started out. He smiles. 'That still leaves 28 weekends,' he points out. 'I mean, I do have a life outside of Formula One.' Mayländer, it turns out, has twin boys aged seven ('No karting yet. I keep my money!') and even began his own wine business – Mayländer Wine – a few years ago. 'It started as a hobby with a friend in 2018 in his vineyards but it's getting bigger and bigger,' he says, offering to bring a bottle to Silverstone for me to sample. 'Last year we produced more than 10,000 bottles. Riesling, Zweigelt, Rosé… from my region in Germany, Strümpfelbach, just east of Stuttgart. It's a lot of work, but it's fun. It helps keep me fresh.' Mayländer, it seems is ageing like a fine wine himself. He has no intention of stepping down yet. He still feels his '95 per cent race speed' is plenty speedy enough. 'I was a racing driver so I know where the limit is and for sure you are losing a little bit [due to age],' he says. 'But in a road car, where everything is slower because it is lower speed, in the end you have more time. That helps me at my age definitely. But experience is more important than being able to drive two-tenths quicker or half a second quicker. I'm pretty sure I can go for another five years. How long exactly I haven't decided yet.'
