The Safety Car is used in F1 to slow everyone down when something dangerous happens on the track. Drivers follow it carefully until officials say it’s safe to race normally again.
Cadillac is a car brand. In this ad, they’re saying their brand is getting more involved with Formula One racing, and they’re linking that to their performance versions of regular Cadillacs.
Formula One is the highest level of car racing in the world. Brands mention it to suggest their cars are inspired by racing know-how, even if your street car isn’t the same as an F1 car.
Cadillac’s “V-series” is their set of performance versions of their cars. It usually means the car is tuned to be quicker and more fun to drive than the regular versions.
Car
Cadillac Lyric V
The Cadillac Lyric V is Cadillac’s electric performance model. “V” usually means it’s tuned to feel quicker and more exciting than a regular version of the same car.
Car
Cadillac CT5V Blackwing
The Cadillac CT5V Blackwing is a high-performance version of the CT5. “Blackwing” is Cadillac’s way of saying it’s the most serious, most exciting performance trim in that lineup.
The Cadillac Lyriq is a luxury SUV that runs on electricity instead of gasoline. It’s meant to deliver a smooth, high-end driving experience while using an electric powertrain. It’s mentioned because it’s one of Cadillac’s electric vehicles and is tied to performance talk.
The Cadillac OPTIQ V is a sportier version of the OPTIQ. The “V” label usually means it’s tuned to feel more responsive and fun to drive than a regular trim.
The Cadillac Escalade V is the performance version of Cadillac’s big luxury SUV. The “V” label generally means it’s been tuned to feel more powerful and exciting than a standard Escalade.
A restart is when the race goes back to full speed after the Safety Car. Everyone watches closely because the first few laps after the restart can decide positions fast.
Suzuka is a famous F1 race track in Japan. It’s known for being tricky to drive, so it really tests how well the car handles and how good the driver is.
Melbourne is where the Australian Grand Prix is held. Saying “Melbourne, 2026” means they’re talking about what happened at that F1 event in the 2026 season.
Race directors are the officials who run the race from the control side. They decide what happens after incidents and help coordinate how the race is managed safely.
Formula 3000 was a racing series that many drivers used to get experience before reaching Formula 1. Think of it like a training ground for learning how race weekends work.
The grid is where the cars line up at the start of an F1 race. When you’re on the grid, you’re right before the race starts and everything has to be ready.
Concept
shortcut on a track
A “shortcut” refers to a section of track where drivers might take a faster line or cut through a different path than the full racing line. The speaker contrasts how a race driver might use it intentionally versus how a Safety Car driver must follow procedures and avoid unpredictable shortcuts.
Weather changes how slippery the track is and how well tires work. The forecast helps teams and officials prepare for rain or changing conditions, even though the Safety Car driver isn’t making strategy decisions.
They’re talking about how it feels to stop racing full-time and switch to Safety Car driving. Even though it’s different, they still get that competitive, focused feeling.
Car
GT3 car
“GT3” refers to a racing class of cars built to standardized rules for customer teams, not a single specific model. When the host says “a nice GT3 car,” they mean a purpose-built track car used in GT racing series, typically with a race-focused chassis, aero, and safety equipment.
Concept
protect something else
This phrase points to the Safety Car’s primary job: not to race, but to protect people and manage track conditions. The concept is that the car must be capable of high performance while still prioritizing safety and controlled pace.
The AMG GT Black Series is a very serious, track-focused Mercedes-AMG. In F1, it’s used as the Safety Car, and the point is that it can still drive quickly and confidently even though it’s not racing.
A V8 engine is an engine with eight cylinders. The speaker calls it “big” to emphasize it’s a powerful engine that helps the car feel quick and responsive.
Slick tires are race tires made for dry conditions, with smooth rubber instead of grooves. They usually provide more grip, which helps the car feel faster and more stable.
A trans-axle is basically the gearbox plus the rear-drive parts put together in one unit. Putting it in the right place helps the car’s weight distribution, which can make it handle better.
Road tires are the kind of tires you’d find on regular cars. They don’t grip or behave exactly like race tires, so the car has to be set up differently to stay stable and predictable.
The Nürburgring is a legendary race track in Germany. It’s hard to drive fast because the layout is complex and the track is very demanding, so it’s a great place to learn racing skills.
“Difficult to overtake” highlights how track design and racing conditions affect passing opportunities. At circuits like the Nürburgring, limited straight-line braking zones and heavy traffic can make it hard to get alongside without losing too much speed.
“In-car” means you’re watching from the driver’s perspective inside the race car. It helps you see exactly how they line up, brake, and pass other cars.
“Carving through the traffic” means the driver is passing and navigating around slower cars smoothly. Doing it well helps them keep their speed and avoid wasting time.
A “perfect lap” means you drive the track in the best possible way from start to finish. You brake, turn, and accelerate at the right times so you don’t lose speed anywhere.
Pole position is where you start the race from the very front. It’s earned by being fastest in qualifying, but you can still be beaten during the race.
The track is over 20 kilometers long, so a lap takes a long time and covers lots of different corners. Because it’s so long, it’s harder to get a completely clear, uninterrupted lap.
Car
Mercedes safety car supplier
In F1, the Safety Car comes out when there’s danger on track, so everyone slows down safely. Mercedes-Benz has supplied the Safety Car for a long time, and over the years they’ve used different Mercedes cars for that role.
Topic
DTM ITC
DTM ITC is a touring-car racing series in Germany that Mercedes drivers competed in. The guest is using it to explain his early career path with Mercedes.
The Monaco Grand Prix is a major Formula 1 race in Monaco, famous for being on narrow streets. In this story, it’s just used to say “right after that race,” when the call happened.
Mileage on a race or support car matters because it correlates with wear items like brakes, tires, cooling components, and drivetrain stress. In a Safety Car context, teams track accumulated kilometers to manage maintenance schedules and ensure reliability.
The French Grand Prix is a Formula 1 race used here as the reference point for when the Safety Car change happened. In F1, specific races often mark operational milestones like new procedures or vehicles entering service. The speaker connects his personal story to that event.
They’re talking about how much quicker one car is than another. In racing, the easiest way to measure that is usually lap time, because it reflects the whole driving experience—speed, braking, and cornering.
Horsepower is how much power the engine can make. More horsepower usually helps the car accelerate harder, especially on straight sections. But lap time also depends on grip, braking, and how well the car handles corners.
A V6 engine is an engine with six cylinders arranged in a V shape. It’s a common setup in performance cars because it can feel smooth while still making strong power. Here, it’s part of why the car was considered very powerful for its time.
A turbocharger packs extra air into the engine so it can make more power. “Double turbo” means there are two turbo units working to help the engine feel stronger.
Term
flat grand shift
This sounds like a description of how the car changes gears. The goal is usually to keep acceleration feeling smooth instead of jerky.
Aston Martin is the car company that supplied the F1 Safety Car for several years. That’s the car that leads the race at reduced speed when there’s an incident on track.
Monza is famous for being extremely fast, with big speeds and hard braking. That’s why an accident there can be especially scary compared with slower tracks.
Parabolica is a key corner at Monza that drivers take very fast. If something goes wrong there—like braking or grip—you can end up hitting the barriers hard.
A brake system is everything that makes the car slow down—pads, rotors, hydraulics, and related controls. If it fails, you can’t slow down or stop safely, so drivers have to treat it as a major risk.
“No brakes” means the car can’t slow down when you need to. You might still be able to steer, but if you can’t reduce speed, you can’t make the corner and you may hit the wall.
This means the driver tries to make the car rotate (like starting a controlled skid) to slow down using tire grip. It’s a last-resort maneuver when braking isn’t available.
“Standby” here means being on alert and ready to act immediately if something happens. The team is basically waiting for the next update and then relaying it fast.
Race control is the F1 headquarters that runs the race. When there’s an accident or rule-related situation, they decide what happens next and tell the teams.
Concept
turn three accident
This means a crash happened at a particular corner of the track—“turn three.” Where the crash is matters because it affects how dangerous the track is and how long the race needs to slow down.
A safety procedure is the official way teams and drivers handle an unsafe situation. It includes double-checking details (like where debris is) so the right information gets to the right people quickly.
The Thursday track test is an early on-track session before the main weekend action. It helps the team and driver get the car and track understanding dialed in.
A Grand Prix weekend is the whole multi-day event leading up to the race. It includes practice, qualifying, and the race, plus extra preparation like checking the track before cars go out.
He says COVID changed how the weekend is organized. Even though the race weekend still has the same basic steps, the rules and process around it became different.
A track walk is when the driver goes around the circuit on foot to look at it closely. They’re checking things like where the track might be rough or changed, so they can plan how to drive.
The braking point is where you start slowing down before a turn. If you brake too early or too late, the car won’t turn in as well and you’ll lose time.
They’re talking about how Thursday is used to get everything ready so Friday can run without problems. By then, the cars are on track and the systems have to work perfectly.
A standing start means the cars are stopped on the grid and then launch from zero when the race begins. It’s a different kind of start than rolling, so drivers and teams practice it.
A rolling start means the cars are moving as they line up, and then the race begins when the signal comes. Drivers have to keep the right distance and be ready to accelerate at the right moment.
Concept
boarded start
This sounds like a special kind of start procedure used for practice. The exact meaning isn’t fully clear from the wording here, but it’s about how the cars line up and get ready to go.
The medical car is there so medical staff can get to an incident fast. During certain track situations, it can be out on track too, so drivers have to be extra careful.
“Going on the limit” means driving as hard as the car can safely handle. At that point, the tires are working near their maximum grip, so the car can start to slide or feel unstable if you push too far.
A “free lap” is when you have open track ahead, so you can drive as fast as possible without getting blocked by other cars. It’s the best chance to see what the car can really do.
“Grip level” is how much the tires can stick to the road. If the track has more grip, you can drive harder with more confidence; if it has less grip, the car slides more easily.
As more cars drive on the track, they lay down rubber that makes the surface stickier. So the track can feel faster and safer later in the session than it did at the beginning.
Keeping the car on the limit means you’re driving as fast as the tires and grip will allow without spinning or sliding. It’s a careful balance—go a little too far and the car starts to lose control.
If something is left on the track—like broken parts or loose debris—cars can hit it or get upset trying to avoid it. That’s why officials slow everyone down and manage the danger.
Marshals are the officials who help when something goes wrong on track. If they’re out there dealing with an issue, it usually means the race has to be slowed for safety.
They’re talking about making sure the dangerous part of the track is actually safe before going faster again. There are specific areas where drivers have to be extra careful. Once officials say it’s clear, the pace can increase.
During a Safety Car period, you can’t drive at full racing speed. The example “200 to 120” shows how much slower the cars have to go. That changes how you accelerate and how much room you need around other cars.
Concept
pressing the button
This sounds like a specific action the Safety Car driver takes to trigger or communicate what’s happening on track. The key idea is that it helps coordinate when drivers should slow down and when they can start building speed again. It’s not just “driving slow”—it’s controlled signaling.
When the Safety Car is deployed, everyone slows down together, so the leader’s gap can disappear. Even if you’re still in front, you may lose the advantage you built. That’s why Safety Car moments can completely change the race.
Tires work best in a certain temperature range. If they get too cold—like when you’re driving slowly under the Safety Car—they can grip less, so drivers watch their tire temps.
Concept
race driver job
The “job of a race driver” includes managing the car within changing track conditions—especially during Safety Car periods. That means balancing pace, communication, and tire/brake temperature targets so the car is ready to perform when the race goes back to full speed.
F1 cars can store energy in a battery and use it later for extra power. If the driver uses too much of that battery energy too early, they may not have enough when it matters, so they sometimes go a bit slower to save it.
On a long straight, it’s tempting to go flat out, but hybrid energy is limited. Drivers often pace themselves so they still have extra power when they need it later.
“Vegas” is the Las Vegas F1 track. Because it has long straight sections, it’s a place where drivers think carefully about how much power/energy to use.
Lap cars are cars that are not on the same lap as the leader. When the Safety Car is out, these cars can make it confusing to know who’s actually leading and where you should go.
Pit stop strategy is when teams decide to come in for service and tire changes. Under Safety Car, timing matters even more, because different teams may pit at different times and the order can get confusing.
Changing tires means swapping to a different set of tires, usually because the track conditions changed. If it starts raining, teams may switch to tires that work better on wet roads.
“Reading a race” refers to interpreting evolving race conditions—traffic, pit timing, tire state, and Safety Car effects—to choose the correct move. It’s a skill of anticipating how race control and other teams’ strategies will play out in real time.
The speaker says that starting in 1993, the Safety Car became an official part of the rules. That means everyone—drivers, teams, and officials—knows exactly how it should work. It helps prevent confusion and makes race control more consistent.
Concept
adapt the positive and important things for the next generation and for the next rules
They’re describing how F1 improves over time by learning from what happens on track. If something doesn’t work well—like how the Safety Car is handled—officials can change the rules. Over many races, the system gets better and more consistent.
Ambulances are the vehicles used to transport and treat injured people after crashes. The speaker is pointing out that, before the more formal F1 medical setup, emergency response likely relied more on standard ambulance procedures. Over time, F1’s approach became more organized.
Sid Watkins was an important medical person in Formula One. He helped push for better crash response and medical procedures so drivers could be treated faster and more safely. The host is saying his work became especially influential in the early 1990s.
The “medical department” refers to the formalization and empowerment of medical operations within F1’s safety structure. Creating a dedicated medical department is about improving coordination, response speed, and how medical planning works with other stakeholders like teams and the FIA.
The safety department is a dedicated group focused on improving how F1 keeps people safe. After serious crashes, they use what they learn to make changes. Here, the speaker says it became more effective once it had more authority and worked closely with teams.
“Immola 1994” is about a serious tragedy at Imola in 1994. The hosts are discussing how that pushed F1 to improve safety rules, including using a Safety Car.
Oliver Gavin is the person the host says was the Safety Car driver for a stretch of years. They’re using his experience to explain why consistency and professionalism improved safety procedures.
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Of the current Formula One grid,
only Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso
have led more laps than safety car driver,
Burt Maylander.
So what's it like having the fastest drivers on the planet
right behind you?
Somehow, if you have these F1 drivers behind you,
you can feel the power, you can feel the spirit.
Everyone is looking forward for the restarts.
If you ask me if I'm still nervous, yes, I am nervous.
Without this adrenaline, I think it would be boring
and I would be not the safety car driver anymore,
but I need that.
Burt loves the thrill, but safety always comes first,
so he's not phased when drivers complain about his speed.
I spoke to him a couple of times after the race.
I said, oh, please don't say all these things.
And he said, yeah, yeah, I know, but in that moment,
I didn't understand why you drove so slow
and I explained him and he always agreed.
That's completely normal.
Hello and welcome to F1 Beyond the Grid with me, Tom Clarkson.
Burt Maylander reached a monumental milestone
in Melbourne earlier this year,
when he completed 500 Grand Prix
as the FIA safety car driver.
A lot's changed since his first race back in 2000,
and we discuss it all.
Burt tells me how the safety car driver
has changed a lot since his first race back in 2000,
and we discuss it all.
Burt tells me how the safety car and his role
have evolved over the last 25 years.
The car is much quicker now,
and his role is much busier,
and it's fascinating to hear
about the similarities between his preparation
for a race weekend and the F1 drivers themselves.
We also reflect on some of Burt's most memorable moments,
from the heavy rain at Fuji in 2007,
to the drama of Brazil 2016 and everything in between.
And in all that time driving the safety car,
it's astonishing that Burt has only crashed once,
so I had to ask him what happened.
Burt, it's great to have you on the show again.
It's been six years since you were last on.
The sport has changed a lot in that time,
but one thing hasn't,
you are still the safety car driver.
That's right, yeah, but the sport's still great.
We have good times, I have to say, on the track,
so it's great to be back, by the way.
Are you still loving it?
Still loving being the safety car driver?
That's why I'm here.
Yeah, absolutely.
But you said, yeah, six years ago,
the time is running so quickly.
I always say, if the time is running quickly,
many things are going on in a positive way.
So that's why six years, it just could be yesterday.
I remember exactly when we've been sitting together.
That was important now, do you remember?
Yeah, it was part of my life.
We had the ocean behind us.
Yeah, that was very fantastic.
Well, we're speaking at Suzuka, one of the great racetracks.
Can we wind it back a couple of races?
Because Melbourne, 2026, was a big one for you, wasn't it?
500 races as the FIA's safety car driver.
It's an amazing tally.
How proud are you of that achievement?
I have to say, well, I knew that these numbers coming up.
I was flying to Australia on the difficult situations
by air traffic, like you know.
And for me, it was just, yeah, OK, well, 500.
Sure, something was going on.
I was quite relaxed.
But then during the weekend, I realized, OK, it's nice.
The people recognized it.
The FIA have done something really nice
on the Thursday afternoon.
We had an evening, we had a nice barbecue
with some surprises for me.
I have to do a speech, but I'm not really good at it.
But I have to say, I'm really proud for this number.
But I always say, without a team, you can't do that.
So you need a good, positive team behind you.
And that's what I definitely had.
My co-drivers, the race directors, the people around me
were supporting the job.
And that was great.
And the whole group's been joining us for the barbecue.
So it was really cool, I have to say.
And yeah, it's great.
But now I'm looking forward for the next number.
Well, look, before we come onto that,
what that next number might be?
Can we throw it back to 2000 when you started out
on this journey?
Did you imagine you'd still be doing it 500 races later?
No, not in 2000.
So when I originally started 99 in Formula 3000,
it was more or less a year to learn the whole procedure.
And then you arrived in Melbourne 2000,
standing on the grid.
I recognized still a picture.
I have still a picture in my mind.
A young boy standing next to a big safety car.
And I knew what I have to do.
But I was really, really nervous to go on the grid
on the Sunday.
There was, I think, just covering Formula 1 at that time.
And it was great.
I thought, OK, well, now you're
a small part of Formula 1 for maybe one level, two
laps, you never know.
And I never expect that long time to be in the safety
car.
But that's exactly if you really like to do something
and you have a great team and it's
running in a positive way, then that
can happen that you're doing 500 Grand Prix or even more.
I suppose back then you were still very much
a racing driver, weren't you?
You were thinking like a racing driver.
And was this almost a side show for you?
For sure.
The main reason was the focus doing a race weekend.
It's a little bit different.
It's a little bit more focused on the competition
in the job as a safety car driver.
And that's what I recognized very quickly.
You've been focused on different things.
You're focused what can happen.
You try to improve the safety job
what you have to cover.
Whereas a shortcut, for example, there's
a shortcut on a track.
If that happens, maybe we can use a shortcut as a race
driver and never think about that because that's up
to your engineers and to your people around you.
And so you work really close with the race director
together to improve the job, to looking more
to the weather forecast for things like that as a race
driver.
OK, if it's raining, it's raining.
But you're not really focused on the weather forecast.
So that was a different job than that of what I realized.
And by the way, a great job.
And so one weekend I was the race driver.
And on the other weekend I was the FIA Formula 1
safety car driver.
And that's what I really enjoyed for five years.
And then I stopped officially racing, championship racing,
I would say, and been even more focused on the job
as a safety car driver.
And great.
Did you miss racing?
Or does this still scratch that itch for you?
Missing racing now with 54, I would say,
at the competition sometimes.
I wouldn't sign a contract for a whole championship
now with 10 races, for example.
But sometimes to drive a nice GT3 car, like Max is doing this,
for some races, yeah, that would be great.
I have done this four years ago with an old colleague,
with Bern Schneider.
We did a GT race in Germany with a GT3 car.
And that was really good fun and competition.
So if you put your helmet on and the gloves
and if you are in a proper race car, you're in that mode
again, I think it's a normal DNA thing for a race driver
that you are fully focused on the job, what you have to do.
In the safety car, you have to realize it very quickly
that you are not in a race car, that you're in the safety
car, to have a different kind of mode,
because you have to protect something else.
You're still driving a very high performance car,
though, aren't you?
For the last five years, the safety car
has been the AMG GT Black Series, hasn't it?
Can you put some stats on that in terms
of how quick it is, horsepower?
Yeah, the GT Black Series, it's the quickest safety car ever
so far.
This car is developed for a race track
to be not a race car, but to be a really performance car
on a race track.
So we have 730 horsepower, big V8 engine.
But the car is so nice drivable on the limits
with full downforce.
So this car, you really feel the downforce, great balance.
So it's really driving like a little race car with slick tires.
And that helps, for sure, that keeps up your performance.
And that's very important, I think,
to cover this check to have a great performance car.
And if you think about which car we had,
where we're coming from and which part the safety car had
25 years ago, and now where we are now with which kind of cars,
it's great to see.
And I'm always surprised by the engineers,
what they are developing.
So I can say now, yes, I'm really looking
forward for the next models.
You mentioned Max, Max Verstappen a minute ago.
He's in a Mercedes GT3.
And he's racing it at the Nurburgring.
Is his car quite similar to what you're driving at F1 races?
Similar, I think the basics are somehow similar.
So the basics, front, middle, engine, trans-axle, the balance.
But the GT3, it's a proper racing car.
This car is developed just to be a race car on a racetrack
with much more downforce, less weight.
But the basic, you can say, yeah, it's a kind of.
The safety car, we have different rules.
So it should be a road car.
We have even nearly 200 horsepower more than the GT3 car.
But we are much heavier in the car.
We have to use road tires.
So the balance in the end, it's something different.
We have to cover the safety parts as a safety car.
And we don't want to win the race.
That's a different job.
I'm going to come on to that.
But just as an aside, while we're mentioning Max Verstappen,
you've done a lot of racing at the Nurburgring.
In fact, one of your first races
was at the Nurburgring, right?
How impressed have you been by what Max has done?
Absolutely.
And that's, I think, in general, the whole motorsport GT world
is keep an eye on it, what he's doing at that racetrack
because the Nurburgring Notch Life, that's
where I started everything when I drove by my private car
every weekend after I get the driving license.
That was my track to learn how to drive quick.
It was not always safe.
But I never crashed under a private car.
But he's doing a fantastic job up there.
And I think everyone loves it.
It's pure racing.
It's a very difficult track.
It's difficult to overtake.
So you need a lot of passion sometimes
to get the right moment to overtake someone,
especially in the GT3 cars.
I saw some of the in-car from his race the other day.
It's fantastic.
The way he was carving through the traffic.
And that's the great thing.
So you have different classes up there, different categories.
And you not only have to drive quick.
You have to drive very clever to ride for the right moment.
And that's what Max is enjoying.
So it's great to see him up there.
I will be there this year for the 24-hour race.
Not only about him, but I think that's
some very topic that he's up there.
And a lot of people becoming extra for him.
Does a driver ever properly know the Nurburgring Notch
Life or does it, can you always get better?
Can you always know it better?
I think, yeah.
You're always, you're looking for the perfect lap up there.
And then you think, OK, even if you're on pole position,
you know, OK, maybe there's still a half a 10 or something.
And this is the Notch Life.
You have so many corners.
And for sure, you need a little bit of luck
to get a proper lap without traffic.
But this is the competition up there
and different better conditions.
And because the track is more than 20 kilometers,
only the Notch Life.
And this is the challenge up there.
And I think everyone loves it.
Everyone who is infected by this virus motorsport
is searching for the Notch Life.
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Now we've discussed the Black Series
but since Mercedes got involved
as the safety car supplier,
they've had 13 different cars.
Okay, good that you know the number.
I've been counting.
Look, you alluded to it earlier
but how have they evolved?
Can you remember the first one?
Even if I was not involved in driving that car
but I had maybe the most kilometers on that car
because it was my first company car for Mercedes.
I was racing for Mercedes at that time
as a junior in DTM ITC
and I get a phone call on a,
I think it was a Monday or Tuesday morning
after the Monaco Grand Prix, I was home.
Norbert Tauk, assistant,
he called me and said,
Burnt, how many kilometers you have on your car?
And I said, why are you asking me this question?
You know, I have this car since four weeks, I'm happy.
I'm more than happy to have a CE36 AMG
that was the sports model I would say.
And so I had to bring the car back on the same day
because I was living very close to the head water at that time
and they took my car and told me,
okay, Burnt, this car will be the new safety car
on Formula One from the French Grand Prix afterwards.
And so I lost my car
and this car was the first safety car
from I'd say the Spencer 1996.
I get a new one a couple of weeks or months later,
but in the end that was the first contact
to a proper safety car.
I didn't expect that I'm sitting in the safety car
five years later.
And just give us an idea of how much quicker
the Black Series is compared to that.
A lap of mainly cool, you say the French Grand Prix,
how much quicker would you be now than back then?
Well, I would say 20, 25 seconds.
Well, it was already a very quick car for that time.
It was the quickest, most sporty car, the C36
with 280 horsepower, I guess, at that time.
So that was very powerful, V6 engine.
But now we have a V8 engine, double turbo,
730 horsepower, flat grand shift.
So it's completely different.
And there are many cars in this list
where you made a proper step forward by the drivability.
But that's the engineers.
That's the great thing.
40 years ago, you thought sometimes, OK,
that must be now the most sporty car.
And for sure, there are still some very special cars,
I would say, like a Ferrari F40.
This is an outstanding car in the 80s.
And there are sometimes in some decade
are some special cars where still you have
to think, well, that was a milestone, yeah.
Well, we've talked about Mercedes,
but of course, Aston Martin was supplying the safety car
for five years as well.
Tell us about that period.
Well, they joined in 21.
The first contact for me was with Aston Martin in 2020.
And I never had any contact to Aston Martin.
I knew the things from James Bond and this kind of things.
And the most popular color was the green ones,
the green Aston Martin.
And it was fantastic.
They, how they joined us, quite open.
They learned a lot in 2020.
They were just at the racetrack to learn
to understand the procedure.
And then they developed a really great car.
And they've been supplying together with AMG,
the safety medical car for five years.
Great company, I just can say.
Great cars, nice spirits.
They're building really lovely cars.
Nice design, very drivable.
The advantage safety car what I had over the whole period
was the same basic car like the Black Series,
or the car before it was a front middle engine transaxle.
So really good balance for a basic car.
And that's very helpful for me as a safety car driver
to have a good basic car with a nice handling.
Well, was it difficult to swap between the two cars?
Because it would be Mercedes one weekend
and Aston the next, wouldn't it?
Yeah, sometimes that happened.
But after a couple of laps, you know exactly what you
have to do.
And that's what I said before.
The basic of the car has been on the same level.
And then you have to adapt a little bit your driving skill.
With the GT Black Series, now you're even on a higher level.
But to cover my job, that's not really
the most important thing.
The basic must be really good.
And that's what we had.
So somehow I can say as I miss Aston Martin in that job,
because what I said before, great people with a great brand.
One of the scariest things I've seen recently on the TV
came in 2024 at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
I think you know where I'm going with this.
But we saw you in the barriers at the Parabolico.
What happened?
How scary was it?
Yes, for sure.
If you think about it, you're in Monza on a high speed track
and you have this problem.
For sure, you have to be a little bit lucky
to not have another proper accident.
Most important thing was for me that my co-driver, Richard,
that he was OK, that I was OK.
What happens in the end?
We had a brake issue.
We find out immediately after the test
that was during the track test on the Thursday,
we find out immediately what happened.
And luckily, it was not a system failure of the brake system.
So we could be sure that the brake will
work in the future.
That's, I think, one of the most important things.
And yeah, it was a crash that can happen in racing
because you're working on sometimes on the limit,
especially on the track test.
You try to find your driving level for the races.
And yeah, it was a big impact.
If you think about with 270, no brakes.
It's not really nice.
Was that the only time you've crashed the safety car?
Yeah, luckily, yes.
In 500 races?
In 500, well, more or less, yeah.
500 races was the only time that they hit a barrier.
And that was a big one.
Luckily, I did the right thing in that moment.
I just tried to bring the car in a rotation to reduce the speed
because if you have no brakes, for sure you can turn in
in a corner, but nothing will happen, by the way.
So you will go straight into the barrier.
And that's what I want to always say avoid,
to not going straight into the barrier,
just to bring the car in a rotation to slow down in any way.
And that's what we did.
That's the racing driver in you, though, isn't it?
That everything slows down and the presence of mind to do that.
I never practised that, by the way.
That was the first and hopefully the last time.
In the end, everything went well and we could find the mistakes.
And done.
But you mentioned your co-driver, Richard.
Richard Darker.
Other than being mad to sit alongside you at those high speeds,
tell us a little bit about Richard and what does he do?
How does he support you?
It's quite important because it's teamwork.
For sure I can cover the driving part.
We get a lot of information into the safety car.
Let's say from the moment onwards,
if something happens on the track,
it starts with the standby situation.
So he's usually pressing the button,
standby, reporting to race control.
I'm listening to everything.
From that moment onward, we know everything on the track.
For example, a turn three accident,
two cars on the left side, a lot of debris on the track.
Okay, that's the information that we have.
We have a screen, we can see it.
And he's reporting back.
So when we're passing that area, he's reporting back.
I can report as well.
But for ISIS in four years, see and hear more.
If I'm not 100% sure if it was now left or the right side,
because I'm focused on driving, it's a backup.
So he let me know, okay, no,
when it was on the left side.
So that's just for safety procedure.
And that is very, very helpful.
Luckily, mostly we have nothing to do.
We're just sitting in the car doing the race,
watching the race on the screens,
watching the GPS mapping.
And then we also can have a nice chat.
That's also very helpful.
But it's good to have kind of a safety backup
for your information,
because we don't want to disrupt race control
all the time.
They have to manage many other things
in that situation if something happens.
And that's very helpful.
And it's like an airplane cockpit,
that's what I always say.
That's why you have a co-pilot.
You could fly the airplane alone,
but it's good to have someone next to you.
It's good that he has no steering wheel.
No, but it's good to have a safety device
to have someone with me.
You mentioned the track test on a Thursday earlier.
Can you now talk us through
what a Grand Prix weekend looks like for you?
When do you arrive?
Tell us about that track test on a Thursday.
What happens on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday?
I have to say, since COVID more or less changed a lot.
From the beginning onwards, from 2000 to now,
the procedures are kind of the same,
but with the modern technique what we have,
we have to test even more things.
And it's so high professional.
So I'm arriving Wednesday evening at the hotel.
Sometimes we have Wednesday already.
The track walk where we analyze the track,
where we look if the track is fully in shape
for the F1 weekend.
But usually we do this on a Thursday morning,
Thursday afternoon, we have our track test.
And this test is not only based to learn the track,
in my case.
For sure, for me, it's good to be back on the track
to find out where's the limit,
how to drive every corner, where's the braking point
and things like that.
That's basic.
For sure, that's my job.
But we're also testing all the technical things,
timing, TV.
So Formula 1 is really involved to set up the right places
for the cameras.
The timing, very important.
Because Thursday is the day before Friday.
And from Friday morning onwards,
everything has to work in a perfect way.
Because there are the cars, the race cars on the track,
you cannot say, oh, the timing is not running
in a perfect way.
It has to run.
It has to run good.
And that's what we are testing on a Thursday afternoon.
FIA-wise, we are practicing different procedures
because now in the modern Formula 1,
we have different procedures for our red flag,
for our restart, for a standing start, for a rolling start.
And that's what we are playing with, different procedures
to teach ourselves if we are 100% on the level what
we want to be.
That's why we're practicing this in the first half
an hour of the track test.
That's our procedure, what we always
playing in different procedures, a boarded start,
so many different things that we are practicing.
That's very important for race control,
for us, for everyone who's involved in every race
and every race weekend.
During the track test on a Thursday,
it's the safety car and the medical car.
You're both out there.
How hard are you pushing, Ben?
If I see the medical car in my mirror,
I'm pushing like, oh, no.
We'll be playing together different rules.
So mostly I'm playing the safety car
and he's playing the first F1 car.
And there's different scenarios what we are playing with.
I think the people on the grandstand day
don't understand the procedure what we are doing.
But luckily we know what we are doing.
And that's a very important procedure
for the whole weekend.
And for sure, you're going on the limit.
Let's say on that track test, if I have a free lap,
you're bringing the car really on the limit.
And for sure, there's a difference
between the safety and medical car.
The medical car has usually two doctors,
plus the driver inside.
The car is much heavier.
But he also has to be very quick
if he has to go on the track, if something happens.
So both drivers, Carl or Bruno,
are, myself, pushing us to the limit
to have everything 100% under control.
So is Thursday the fastest you drive the car all weekend?
Depends to the track conditions.
Because on Thursday, as a race driver,
you realize this very quickly.
Usually you don't have that grip level
then on a Friday or Saturday or even on a Sunday
because the track conditions improved
during a race weekend by the grip.
And we know this from all the race tracks.
And for sure, on Thursday, maybe you
start in the beginning of the track test
two seconds slower than to the end
because the track improves during that.
But you always try to keep the car on the limit.
Because I think one of the great misunderstandings
about the safety car, tell me if I'm wrong,
is that I think people assume you're flat out
when you're leading the field in a race.
But that's rarely the situation, isn't it?
Yeah, absolutely.
So sometimes I'm really lucky when the race director or in Ruhi
tells me on the radio, now you can drive as fast
as you want, more or less.
And that's the best moment for me
because then you really can push.
You know, OK, we have two more laps to go
and then we're coming in.
So you know, you can really push hard.
But mostly we are not on the limit
because of the situation on the track.
Let's say if there is a lot of debris in turn four,
there are marshals on the track.
I picked up the leading car.
I know, OK, we have to give them time
that the track is clear when clean,
when we're passing this area.
So we are not driving flat out.
For sure we're driving slower.
Instead of 200, we're just going for 120.
And that's exactly the moment when the people
or the drivers when they're pressing the button
are the safety cars driving so slow.
They don't have this information.
We have it and we guide the drivers through this area
and safely, that's my job.
And after that, if the track is clear and ready to go,
for sure we're speeding up on a limit,
that's the best moment for me
because then really you can drive.
The other situations are sometimes really tricky
to make everyone happy.
And definitely the leading car is the most affected car
because he loses advantage.
He's the leader still from the pack,
but still they're looking for their own performance,
but it's completely normal.
I do my job to stay safe,
to guide everyone in a safe way around the drivers,
the people who are involved in this situation.
Can you hear the radio messages from the drivers?
No, I think they're there.
I remember Hamilton in particular
when he was winning everything at Mercedes.
He was quite outspoken.
The safety car needs to speed up.
This is too slow for us.
I spoke to him a couple of times after the race.
I said, oh, Luis, please don't say all these things.
And he said, yeah, yeah, I know, but in that moment
I didn't understand why you drove so slow.
And I explained him and he always agreed.
That's completely normal.
It's kind of heat at the moment, the stuff.
Yeah, that's absolutely understandable
and fine from my side.
I have no problem about that.
Even when I was racing in the safety car,
turned up in front of me,
even I was saying, why is he driving that slow?
I have to keep to watch for my tire temperatures
to be in the right performance.
That's what a driver, what's the job of a race driver?
And my job is a little bit different.
I have no tire problems or tire pressure problems.
And we always say safety first.
And I think everyone understands this.
We're working together with the driver
for example, for this year,
we have a slightly different situation
in a safety car deployment than in the years before
because they don't want to go that quick anymore
because of the power of the cars.
It's a different procedure
and you have always stood too long.
Every year, a little bit of different procedures.
So the race drivers don't want to go that quick?
No, because they don't want to use the battery,
let's say on a long straight, I want to save energy.
And that means you're driving a little bit slower.
You're not going really in this high speed,
let's say over 250.
For example, in Vegas, we could go up to 300.
That's the longest straight.
That's the quickest track by high speed.
And I'm pretty sure they're happy with 200 there
or not you don't have to go up to 250 or more anymore.
Is it difficult to pick up the lead car
when you come out of the pits,
particularly late on in the race,
if there are lap cars and things like that?
Yeah, that's exactly the problem.
So sometimes if it's late in the race,
you know where's the leader and race control.
Always try to send me on track in front of the leader.
That's the perfect situation.
But if they're going for a pit stop,
if they're on a different strategy than many other cars,
maybe it's not a leader anymore.
And I get guided.
I can see it, where who is the leader.
But yeah, it's a tricky moment
to make the right move even for race control
or if it starts immediately from one to the other side,
it starts to rain and they're changing tires.
That's quite tricky moments, but that's the challenge.
And that's why you really have to understand
and to read a race.
And if you're really in that flow, you get the point
and that's the passion.
It was an inauspicious start for the safety car
back in 1973 in Canada.
It's first race.
I just, us talking about this,
reminds me of, didn't it pick up the wrong car
and it all got very confused back in 73?
I haven't watched that race.
I was still too young.
I was two years old, but I saw some film and materials
about that.
I remember exactly.
Yet I heard that he picked up the wrong car.
They didn't really know what to do with the safety car
at that time.
And I think that was also the reason
why it disappeared for 20 years on the racetracks.
And from 1993 onwards, it was in the rules.
So it was really written down what is the safety car,
what is the procedure, what you have to do,
in which situation.
And if you think about 93, it's not so long ago.
We had for sure massive steps forward
but we learned about the safety car.
And that's really good because you're learning
every race, you're learning every year
and you adapt the positive and important things
for the next generation and for the next rules.
Did you ever discuss with Sid Watkins,
the FIA's medical delegate, if you like,
about how the safety car came about in 1973?
Not really in 1973.
Sorry, 1993, forgive me.
No, not in 1993.
I think the medical car was always a part of it.
Let's say ambulances, I think.
I really don't know before the 90s what happens exactly,
but Sid was already there.
I think since 1994, we all know who is Sid Watkins
in raising what he has done.
And then these things getting more and more important
from 93 onwards when we had big accidents
and Sid's job and also the safety and medical stuff
what they have implement in Formula One.
I think that was really, really important
and we learned a lot.
And that's why we created also the safety department
and the medical department to have more power
to develop quicker, to develop better together
with everyone who's involved in Formula One.
It's not only the FIA, so we get support from the teams.
We're working together and I think that's the
very important big step that you're working together.
I think it was quite different 30 or 40 years ago.
Do you think the tragic events of Immola 1994
accelerated the need for a safety car?
Absolutely.
At that time, the safety car was implemented
in the rules, in the wrecks, but it was different cars,
different drivers from race track to race track.
And then from, I think it must be 96 onwards,
it was a permanent driver.
It was at that time, it was Oliver Gavin.
Oliver Gavin is a former race driver,
a very good GT driver and he did this from 96 to 99.
I took his job over because he went to America
for the American Lamoor series,
so that was my lucky moment.
And I think that was the first step,
that you have a permanent driver
to be absolutely professional in his job
and then also to have a permanent brand
and a permanent, the same safety in medical cars
at each track because then you have a standard equipment.
So your standard, you lies something
that is really, really important
and that makes a big difference.
Maybe what I meant with that question was,
did Immola 1994 accelerate the need
for a high performance safety car?
Because I remember reading an article
by Max Angilelli, who was the safety car driver
at Immola in 1994.
And he said many years later
that he was still haunted by the image of Senna
pulling up alongside him.
He was in an Opel Vectro pulling up alongside him
and shaking his fist at him, wanting him to go faster.
And of course, Max was going as fast as he could
in an Opel Vectro.
And Senna had even raised the topic
of the speed of the safety car
in the Sunday morning driver's briefing at Immola.
So given everything that happened there,
suddenly maybe it was a graphic illustration
of how important it was to have a high performance car
in that role.
Yeah, I would say in that technical things,
what it was in 1994 with, yeah,
we all know how complicated cars being at that time
or how also different build of the cars at that time
because the rules being allowed
to have a full automatic gearbox, suspension and whatever.
And I think that was even more important
than maybe in the modern time
because we have now high performance cars
and Opel Vectro was a great car,
but maybe not for a race track at that time.
I think, yes, definitely the development was going
definitely to more sport cars, to permanent cars
on a higher quicker level.
And even in the modern times, the drivers of,
let's say with the old cars from last year
with the ground effect, they drove still with 250,
they drove still big six-hug behind you
to get energy into the tires to be prepared
for the restart to have the temperature
and the right window to be on the 100% perfect level
for the restart.
And that's maybe what Senna tried to do in the same way
and behind Opel Vectro, maybe it was more difficult
than in the modern world.
For sure, always a safe Formula One car
is always quicker because it's Formula One,
but I think the level where we are right now
and where we've been the last 30 years,
it's different than at that time.
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There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes of this show,
booking guests across time zones,
tight turnaround edits, and constant time management.
And when things get chaotic,
you realize pretty quickly how important it is
to have the right person on your team.
If I had to hire someone tomorrow,
I wouldn't just want a good editor.
I'd want someone who understands pace
in long-form interviews and can work fast under pressure.
And in moments like that,
you think this is a job for sponsored jobs.
Because Indeed sponsored jobs boost your listing
in search results,
helping you reach the candidates
with the specific skills and experience you actually need.
And it works.
Sponsored jobs posted directly on Indeed
are 95% more likely to report a hire
than non-sponsored jobs.
That's a serious edge when the pressure's on.
Spend less time searching
and more time actually interviewing candidates
who check all your boxes.
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When you need the right person to cut through the chaos,
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to help get your job the premium status it deserves
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Need to hire.
This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs.
What are the developments have there been
since 2000 that have helped you do your job?
Car wise, I think we know the history of all the cars
that we also improved car wise
but to implement the technical things inside the information
inside my first safety car, we not even had a TV.
Well, we had a TV standing five meters away from the car
where we tried to watch it somehow.
We had, luckily we had radio for sure,
but I think we hadn't the backup radio.
So it was more or less like a hand radio in your hand
a year later, I get some ear plugs
to get the radio contact into the helmet.
Then we implement a TV inside the car,
still everything is guided by radio
but the information what we had around by GPS mapping
by they know where I am all the time by GPS,
I know where all the cars I nearly could manage
without radio what I have to do
on track if something happens.
And that's very helpful and that makes the whole procedure
much safer, more information to limit the mistakes
what can happen.
And that's quite important for the whole situation
so you can react in a better safer way.
And that's quite impressive what we did
even if you look to the cars
with the big movements what we did in safety
since 2000, I'm involved in Formula One.
It's quite impressive car wise.
We've been lucky in 2000 to have ABS
or kind of anti-schlupfregelung in German.
It goes, I don't know the name in English
to let's say traction control.
And now it's a standard in a proper sports car.
So that's very impressive to what the technique
what which level we are right now.
And I'm pretty sure the next generation of safety cars
will be even on a higher level,
tire performance, drivability.
That's quite fantastic what the engineers are doing.
Is it intimidating having a field of Formula One cars
in your rear view mirror?
It still is, yeah.
I'm still impressed.
Even now?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Because if I have to deploy it,
I always say the best ways are
without any deployment of safety car
because nothing happens.
And hopefully we have a good race.
Sometimes if the safety car deploys,
it helps the racing a little bit
because we have new situations.
And safety cars often breed safety cars, don't they?
Because you bunch up the field, we get a restart.
Yeah, you have a restart again
and the race starts from a new thing.
But it's somehow if you have this
at one drivers behind you,
you can feel the power,
you can feel the spirit.
Every one is looking forward for the restart,
for everything can happen.
And that's the fascination on the sport.
And even I feel this in front of.
If you ask me if I'm still nervous, yes, I am nervous.
Without this, I think this adrenaline,
I think it would be boring
and I would be not a safety car driver anymore,
but I need that.
It's like on a start.
If you jump into your cockpit,
when I jump into the safety car tenements
before the start of the race,
yeah, I check everything.
I check everything like I'm jumping in my race car,
radio check and look all the systems
if they are all set it up like I want to.
And yes, ready to go.
And then it's the moment there.
You have to deploy.
You have to catch the leader.
If not, you have to do this and that.
You know the procedure.
You have your co-driver next to you.
So everything is on place.
Everything is ready to go.
And that's the spirit and the adrenaline.
Everything comes together.
Do you know how many laps you've led in Formula One?
I've got a rough idea, but do you know the exact number?
Not the exact number.
We try to find it out.
We have a list from 2007 to 2026
and it was 1,309 laps
plus the first seven years.
So we couldn't find out the first seven years in the moment.
But the deployments from 2000 to 2026
was together with the sprint races, 319 deployments.
That's what we found out.
I'm really bad on numbers.
I'm happy to remember 500 races,
but that's what we found out.
And now we have to count a little bit more.
So I guess it will be...
Must be near 1500.
Yeah, something like that.
So 1500 laps, which would put only
for Stappen, Hamilton and Alonzo ahead of you.
So you have the current grade?
Oh, OK, OK.
Only three drivers on the current grade
have led more laps than you.
That's something to tell your grandchildren.
I have to, yeah.
Even if you want to top that, yeah?
We have to talk about F2, F3,
because if I cover this on top, it's even more.
But yeah, that's part of the job.
While these kind of numbers, after 25 years,
it's more than 25 years and 500 races.
It was somehow very impressive,
but it took also 26 years driving the safety car.
So that was a long time.
So we've discussed cars.
We've discussed developments.
We now know roughly how many laps you've led.
Can we talk about some of the most memorable races
that you've been involved in?
I've got some ideas, but if I said to you, Fuji, 2007,
Japanese Grand Prix, first race back at Fuji since 1977,
it was wet.
It was very wet, wasn't it?
Tell us about that.
How many laps?
The race started behind you,
and I think you did the opening 19 laps.
Yeah, it was many laps.
I think I already knew that it will be raining on Sunday
and realized that already on Thursday,
because if the whole week...
It was relentless, wasn't it?
We couldn't see the Mount Fuji the whole weekend.
And we had an earthquake on the Sunday to Monday,
I remember exactly.
But back to this weekend,
yeah, we had a really nice car at that time.
It was a big step for AMG as well.
It was the CLK 63.
So it was a new, normal aspirated engine,
very powerful.
And the car was quite tricky to drive
under wet conditions, believe me.
So when I saw the rain, I said,
oh, okay, okay, stay safe, don't push too much.
You're driving the safety car, you don't want to...
You can't win the race.
And then it came to the situation
that we did so, so many laps.
And like in every road car, the fuel consumption
on that car, if you push,
it's not the regular fuel consumption.
It's a little bit more.
And we realized, okay, we're running out of fuel.
And the driver's behind me, a big spray.
I could see this in the mirror.
Okay, so I set this on the radio to race control, okay?
So we can do a few more laps,
but then maybe we're running out of fuel.
Luckily at that moment,
the rain disappeared a little bit,
a little bit less rain, maybe five crops less.
So we said, okay, let's race.
Okay, perfect for me.
We knew in that situation that we changed the cars.
So we have always two similar cars,
two similar safety cars,
even at that time in the FIA garage.
So we came in, jumped into the auto car.
The car was running seat belts, been in position.
So we just jumped in, drove down end of the pit lane
in the procedure at that time.
Peter Tibbets, my co-driver at that time,
he was also, oh, that's new.
We never have done this.
He's like, oh, it's cool, isn't it?
So been in the parking position
and we had a screen as well, a little screen.
It worked so, so.
Been in the position.
And the lap after was another crash on the track.
I can't really remember.
I think it was-
Was it Alonso?
I think it was Alonso, yeah.
He had a big one, yeah.
Yeah, it was a bigger one.
He really pushed hard, what I heard afterwards.
And he crashed and yeah, safety car standby,
safety car deploy, boom, again on the track.
I said, oh, okay.
I think one more time, the same procedure
that's really tough.
And we did another six, seven laps.
Luckily in the end, we could race.
We did 19 laps.
That was for me at that time
on the disc conditions, very tricky.
But yeah, we made it.
Yeah, and I think everyone was quite happy
that we could finish the race on the safeway.
And we've also seen a very interesting race.
It's invariably wet races, isn't it?
Where you're called?
Cause I then, if we go in chronological order,
I'm then reminded of career 2010.
Important year.
I think it was New Rex as well.
Yeah, it was.
Mark Webber, I saw when Mark Webber
maybe lost his championship.
That's the one.
When he slide it away.
I said, oh, no.
Even while I know Seb won the championship in the end,
but I know Mark quite well from GT racing
from the 90s.
And I said, oh, now he lost the car
and disappeared.
So that was the ticket for Seb to win the championship.
And it was on the same,
it was really tricky conditions in South Korea.
Great racetrack, but the weather conditions
on the rain was very tough for the drivers.
And we did also many, many laps there.
We did.
I remember.
And it was almost dark when it ended.
Yeah, it could correct, yeah.
The tarmac was only laid 10 days before that race.
Can you feel that, the slipperiness of it,
all the oil, even in the safety car?
Yes, I could feel like also in Turkey
we had once this problem.
But yes, I could, I feel it in the car.
That it was very slippery.
But many, many times between a road car
or the safety car and a race car with different tires,
it feels different.
But in that specific situation,
we had exactly the same problem.
So the grip level on wet conditions
was not really perfect,
but in the end it was the same for everyone
because they all on the same tires.
That was in the end helpful for the sport
because everyone is on the same level
and the grip level was really, for sure,
not the best one, but it is like it is.
But one more I wanted to suggest was Montreal 2011,
the longest race in the history of Formula One,
four hours, four minutes.
Have we changed the wrecks afterwards?
We did.
We all had web feet by the end of it.
But there was the two-hour delay,
do you remember, in the middle of the race?
We started the race, it was then too wet
and we had this two-hour delay.
And one of my abiding memories of that race
is you being sent out by Charlie Whiting
to sort of go and check the conditions.
Now, can you just tell us what you're looking for
in a situation like that?
Well, in a situation like that,
if it's continue raining,
and that was in Montreal, the case,
are you going on some,
well, in that specific track,
you're going to more or less to the chicains
because in the apex, sometimes you have standing water.
And for sure, that's dangerous
because you get aqua-planning.
And that's what always Charlie said,
just burn go for a check-lap,
look to the corners where you see standing water.
And that was nearly everywhere around,
in every chicane.
And under these conditions,
you can't race in a safe way.
Luckily, it was so windy
that we could manage it in the end to have a race,
but it took a while.
And in that big break in this two hours break,
I went up to race control
and I had a break there.
I had a coffee and a piece of cake
because nothing was going on.
We had to wait.
But in race control,
I think that's the safest and best informed place
where you can be.
And is it very clear to you
when the conditions are okay for Formula One cars?
Yeah, it's quite clear.
If you have standing water,
it's for everyone the moment
where you have to say that's not drivable anymore,
not drivable in a safe way.
So if I'm on...
From an aqua-planning point of view
or from a visibility point of view?
Exactly, that's even on top.
The first is aqua-planning
and then you're listening to the drivers
because the driver behind me,
maybe he can still see enough to race safe.
But if you listen to the driver
on the tense position what we are doing
and they say, well, we have no visibility,
that's the moment when you have to
make safety decisions in race control
and that's what they're always listening.
And if the driver is complaining to the team,
I have no visibility, I can't see anything.
That's the moment when race control is reacting
in that way, for sure, that is a red flag.
And the spray just hangs between the trees.
The spray is, in the modern Formula One world,
a big, big point.
We're working on some ideas for the future
but it's very tricky.
Mudguards, that kind of thing, right?
Yeah.
Any other races that stand out to you?
Well, sure, we have so many.
We've worked out 15 laps.
We have Sao Paulo, I think 2016,
when we had four or five deployments.
That's also...
That's when Max went from 16th to third
in the space of about 16 laps at the end.
Is Sao Paulo a really tricky racetrack?
Because you get all those rivers
because of all the hills.
But a fantastic racetrack.
I think we all love to go to Sao Paulo.
It's a great racetrack, but on wet conditions.
They're always producing good races
on dry and on wet conditions.
The only problem is, yeah, if it's raining too much,
you have little rivers crossing the track
or also parts of standing water.
But racing there is very great, I have to say.
Do you get on the plane going to Sao Paulo thinking,
yeah, I'm probably going to be busy this weekend?
Well, Sao Paulo, everything can happen
because you're surrounded by many lakes.
Humidity at that time is always high,
so the weather conditions are not so easy
than in other places, let's say, if you're going to Bahrain.
Well, you mentioned Bahrain.
Were you involved in any way
with the Grosjean accident in 2020?
Or was that purely the medical car?
That was purely the medical car.
And luckily, the medical car is behind the start
for one lap because the risk of that something happens
in that specific lap is higher than in all other laps.
And that's why Dr. Ian Roberts at that time
and the medical car drivers immediately there
to help Grosjean in the way what they could help.
But that wasn't me.
I was not even involved in this procedure
because they immediately show a red flag
what is that situation, normal standard thing.
So I was disappeared, I was already waiting
in the end of the pit lane on the red flag
so the drivers came back to the pit lane
altogether lined up and everyone was looking for Roman
and luckily he survived in a really good way
after this big crash.
Well, Bernd, it's been so great to have you
on the show again.
Thank you for your time.
So many stories, so much experience in one man
that I'm looking at right now.
Thank you very much.
Is to the next 500?
Yeah, 500.
How old will you be in 25 years time, Brent?
Someone told me that I will be 77 or 78.
I think another 500, maybe in different functions
but definitely with 78 in the safety car
I'm not sure if this is high professional
but I definitely will do another couple of years.
Well, the great thing is whatever happens
however long you do the safety car
you're now a wine producer as well, right?
Oh, yeah, yeah, right.
That started with a big story.
Maybe we had to do another beyond the grid.
But you produced a special bottle celebrating 500 races, right?
Correct, yeah, that's what we have done.
I have a little vineyard where we're doing wine since 2018
and yes, for this specific race for 500
we have done a special number of 500 bottles
with a special really nice wine in Magnum
and also in a normal bottle and yeah, it's great.
It'll be a good vintage, right?
It's a nice vintage, very close to me, so very familiar.
Thanks for your time.
Thank you very much.
Thanks.
Brent's like a fine wine just getting better and better.
Here's to the next 500 races, Brent.
Now there was so much I enjoyed about this chat.
Brent is still a very cool cat and clearly loves his job
and he's still extremely good at it.
Those safety car periods in Formula One
are in very safe hands for the foreseeable future.
Thanks for your time, Brent
and I'll see you at the next race.
Well, that's almost it for this week.
Before I go, a few parish notices.
On the latest episode of F1 Nation,
Jolien Palmer, James Hinchcliffe and I
react to the news that Max Verstappen's
race engineer, Jampiero Lambiassi,
will be leaving Red Bull to join McLaren.
And former F1 strategist, Bernie Collins,
joins Christian Hugel on the latest F1 Explains podcast
to discuss how strategy has changed
in this new era of Formula One
and to answer your questions.
That's also on the F1 Nation feed now.
I will, of course, be back next week
with another great guess from the world of Formula One.
But for now, thanks very much for listening.
F1 Beyond the Grid is produced by Formula One
and AudioBoom Studio.
Until next time, keep it flat out.
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About this episode
Bernd Maylander marks 500 Grand Prix as F1’s FIA safety car driver, reflecting on how the job has evolved since his first stint in 2000. He explains the modern safety car’s rapid AMG GT Black Series performance, the technical and procedural prep behind each weekend, and why he’s only crashed once in 500 races. Memorable moments include Fuji 2007’s relentless wet conditions, Montreal 2011’s long delay and aqua-planning checks, and Brazil 2016’s chaos. Maylander also discusses teamwork with co-driver Richard Darker, radio/GPS improvements, and why drivers still complain—then usually understand.
At this year’s season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Bernd Maylander reached a remarkable milestone of 500 races as the FIA Safety Car Driver. Speaking to Tom Clarkson, Bernd reflects on how the Safety Car and his job have evolved since his first race back in 2000 and some of the most iconic races he’s been involved in over the last 25 years. He talks through what a Grand Prix weekend looks like for him, the role his co-driver Richard Darker plays and some of the challenges they face – like picking up the leader when the Safety Car is deployed and judging wet conditions.
Bernd also reveals what it feels like to have the fastest drivers on the planet right behind him and how he handles them complaining about his speed.
This episode is sponsored by:
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