Bernd Mayländer

Bernd Mayländer
Mayländer at the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix
NationalityGermany German
Born (1971-05-29) 29 May 1971 (age 53)
Waiblingen (Germany)
Previous series
1995–1996
1997–1998
2001–2004		DTM (ITC)
FIA GT
DTM
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1999
TeamsChampion Racing
Best finish19th
Class wins0

Bernd Mayländer (born 29 May 1971 in Waiblingen) is a German racing driver and current Formula One safety car driver.

Racing career

Bernd started his career in karting sport at the end of the 1980s. In the following years he made his way to the Formula Ford, the Porsche Carrera Cup and the original DTM. In 2000, he won the 24 Hours Nürburgring in a Porsche 911 GT3-R. When the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series was resumed in 2000, he drove for Mercedes-Benz. He raced for Mercedes in DTM from 2001 to 2004, having won one race at Hockenheimring in 2001.[1]

Safety car driver in Formula One

Mayländer leading the race leader, Felipe Massa, and other drivers at the 2006 Brazilian GP

Mayländer is the safety car driver for all Formula One races. He has driven the Formula One safety car since 2000[2] with very few exceptions, such as the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix and 2001 Canadian Grand Prix, when he was injured and was replaced by Marcel Fässler[3] and the 2002 United States Grand Prix when he was replaced by Irish racing driver Damien Faulkner.[4]

As of 2018, Mayländer had led over 700 laps in Formula One during his career.[5] Peter Tibbetts serves as his map reader.[6]

During a test prior to the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Mayländer lost control and crashed the safety car into a barrier at the Parabolica. He and passenger Richard Darker were not injured in the incident.[7][8]

Mayländer competing in the 2002 DTM season

Other

In May 2005, he was one of six Mercedes-Benz drivers taking part in a record drive. Three stock E320 CDI cars drove 100,000 miles (160,000 km) in 30 days around the clock, which resulted in an average speed of 139.7 mph (224.8 km/h).

Racing record

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/Masters results

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos. Pts
1995 Persson Motorsport Mercedes C-Class V6 HOC
1
13 		HOC
2
NC 		AVU
1
Ret 		AVU
2
18 		NOR
1
16 		NOR
2
7 		DIE
1
9 		DIE
2
10 		NÜR
1
11 		NÜR
2
11 		ALE
1
13 		ALE
2
Ret 		HOC
1
9 		HOC
1
8 		20th 12
2001 Manthey Racing AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2001 HOC
QR
9 		HOC
CR
9 		NÜR
QR
11 		NÜR
CR
20 		OSC
QR
 OSC
CR
 SAC
QR
 SAC
CR
 NOR
QR
 NOR
CR
 LAU
QR
8 		LAU
CR
13 		NÜR
QR
5 		NÜR
CR
7 		A1R
QR
9 		A1R
CR
Ret 		ZAN
QR
Ret 		ZAN
CR
DNS 		HOC
QR
2 		HOC
CR
1 		11th 28
2002 Manthey Racing AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2001 HOC
QR
 HOC
CR
 ZOL
QR
19 		ZOL
CR
16 		DON
QR
14 		DON
CR
9 		SAC
QR
19 		SAC
CR
13 		NOR
QR
11 		NOR
CR
8 		LAU
QR
17 		LAU
CR
Ret 		NÜR
QR
21† 		NÜR
CR
14 		A1R
QR
16 		A1R
CR
Ret 		ZAN
QR
17 		ZAN
CR
11 		HOC
QR
12 		HOC
CR
Ret 		19th 0
2003 Persson Motorsport AMG-Mercedes CLK 2002 HOC
11 		ADR
10 		NÜR
17 		LAU
16 		NOR
Ret 		DON
12 		NÜR
14 		A1R
15 		ZAN
16 		HOC
20† 		19th 0
2004 Team Rosberg AMG-Mercedes C-Klasse 2003 HOC
14 		EST
18 		ADR
Ret 		LAU
Ret 		NOR
13 		SHA1
DNS 		NÜR
15 		OSC
19 		ZAN
15 		BRN
16 		HOC
14 		20th 0
Sources:[9][10]

† Driver did not finish, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance. 1 - Shanghai was a non-championship round.

Complete International Touring Car Championship

Year Team Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Pos. Pts
1995 Persson Motorsport Mercedes C-Class V6 MUG
1
12 		MUG
2
10 		HEL
1
9 		HEL
2
9 		DON
1
11 		DON
2
8 		EST
1
12 		EST
2
13 		MAG
1
Ret 		MAG
2
12 		19th 8
1996 Persson Motorsport Mercedes C-Class HOC
1
Ret 		HOC
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
16 		NÜR
2
Ret 		EST
1
14 		EST
2
Ret 		HEL
1
11 		HEL
2
7 		NOR
1
16† 		NOR
2
11 		DIE
1
19 		DIE
2
14 		24th 15
Warsteiner Mercedes-AMG SIL
1
14 		SIL
2
Ret 		NÜR
1
11 		NÜR
2
9 		MAG
1
Ret 		MAG
2
DNS 		MUG
1
Ret 		MUG
2
Ret 		HOC
1
9 		HOC
2
Ret 		INT
1
16 		INT
2
7 		SUZ
1
8 		SUZ
2
Ret
Source:[10]

† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.
1999 United States Champion Racing Germany Dirk Müller
France Bob Wollek 		Porsche 911 GT3-R GT 292 19th 2nd
Sources:[9][11]

References

  1. ^ "Bernd Mayländer". Driver Database. Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  2. ^ "New safety car driver announced". gpupdate.net. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  3. ^ "Mystery Monday: Bernd Mayländer – "Driving the F1 safety car is a big responsibility, but I really enjoy it"". Retrieved 6 September 2018.
  4. ^ "Faulkner lands F1 Safety Car Drive". rte.ie. 26 September 2002. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Safety Car driver Bernd Maylander's Hot Lap interview /r/formula1". f1.com. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Bernd Maylander on life as the FIA F1 Safety Car driver". Formula1.com. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  7. ^ "F1 safety car in bizarre crash during high-speed Monza test". Autosport.com. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  8. ^ "Formula 1 Safety Car spectacularly crashes ahead of Italian Grand Prix". Drive.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
  9. ^ a b "Bernd Mayländer Results". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Bernd Mayländer race results". TouringCars.net. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  11. ^ "Bernd Mayländer". Automobile Club de l'Ouest. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bernd Mayländer.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Porsche Carrera Cup Germany champion
1994 		Succeeded by
Preceded by F1 Safety Car Driver
2000–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by F1 Safety Car Driver
2001– 		Succeeded by
Incumbent