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

Bernd Mayländer
Mayländer at the 2008 Japanese Grand Prix
NationalityGermany German
Born (1971-05-29) 29 May 1971 (age 53)
Waiblingen (Germany)
Previous series
19951996
19971998
20012004
DTM (ITC)
FIA GT
DTM
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years1999
TeamsChampion Racing
Best finish19th
Class wins0

Racing career

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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

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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]

Before the start of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Mayländer drove the safety car off at turn 11. He and passenger Richard Darker were not injured in the incident.[7][8]

 
Mayländer competing in the 2002 DTM season

Other

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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

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Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/Masters results

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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

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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

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

References

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  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.
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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