You have one of the most exciting jobs in the world! And also one of the most exciting professional careers.

Yes, if you look at my history and what was planned when I started my first job when I entered the motorsport world, I never expected to be here now. I didn’t even expect to become a professional race driver for some German brands. I definitely didn’t expect that.

Your experience is really varied, you’ve been in GT Cup, DTM, and a lot of other events…

I’ve raced with Porsche, Mercedes, and BMW in different categories. And now I have 25 years of experience, working with the FIA as a safety car driver with various models from one company, Mercedes AMG, as they’ve been the suppliers since 1996. Then, in 2020, the idea came up to have two car suppliers, so FIA partnered with Aston Martin. I think Toto and Lawrence Stroll got together and said, "how do we manage this?" It’s good for both of us to showcase our beautiful cars. And for me, that was also something new.

You’ve had the chance to drive two Astons on the track, the DBX707 and Vantage.

Yes, I have driven the DBX707, though that’s usually the medical car. It’s my colleague’s job to drive that car. But I have driven one to understand how the car handles. And also the old Vantage, and now the new Vantage. And it’s really amazing. I can certainly say I’m a fan of Aston Martin.

That makes two of us now.

Yes! For me this is important as it’s related to my job - we have two Formula 1 teams making fantastic safety cars. They can guarantee the quality we need. Besides that, when you have these two brands, they look great and perform well. It’s like a complete teamwork. In the end, I have to work with two different companies for the same reason, which is safety. And that’s done perfectly by both companies. Sometimes I say I feel like James Bond in an Aston Martin, but it’s a great feeling.

When you’re on track and an accident happens, and you’re the first car in, with everyone following you. Who’s the most annoying driver who keeps pressuring you to go faster?

Well, there isn’t really any annoying driver. They’re all very professional. They’re Formula 1 drivers, so they know exactly what they need to do. Sometimes, some drivers get close to my safety car. And sometimes others stay a bit further back. They know they can’t leave too much space. If they do, they could get penalized or might be penalized. So, they know exactly what they need to do.

But who pressures you to go faster and how do you control yourself?

In the end, it depends on the situation and what happens on track. Definitely, as a former race driver, you always want to go as fast as possible, even if you're in the safety car. Definitely, in the safety car, you're slower than a Formula 1 car. You’re fast, but slower. The best moments are when I can go as fast as I want, so everything is clear on track, and almost everything is fixed, so I can control the speed. But at first, I’m directed by the race controller. They tell me the speed I can go, what’s happening on track, and where, and if there’s debris on the track, for example.

And you save laps too, so they can race more.

Exactly. In the end, we have to make it as safe as possible according to the situation. Even in wet conditions, definitely the speed depends on me. I can’t go faster than my car can handle, but the cars are really fast in the end. For a Formula 1 car, if I go at maximum speed, I’m still slow enough to keep everything under control for the drivers. So, they’re completely safe. But that’s communication. That’s teamwork.

People watching Formula 1 races think your job is the easiest job. But I don’t think it is. So what can you say to people to show that driving the safety car isn’t the easiest thing to do in a race?

Well, first of all, let’s say I don’t work 90-95%.

And you hope you don’t have anything to do during the race except for the first lap?

Yes, definitely. It’s better if I don’t have anything to do, because that means nothing dangerous has happened, no crashes, no problems on track. That’s always a good thing. But when I have to work, yes, I have to be very focused. There’s pressure on me. I must not make any mistakes, not report anything wrong, and everything must be under control. And you have to know you’ll never win the race. You have a different kind of job. And that’s what you have to focus on. Your job is to stay on the safe side. That’s what I’ve been doing for 25 years. And the motivation is still there after all these years. As I said, there’s no real competition, but you always want to improve things step by step. How can we handle these situations better in the future? There’s always something that can be improved. And that’s what we work on every day. It’s a good drive for me. We try many things that could happen during the race. It may seem like things always go the same way: the safety car enters the track, there’s an issue at the third or fourth or fifth corner. But as you know, in Formula 1 and also in other races, a lot of different things can happen. And each time, there are slightly different procedures that need to be adapted here and there. And that’s what makes this job really special.

 I love it. Every race is a new experience. Exactly. When the lights go out, anything can happen. When the lights go out. I didn’t expect the safety car to be deployed three times in Qatar, by the way. No, I certainly didn’t expect that. I thought it would be a quiet race, maybe an issue at the first corner in the first lap. But then it turned out completely differently.

What’s the hardest situation you’ve faced in these 25 years of driving the safety car?

Yes, there are definitely tough situations. There are some races where I’ve done a lot of laps. I remember the 2007 and 2011 races. 2007 was in Fuji. 2011 was in Montreal. I always say that was in the old Formula 1 era, when we tried not to raise the red flag. We always tried to keep the race going. In 2007, I did 34 laps at Fuji.

34 laps?!

Yes, 34 laps for the full race distance. So, I ended up driving more laps in the race than the winner in the end, which is always a joke. But it’s true. Back then, the situation was different. Now, in modern Formula 1, if it becomes too dangerous or unpredictable, like heavy rain, we stop the race and wait. Now we have different radars, which help us make better and safer decisions. But we still need to take it one step further. Now, the cars we drive as safety cars are sports cars used on the road, but they’re strong enough for track use.

What do you think of the new Aston Martin Vantage?

I love it. I think everyone should love Aston Martin. The design is amazing, and its philosophy suits exactly what I prefer. It’s a comfortable sports car with a powerful engine. Driving it is easier, which makes it safer and more controllable. It’s a significant improvement over the previous model.

Do you do any special mental or physical training before entering the race?

Yes. I try not to miss the flight to be on time! Well, this will be my 478th Grand Prix. My preparation starts with the beginning of the season in January because I do tests with both manufacturers in January and February. Then we have tests in Bahrain. I just spoke with some people who are already preparing the cars for next season. So, preparation, from a technical or car standpoint, never stops. It’s a continuous process throughout the season. As for my personal preparation, especially for driving, it requires coordination with the FIA and my travel plans, because I spend around 150 days traveling around the world with Formula 1. We also support the teams to test new systems in the cars and ensure we are all on the same level, even with different manufacturers.