MOTORSPORT: Another Aussie in F1

Daniel Ricciardo was joined by a second Australian driver on the grid for the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix yesterday.

The difference is that Karl Reindler was not actually racing.

Instead, the 37-year-old motorsport veteran was using his experience in everything from Formula 3 and Supercars racing, combined with risk management, to drive the FIA Medical Car.

Reindler will be doing the high-profile and high-pressure job throughout the 2022 F1 GP season and could be at the wheel of the Medical Car for as many as 10 races.

“It’s a dream for me to be involved in Formula 1. And I get paid. Even better,” Reindler told carsales.

It’s extremely unlikely that an Australian would be chosen for such a crucial role, where he drives alongside Safety Car pilot Bernd Maylander, but Reindler has exactly the right training and experience for the role.

He was identified by the FIA when the previous Medical Car driver Alan van der Merwe was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve been talking to the FIA for a couple of years now about sharing the responsibilities. Especially around the pandemic, it was important to have a back-up solution or plan,” said Reindler.

“The pandemic really messed things around. Then there was a change of the guard around F1 and I was connected with Niels Wittich, the new Race Director.

The result is that Reindler will share the role with Bruno Correia, a former Portuguese racer who is now the Safety Car driver for the Formula E championship.

The Melbourne family man, who has huge experience across all areas of racing, driver training and safety management, says the Medical Car job is not what many people would think.

“It’s more than driving fast. There are thousands of guys around the world who can get from A to B quickly, but this is different,” he says.

“It’s a commonsense job. And having an understanding of how things work in race control.

“You need to have good communications and stay cool under pressure. I’ve done a lot of risk management and attended critical incidents before in other roles.”

Reindler jumped into the Aston Martin DBX being used for the Medical Car role at Albert Park without even doing a track test.

He was more focussed on the equipment in the car – from different types of fire extinguishers to extraction equipment and the two doctors who ride with him – than anything about the speedy SUV.

But he admits he enjoys the driving.

“We had the high-speed track test at Albert Park on the Wednesday of race week but that’s the same at every race. Trying to keep up with Bernd is not easy. He’s one of the best road car drivers on the planet,” he says.

“I had competed before at the AGP in Supercars, Carrera Cup and Formula 3. And done the speed comparison in an Alfa Romeo Stelvio.

“But, in some respects, this was a test weekend. I believe I’ve done a good job. I was deployed a couple of times over the weekend.”

Reindler knows if he is stopping at a crash, his first job is safety for everyone – from the drivers to the doctor – and that means understanding F1.

“When Bernd goes out in the Safety Car, no-one is allowed to pass him. There will be times when I’m deployed on a live track with the cars passing me. So safety comes first.”

He also knows that the driver of the Medical Car can be right in the thick of things, as van der Merwe was when Romain Grosjean was involved in a life-threatening crash and fire.

“I’ve said, jokingly, that I’m the second [Aussie] driver on the F1 grid with Daniel Ricciardo. But for me there is something very meaningful about this role.

“This is the sport I’ve grown up with, the sport I love. And I can make a positive impact.”

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