A driver circuit has two bipolar transistors (T1, T2) and two field effect transistors (F1, F2) for optional switching of one of the bipolar transistors (T1, T2). To reduce the surface area of the driver circuit while retaining controllability up to the operating voltage limits, there are three field effect transistors (F3, F4, F5) for switching off the bipolar transistors optionally. Of the three field effect transistors, two (F3, F5) are connected to the base of the first bipolar transistor (T1) and one (F4) is connected to the base of the second polar transistor (T2).