‘Swiss Miss’ Simona de Silvestro ran 68 untroubled laps around Ferrari’s Fiorano track in a two-year-old Sauber C31 on Sunday to conclude her first test in a Formula 1 car. In total she ran 180 laps in two days without even a hint of an issue.
“We continued today where we left off yesterday with the acclimatisation programme for Simona,” said Sauber Test Engineer Paul Russell. “Over night she had the time to reflect on a lot of things and was able to adapt her driving accordingly.
“She learned the track well yesterday, so we had the opportunity to get some set-up work done today. Simona drove very well, had a good pace and was consistent. Overall these were two very positive days.”
Former IndyCar driver de Silvestro admitted she enjoyed herself behind the wheel of the C31, and cannot wait for her next opportunity that will come at the end of June (25th to 27th) at the Valencia circuit in Spain.
“It was another good day,” admitted de Silvestro at the end of her test. “Everything feels more familiar to me compared to yesterday, when things were new to me. We made some changes to the set-up, which gave me the opportunity to get a feeling for those changes and learn how the car reacts to them.
“I can say that I already feel confident in the car, which is very positive. I’m quite happy with what I was able to achieve over the two days. A big thank you to the team who did a fabulous job explaining everything to me, and giving me the time to reflect on this. I had a lot of questions, and I got all the answers from the engineers, who took the time to show me the data and discuss it with me in all detail.
“I’m already looking forward to my next opportunity to test the C31.”
