Former Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Sébastien Buemi returned to his homeland of Switzerland to take the championship winning Red Bull Racing RB8 for a spin around the countries ancient and longest street monument, the Tremolastrasse.
The Tremola is a serpentine-esque road, with thirty-seven individually named bends, made up of granite cobblestones that were originally laid in 1827, and is a breath-taking but treacherous route, that connects the town of Airolo to the infamous Gotthard’s Pass.
The melting snow from the mountain caps of the Alp’s above, make this a dangerous journey for any traveler, but one that Buemi was all too willing to take on.
Due to the hazardous conditions, the team only had a narrow window in which to compete the run around the 12.7 km route to a summit 2,106m, but the 2015/2016 FIA Formula E Season champion got down to the task like a kid in a candy shop.
It was a special moment for Buemi, with racing in Switzerland having been prohibited for many years, following one of the worst accidents in the history of Le Mans, when eighty-three spectators were killed back in 1955.
The restrictions on circuit racing were lifted in 2015 for fully electric vehicles however, and in 2018, racing is set to return to the country, when it hosts a round of the Formula E championship in Zürich.
Buemi was thrilled to get behind the wheel for the promotional event.
“Racing in Switzerland has been forbidden for many years so to have the opportunity to drive a F1 car in Switzerland, and on the most beautiful roads, was amazing.
“I’ll remember this for a very long time.”
