Sauber's new affiliated driver Simona de Silvestro says her goal has always been to race in Formula 1.
The 25-year-old has competed in the IndyCar series for the last four years, scoring one podium and 13 top 10 finishes.
She has joined Sauber's driver development programme for the 2014 season and will complete track testing and simulator work, as well as mental and physical preparation.
The aim is for de Silvestro to gain her F1 superlicense and prepare for a potential race seat in 2015. She started racing in Europe before moving across the pond and competing in the Formula BMW USA championship.
From there, she rapidly progressed through the Atlantic Championship before landing a drive in IndyCar with HVM Racing. However, Formula 1 has always been her goal.
"My ultimate goal has always been Formula 1 since I was a little girl and the opportunity that came up, something like that doesn’t come along twice in your life," she said in an exclusive Q&A with RichlandF1.
"Joining Sauber is a huge opportunity, especially since F1 has always been my goal. If you put yourself in my shoes this is something that you can’t let pass by, you have to take it and commit to it fully to make it happen.
After progressing well during her time racing in America, she believes the best is yet to come. "Last year was a pretty good season, but I think I could have been a little bit better. For sure having that podium in Houston was a big relief for me.
"I think last year I really matured a lot and everything is coming together even on the F1 side. I really feel ready and think that things are coming into place so that I can be even more successful. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m ready to take on that work in order to be at my best every time I’m in the car."
In 2014, Susie Wolff will become the first female driver to compete in an official Grand Prix session. The Scot has been given two free practice runs with Williams as part of her development driver role at the team.
Wolff and de Silvestro are the only female drivers in the sport at the moment. "It’s kind of hard to say what the major barrier to Formula 1 is, but in my opinion in order to get to Formula 1 you have to be really competitive in other series," she said when asked what the barriers are between women racing in F1.
"You don’t get to F1 just because. So far I’ve been able to achieve results in other categories, so I think that’s why I’m being taken serious for this next step to come into Formula One. I think the main thing is to be competitive and really fast in a race car."
Looking ahead to the 2014 season, she concluded: "I’m really comfortable with Sauber and I’m looking forward to the work that we’re going to accomplish together."
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| © Sauber F1 Team |
She has joined Sauber's driver development programme for the 2014 season and will complete track testing and simulator work, as well as mental and physical preparation.
The aim is for de Silvestro to gain her F1 superlicense and prepare for a potential race seat in 2015. She started racing in Europe before moving across the pond and competing in the Formula BMW USA championship.
From there, she rapidly progressed through the Atlantic Championship before landing a drive in IndyCar with HVM Racing. However, Formula 1 has always been her goal.
"My ultimate goal has always been Formula 1 since I was a little girl and the opportunity that came up, something like that doesn’t come along twice in your life," she said in an exclusive Q&A with RichlandF1.
"Joining Sauber is a huge opportunity, especially since F1 has always been my goal. If you put yourself in my shoes this is something that you can’t let pass by, you have to take it and commit to it fully to make it happen.
After progressing well during her time racing in America, she believes the best is yet to come. "Last year was a pretty good season, but I think I could have been a little bit better. For sure having that podium in Houston was a big relief for me.
"I think last year I really matured a lot and everything is coming together even on the F1 side. I really feel ready and think that things are coming into place so that I can be even more successful. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m ready to take on that work in order to be at my best every time I’m in the car."
In 2014, Susie Wolff will become the first female driver to compete in an official Grand Prix session. The Scot has been given two free practice runs with Williams as part of her development driver role at the team.
Wolff and de Silvestro are the only female drivers in the sport at the moment. "It’s kind of hard to say what the major barrier to Formula 1 is, but in my opinion in order to get to Formula 1 you have to be really competitive in other series," she said when asked what the barriers are between women racing in F1.
"You don’t get to F1 just because. So far I’ve been able to achieve results in other categories, so I think that’s why I’m being taken serious for this next step to come into Formula One. I think the main thing is to be competitive and really fast in a race car."
Looking ahead to the 2014 season, she concluded: "I’m really comfortable with Sauber and I’m looking forward to the work that we’re going to accomplish together."
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