De Silvestro, on the other hand, wants her gender as far away from the
discussion as possible. She is a racer, and wants to be judged solely in
those terms, away from the glare of publicity.
“Magazine shoots or fashion is not my style,” De Silvestro explains. “F1 is so
selective and so picky. To me, what we’re trying to do is to be competitive
and to show that even if you’re a woman in F1 – which is a man’s world –
that you can be really competitive.
“I think that’s how I’ve got the respect so far. At the end of the day you
have to wear the helmet and that’s what counts. I don’t think I’m getting
this shot just because I’m a girl. That’s never been how I’ve wanted to be
portrayed. I’m just a driver first.”
And so far, she is earning the respect of her Sauber team – her most likely
destination for next year. It would be the first time in more than two
decades that a woman has taken a place on the starting grid. After a
punishing 190 laps around Fiorano, Ferrari’s test track, the team were left
with few doubts as to her talent.
One team member said: “If we told her to do this at turn seven or this at turn
three, she would do it, straight away. She did not put a foot wrong. It was
hugely impressive.” A richly-deserved spontaneous round of applause followed
the performance.
“It was great – it has never happened to me before,” she says. “The test went
really well because we worked as a team, and it was a real test. It was
overwhelming. To get a round of applause after my first test in an F1 car is
really special.”
Ever since Giovanna Amati failed to qualify for three races in 1992, F1 has
been an all-male affair. Grandees including Sir Stirling Moss have even said
it not possible for a woman. It is not surprising therefore that De
Silvestro, who will drive in a three-day test in Valencia next month,
believes a lot is riding on her and Wolff’s performance.
“It’s a risk coming here,” she says. “If you’re not competitive, it can
destroy girls who want to go into F1, because it’s going to take another 25
years, or who knows.
“If you want to make it happen it is about the lap time, if you’re a guy or a
girl. That’s what everybody is going to judge you on. That’s what I’ve
always aimed for. I’ve always wanted to be really competitive, and that’s
why people are supporting me.
“You do [sacrifice a lot], you have to. As an athlete nowadays it’s all or
nothing. Especially in racing, you get one chance at it. It’s what I love
doing.”
De Silvestro and her sponsors are funding her entire programme this year with
Sauber, so you can understand why she is eager to get in the car and make an
impression.
“I was debating really hard whether or not just to sit in one of the cars and
see what the other drivers said,” she jokes.
From the Swiss town of Thun, De Silvestro is pleased to be back home with a
Swiss team after years away in America, to the place where her father first
inspired her love of motor racing.
“My dad has a car dealership in Switzerland, and he said that when I was a
baby I was only quiet when racing on the TV,” she recalls. “I think I had
the racing bug very early. He got me a go-kart when I was six, and that’s
how it all started.
“When I was growing up in karting I never really felt anything different. If
you are a woman and you are competitive, then they [men] consider you just
like another driver. If you’re always last, there’s always going to be the
stereotypical thing that people say.”
So far in her career, De Silvestro has rarely been hanging on to the back of
the grid. She hopes that a chance in free practice towards the end of the
year, like Wolff, will give her the opportunity to prove she has the lap
time.
Although Sauber have drivers almost coming out of their ears, De Silvestro
maintains she will be gutted if she becomes the next nearly woman of F1.
“I think it would be a big disappointment. Right now, the road is pretty long.
Everybody wants to get into F1. If we’re competitive, and if we get the job
done, there are possibilities out there for sure to make it happen.”
This determined Swiss will not want a free pass.