De Silvestro: I wouldn’t have moved for a one-year deal

The Swiss driver made a solid start to her full-time Supercars career on Adelaide last weekend, ending Saturday’s qualifying session just 1.3s wide of pole, and finishing the 250-kilometre race on the lead lap in 20th.

On Sunday she was 1.9s off pole in qualifying, and finished the race a lap down only after being turned around by James Courtney while trying to get into pitlane.

While it was mostly an impressive debut – particularly given her lack of tin-top experience – de Silvestro still isn’t underestimating the task she faces to get truly up to speed in a Supercar. In fact, she says she wouldn’t have even contemplated joining the series full-time if it hadn’t been for her three-year deal.

“I wouldn’t have moved to Australia for a one-year deal, because it’s just too hard,” she told Motorsport.com.

“I know from when I went to IndyCar, I had some pretty good results in the first year but realistically it took until the third year to have every really good, and to be able to run at the front.

“That’s something I learnt in the past. So to come here to Supercars, where I have no clue how to drive the cars, it definitely had to be a longer-term deal.

“It gives me the chance to get where I want to be in the category. If it had of been a one-year deal, it would have been a much more difficult decision.”

Despite being able to lap within 1.1s of the fastest race time on both Saturday and Sunday, de Silvestro admits that the tight margins in Supercars add to the challenge of closing the gap to the frontrunners. The fractions of time she does miss from a lack of experience, she says, prove costly when cars are separated by so little.

“They do cost a lot. If I look at the data, I’m only missing a little bit at every corner,” she added.

“I get a little bit frustrated with myself, because I want to be there straight away. It’s so tight. You have to put everything together to be at the front.”

New country, new life

The challenges that de Silvestro face in 2017 aren’t restricted to the race track. She is also in the process of building a whole new life in Australia, having made the permanent move from Switzerland for at least the duration of her current deal.

“I’ve found an apartment in Melbourne that’s kind of close to the team, so I’ve got that. I’m trying to settle in, trying to find my way around, trying to meet people… there’s a lot of things missing that you’re used to back home, because you have your family around and all of that,” she said.

“It’s a little bit different, but it’s okay. I’m used to it from when I moved to America.

“Then there is getting to know the team, that’s a whole new environment. And the race weekends are quite different as well. So everything is new.

“I have a lot of experience, but I have to say the Clipsal weekend was completely different to anything else that I’ve done.”