Simona De Silvestro applied: the fastest Swiss woman will become a Formula 1 expert at SRF

class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 iQNQmc”>

Simona De Silvestro (35) is increasingly developing into an all-rounder in Swiss sport. The racing driver from Küsnacht ZH has already driven all kinds of racing cars in her career and also wants to participate as a bobsled driver for Italy in the 2026 Olympic Games. Now she has another job for 2024: De Silvestro is now also working on television.

“I am very happy that I can take on this challenge,” De Silvestro told Blick. Ten years after her test appearances for the Sauber team, she is now switching sides and talking about the premier class through the TV microphone.

Second SRF expert next to Marc Surer

The Zurich resident with roots in Western Switzerland is the first woman to be used in Formula 1 at SRF. She now forms the expert duo with ex-F1 driver Marc Surer (72), who alternates with commentators Michael Weinmann (41), Nico Müller (31) and Oliver Sittler (47).

De Silvestro will make her debut during the second race of the season, on the weekend of 8/9. March during the Saudi Arabia GP. It is a recording from the studio in Zurich. Will she just talk straight away? “I still have some homework to do,” says De Silvestro, “I will also talk to people in the paddock on the phone before I go out, so that I can keep up with the latest gossip.” Her self-imposed homework also includes studying the regulations. “I printed it out,” she says, smiling.

TV role as a pillar after your career

De Silvestro, who has already driven the 380 km/h madness of the infamous Indy 500 in the US six times, becoming the fastest Swiss woman in a racing car, presented herself to SRF. “At my age you worry about what might happen in the future.

Because motorsport is still my great passion, I tried to get in touch with SRF last year,” she says. So De Silvestro goes through the eligibility process in Leutschenbach – and is accepted. «I am very proud that I can now perform this task and share my insider knowledge with the viewers. I hope I can stay with it for the long term.”

De Silvestro does not want to see her new television job as a farewell to her active career. In addition to her bobsleigh project, it also continues on asphalt, at least as in recent years with individual performances in the US and Australia. Her racing calendar is not yet ready – therefore it is not yet clear when she will be behind the microphone again after her SRF debut.

Source : Blick