Simone de Silvestro’s debut F1 test for Sauber was funded by a wealthy industrialist.<\/p>\n
At the weekend, the Swiss team headed to engine supplier Ferrari’s private test circuit, Fiorano, to give the “affiliated driver” her first F1 experience.<\/p>\n
Over the two days and an impressive 180 laps, the 25-year-old was at the wheel of a 2012-spec Sauber C31, but it was not wearing the Hinwil based team’s usual dark grey livery.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was Sauber’s very first outing at Fiorano since 2005 with Jacques Villeneuve.<\/p>\n
The man paying for de Silvestro’s F1 programme is Imran Safiulla, according to the Swiss newspaper Blick.<\/p>\n
It emerges that de Silvestro will actually do no fewer than 10 test days this year, with the next outing to take place at Valencia, Spain.<\/p>\n
“It’s not the cheapest thing in the world,” said Safiulla, “but we can build something for the future.”<\/p>\n
Safiulla is a wealthy industrialist who has supported de Silvestro’s racing efforts since 2006, including buying into the Indycar team KV.<\/p>\n
At Fiorano, Sauber’s 2012 car was painted in a special white, blue and green livery, with ‘Clean Air Energy’ and ‘Hybrid’ decals, although the car was V8-powered and not equipped with KERS.<\/p>\n
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