Expectations must be realistic for Simona De Silvestro in 2017

Simona De Silvestro will become the first female driver to contest the Supercars Championship in any form since 1998 during the 2017 season, but the expectations for Nissan’s new signature must maintain realistic.

It’s impossible to think De Silvestro will be a world beater in her first full season. It will be a learning curve for the Swiss veteran, although her previous experiences at Bathurst – where she has raced alongside Renee Gracie – will help plenty.

There is a mountain of factors to take into account when talking about exactly what De Silvestro is going to be able to do in the championship this year, but for many it will be the first they have heard of her, so it’s worth having a look at her trail-blazing career to date.

Her first major accomplishment came during the 2009 Atlantic Championship when a third-place finish awaited her at the end of the championship. That effort got her a contract for the 2010 Indycar series where she bounced around a few different teams trying to make a name for herself, finishing 13th in 2013 as her best result.

Unfortunately, the enormous promise she has shown on the track hasn’t come out in the results yet, with a stint for Andretti Motorsport from 2014 to 2016 in the Formula E championship bringing little success.

It’s around here where her experience in Supercars began, with a run at the 2015 Bathurst 1000 running a car out of the Prodrive garage that never made it to the finish line, before jumping ship to Nissan in 2016, finishing the race in a high-intensity encounter.

Despite a low finish, the experience will be invaluable for her as she aims up in the same vehicle for 2017.

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The Supercars championship is on a much different basis to anything she has driven before, so it’s not hard to see why she will struggle for pace early, but don’t be surprised if her experience level starts working its way up the leaderboard later in the season.

Unfortunately, there are a number of factors working against Silvestro for the championship, and one of them is the Nissan seat.

While it’s fantastic that the Kellys and Nissan have expanded their team to four cars for the Swiss Miss to have a drive, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given their results.

There is nothing wrong with the Kellys – both have proven over the years they are great drivers and have driven at the top of their category in big name teams. It’s just that the Nissan idea hasn’t worked out for them.

They have genuinley struggled for pace and it’s hard off the top of the head to think of more than a couple of solid finishes and results, especially in big races or when the pressure is on.

That’s not to say the Nissan’s won’t improve in the 2017 season, but it hasn’t worked for them so far across a four-year window, where they have picked up just four race victories.

Simply put, that isn’t good enough and doesn’t exactly scream confidence that a new driver can walk in and start pulling off results.

While there is no doubting the talent and experience of de Silvestro, her personal driving record to date doesn’t bode well for a run in touring cars either.

Much of her driving has been in open wheel cars, with races in the Indycar and Formula E forming a lot of her experience. The Supercar is a completely different beast and two races at Bathurst – one of which wasn’t finished isn’t going to prepare anyone for a full season.

Another factor that really has to be taken into account is the dominance of Triple Eight. It’s hard to see that being stopped by anyone this season, but everyone has been working to catch them with Prodrive, still racing for Ford, leading the charge.

While all that’s been going on, Nissan are still trying to get to a level where they would be on par with teams last season – not trying to make a jump to the next level. Being the fourth car in the garage and going out on track each week with drivers like Shane Van Gisbergen, who will stop at nothing to win, is going to be a whole different level of challenge.

Many overseas drivers have tried in the V8 Supercars, whether for a full season or a weekend at Bathurst, and come away second best, and there is serious concern that De Silvestro will be added to that list.

I would love to be shocked by a driver who clearly has so much talent, but it’s difficult to see De Silvestro getting inside the top ten too often against a high-class field in one of the most intense touring car championships in the world.

I’m certainly not saying scrap all the hype – having a female driver in the category is something to celebrate – it’s just that we need to maintain a realistic level of expectations for De Silvestro and her Nissan.

Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde