Jani Debuts with Sauber at Vairano

New Sauber test driver Neel Jani made his Formula One debut today when he carried out a straight line test at the Vairano circuit in Italy.

The 19-year old Swiss driver, currently competing in the international Formula Renault V6 championship, got behind the wheel of the Petronas-powered C22 after having had a seat fitting at the Hinwil factory last week.

Jani spent the day familiarising himself with the C22 and its electronic systems and admitted he was delighted with the experience.

"The acceleration of this car is just marvelous", said Jani. "It has been the first time for me that I drove faster than 300 km/h and this is an experience of its own. It is definitely completely different to what I have known so far. The work with the engineers and mechanics, the set-up of the car and the test programme itself prove the expected level of this class.

"You simply cannot compare the standard of Formula One with any other series. I also feel very comfortable with the crew since the team is a particularly familiar, friendly one and has given me a warm welcome. For the near future I want to do as many test sessions as possible and then we will see what comes up."