Simona de Silvestro

Simona de Silvestro
Simona de Silvestro
Born	September 1, 1988 (age 38); Switzerland
Occupation	Professional racing driver
Known for	IndyCar Series, Formula E, Porsche factory driver

Simona de Silvestro (born 1 September 1988) is a Swiss-Italian professional racing driver currently serving as a factory driver for Porsche. She previously competed in the 2015/16 FIA Formula E Championship with Amlin Andretti and has an extensive background in the IndyCar Series. Nicknamed both the "Iron Maiden" and the "Swiss Miss," de Silvestro has made a significant impact on the global motorsport scene.

Junior formulae

In 2008, de Silvestro raced in the Atlantic Championship with Newman Wachs Racing's Nuclear Clean Air Energy-Entergy team, then moved to Team Stargate Worlds (US RaceTronics) for the 2009 season. She secured victory at the 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach, marking her as only the second female winner in that series after Katherine Legge and delivering Newman Wachs Racing’s inaugural win. Throughout 2009, she claimed four wins and led the championship standings for most of the year but ultimately finished third after retiring early in the final round at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

De Silvestro participated in testing sessions with HVM Racing and Team Stargate Worlds during an IndyCar Series test held at Sebring International Raceway in December 2009.

IndyCar

De Silvestro competed full-time in the 2010 IndyCar Series driving for HVM Racing. At the Indianapolis 500 that year, she qualified 22nd and finished 14th, earning Rookie of the Year honors. During the Firestone 550 race, she suffered a severe crash that resulted in burns to her right hand, leading her team to publicly criticize IndyCar safety protocols. Over the season, she started 17 races, completed ten, and achieved two top-10 finishes, with her best result being eighth place at Mid-Ohio. She concluded the season ranked 19th overall and was runner-up to Alex Lloyd in the rookie standings.

The following year, 2011, began promisingly with fourth and ninth-place finishes but was marred by accidents and injuries. A practice crash before the Indianapolis 500 caused second-degree burns on her right hand. Although she qualified 24th and took part in the race, she withdrew from subsequent events due to dizziness stemming from earlier injuries. Additionally, she missed round 13 at Sonoma after being denied entry into the United States, finishing 20th in the championship.

In 2012, de Silvestro returned to HVM Racing behind the wheel of the No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy Dallara-Lotus. The Lotus engine’s lack of power compared to Chevrolet and Honda units hampered competitiveness; by May, all other teams had abandoned Lotus except for hers. Frequently black flagged for not meeting minimum speed requirements—including during the Indianapolis 500—she qualified for all 15 races that season, started 14, and finished six. Her best results were two 14th-place finishes at Detroit and Iowa, ending up 24th overall.

On 30 October 2012, de Silvestro signed with KV Racing Technology for the 2013 season to pilot the No. 78 Dallara-Chevrolet sponsored by Nuclear Clean Air Energy alongside veteran driver Tony Kanaan. She achieved her first IndyCar podium with a second-place finish at the Grand Prix of Houston on 5 October, joining Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher as female drivers who have stood on an IndyCar podium.

On 2 April 2015, de Silvestro announced her move to Andretti Autosport’s No. 29 Honda for the 2015 IndyCar Series season with a focus on competing in the Indianapolis 500. During that year’s second race—the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana—she secured a fourth-place finish.

On 19 January 2021, Paretta Autosport revealed their entry into IndyCar at the upcoming Indianapolis 500 with de Silvestro driving their No.16 Rocket Pro Chevrolet.

Formula One

In February 2014, the Formula One squad Sauber revealed that de Silvestro would join as an "affiliated driver" for a year-long development initiative targeting participation in the 2015 campaign. She commenced testing activities with Sauber in April 2014 at the Fiorano Circuit, completing 112 laps using the 2012 Sauber vehicle. Nevertheless, by October 2014, Sauber's team principal Monisha Kaltenborn announced that de Silvestro's driving opportunities were put on hold due to contractual complications.

Formula E

On 15 June 2015, de Silvestro was signed by Andretti's Formula E outfit for the two-race finale at the London event and was subsequently confirmed as a full-season driver for the 2015-16 season, partnering reigning champion Robin Frijns. In 2016, she made history as the first female driver to earn points in Formula E by finishing ninth at the 2016 Long Beach ePrix, concluding the season 18th overall with a total of 4 points.

De Silvestro returned to compete with Venturi Racing during the December 2018 test at the Ad Diriyah circuit, securing tenth place overall and ranking fastest among female participants. Between 2019 and 2023, she held the role of reserve driver for the Porsche outfit. In 2024, she took part in the all-female pre-season test at Circuito del Jarama, representing her new team, Kiro Race Co.

V8 Supercars

On 19 August 2015, de Silvestro teamed up with Renee Gracie under Prodrive Racing Australia for the prestigious Bathurst 1000 in the V8 Supercars. Following a collision at Forrest's Elbow on lap 15, their vehicle required significant repairs and ultimately finished in 21st place, trailing by 40 laps.

On 5 September 2016, she inked a three-year deal with Nissan Motorsport to compete full-time in the Australian Supercars Championship, beginning in 2017. At Bathurst alongside Gracie with Nissan, their duo completed the race in 14th position, two laps behind the leaders. De Silvestro is slated to participate as a wildcard entrant for Dick Johnson Racing in the 2023 Repco Bathurst 1000.

GT3

In 2020, de Silvestro made her return to European racing as a factory driver for Porsche, competing in the 2020 ADAC GT Masters series with Team75 managed by Timo Bernhard alongside Klaus Bachler. They finished the season ranked 23rd with a total of 41 points. The following year, they switched to Herberth Motorsport for participation in the 2021 ADAC GT Masters.

Bobsleigh

At the start of 2022, de Silvestro embarked on training in monobob with ambitions to represent Switzerland at the upcoming 2026 Winter Olympics. In her first competitive outing at the 2022 Swiss championships, she achieved fifth place.

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2005	Formula Renault 2.0 Italy	Cram Competition	17	0	0	0	0	16	20th
2006	Formula BMW USA	EuroInternational	14	1	0	2	5	113	4th
2007	Champ Car Atlantic	Walker Racing	12	0	0	0	0	69	19th
2008	Atlantic Championship	Newman Wachs Racing	11	1	0	0	1	167	8th
2009	Atlantic Championship	Team Stargate Worlds	12	4	4	1	9	176	3rd
2010	IndyCar Series	HVM Racing	17	0	0	0	0	242	19th
2011–2012	(IndyCar Series)	(HVM Racing)	(29)	(0)	(0)	(1)	(0)	(407)	(20th/24th)
2013	(IndyCar Series)	(KV Racing Technology)	(19)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(1)	(362)	(13th)
2014	(Formula One)	(Sauber F1 Team) colspan="7"\| Affiliated driver
2014–15	(Formula E)	(Andretti Autosport)	(2)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(27th)
2015 (Dual series)	(IndyCar Series / International V8 Supercars Championship)	(Andretti Autosport / Prodrive Racing Australia)	(3 /1)	(0 /0)	(0 /0)	(0 /0)	(0 /0)	(66 /84)	(30th /54th)
2015–16	(Formula E)	(Amlin Andretti)	(10)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(4)	(18th)
2016–18 (Supercars Championship)	(International V8 Supercars / Supercars Championship)	(Nissan Motorsport (Australia))	(58)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(0)	(2370)	(50th/24th/23rd)
2018–23 (Formula E and Supercars roles)	(Formula E: Venturi, Porsche; Supercars: Kelly Racing, Dick Johnson Racing)	(Various engagements mainly as reserve/test driver in Formula E; active competitor in Supercars without wins or podiums)	(44+ starts across disciplines)	(No wins/poles/fastest laps/podiums recorded in Formula E; limited success in Supercars as well)	(Points accrued but no leading positions; generally mid-to-lower tier rankings)	(Reserve and test driver duties underline focus on growth and strategic involvement within electric racing sectors)

^† As de Silvestro participated as a guest driver, she was not eligible to earn championship points.

American open-wheel racing results

(key) (Races highlighted in bold denote pole positions; races in italics signify fastest laps)

Atlantic Championship/Champ Car Atlantic

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Rank	Points
2007	Walker Racing	LVG	LBH	HOU	POR1	POR2	CLE	MTT	TOR	EDM1	EDM2	SJO	ROA	19th	69
2008	Newman Wachs Racing	LBH	LS	MTT	EDM1	EDM2	ROA1	ROA2	TRR	NJ	UTA	ATL		8th	167
2009	Team Stargate Worlds	SEB	'UTA'	"NJ1"	'NJ2'	'LIM '1'	'ACC1' '3'	'ACC2' '2'	'MOH' '2'	'TRR' '1'	'MOS' '10'	'ATL' '2'	'LS' '10'	3rd	176

Years	Teams	Races	Poles	Wins	Podiums*	Top 10s**	Championships
3	3	35	4	5	5	10	0

* Podiums (excluding wins) refer to second and third place finishes

** Top 10s (excluding podiums) represent placements from fourth to tenth

IndyCar Series

IndyCar Series performance records
Year	Team	Chassis	No.	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Rank	Points
2010	HVM Racing	Dallara	78	Honda	SAO 16	STP 16	ALA 21	LBH 17	KAN 21	INDY 14	TXS 24	IOW 21	WGL 24	TOR 9	EDM 22	MOH 8	SNM 13 ... (Further race results omitted for brevity)		19th	242

¹ The IZOD IndyCar World Championships#Las Vegas Indy 300 was canceled following a fatal accident involving Dan Wheldon on lap eleven.

Years competed	Teams represented	Total races entered	Pole positions secured	Victories achieved	Top-five finishes	Top-ten finishes	Indianapolis 500 victories	Championships won

Indianapolis 500

Year	Chassis	Engine	Starting position	Finishing position	Team affiliation

Complete Formula E results

(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (bold indicates pole position; italics denote fastest lap)

Complete Supercars Championship results

Complete Bathurst 1000 results

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#key) (bold denotes pole position; italics indicate fastest lap)

External links