Simona de Silvestro
Simona de Silvestro (born 1 September 1988) is a Swiss race car driver, she is currently employed by Porsche as a factory driver. She has previously driven for Amlin Andretti in the 2015/16 season of the FIA Formula E Championship as well as several years competing in the IndyCar Series. Her nicknames are the "Iron Maiden" and "Swiss Miss."[1]
| Simona de Silvestro | |
|---|---|
 Simona de Silvestro in May 2010 | |
| Nationality |  |
| Born | 1 September 1988 (age 31) Thun, Switzerland |
| Supercars Record | |
| Series championships | 0 |
| Races | 89 |
| Race wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| 2019 Championship position | 19th (1564 pts) |
Racing career
She raced for Newman Wachs Racing's Nuclear Clean Air Energy-Entergy team in the Atlantic Championship in 2008 and for Team Stargate Worlds in 2009. She won the Atlantic race at the 2008 Grand Prix of Long Beach,[2] making her the second woman to win in that series – after Katherine Legge – and providing NWR with its first win. She won four times during the 2009 season and led in points for most of the season, but ultimately finished third in the standings after retiring on the first lap during the season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.
De Silvestro participated in an IndyCar Series test over 8–9 December 2009 at Sebring International Raceway, a joint effort between HVM Racing and Team Stargate Worlds.[3]
2010
De Silvestro competed full-time in the IndyCar Series for HVM Racing for the 2010 season. On 22 May 2010, she qualified in the 22nd position for the 2010 Indianapolis 500. She finished the race in 14th position, and earned Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year honors. She suffered a burned right hand after a fiery crash at the Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway on 5 June 2010. Her team strongly criticized IndyCar Series safety officials for their response to that accident.[4] For the season, de Silvestro started 17 races, finished ten, and recorded two top-10 finishes, with a best finish of eighth at Mid-Ohio. She finished 19th overall in the series standings and was runner-up to Alex Lloyd for rookie of the year honors.
2011
The 2011 season began with fourth- and ninth-place finishes at St. Petersburg and Barber; however the next race, at Long Beach, was not as successful: she started 18th and finished 20th. At the next race, the São Paulo Indy 300, an accident between her and Hélio Castroneves put her nine laps down, after the race was postponed to the next morning due to severe rain conditions. She also received criticism from broadcasters during the race as she raced hard against the leaders even when she was several laps down, rather than letting them pass. She started 13th and finished 20th, nine laps down, but recorded the fastest lap of the race.
She received second degree burns on her right hand and superficial burns on her left hand in a crash during practice for the 2011 Indianapolis 500 on 19 May.[5] The crash, which sent her car sailing into the catch fence before flipping and landing on its left tires, was caused by a mechanical failure in the left rear of her No. 78 Dallara-Honda. On 21 May, using her backup car, she qualified 24th for the race with a four-lap average of 224.392 mph.
After a crash at the Milwaukee Mile during qualifying, de Silvestro was cleared to drive in the race, but withdrew after experiencing dizziness and impaired vision. At the next race, in Iowa, she was not cleared to compete, due to continuing dizziness.[6]
De Silvestro missed round 13 of the season at Sonoma, after being refused entry to the United States. An agent working for US Customs became concerned over frequent trips from country to country that de Silvestro had been taking, and when de Silvestro tried to explain herself, the official refused to believe that the woman was a professional racer.[7] She finished 20th overall in the 2011 series standings.
2012
De Silvestro returned to HVM Racing for the 2012 IndyCar Series season, piloting the No. 78 Nuclear Clean Air Energy sponsored Dallara-Lotus. The entry was one of five cars to start the season powered by the new Lotus engine. The Lotus proved to be significantly underpowered compared to the Chevrolet and Honda engines used by the rest of the field. By the end of May, all entrants other than de Silvestro's No. 78 had abandoned the Lotus powerplant and switched to either Chevy or Honda. De Silvestro was saddled for the entire season with the inferior Lotus. The underpowered engine made it impossible for de Silvestro to be competitive, resulting in consistently poor qualifying and race results. On several occasions the car was black flagged for failing to maintain the minimum safe speed, including the 2012 Indianapolis 500. For the season, de Silvestro qualified for all 15 races on the schedule, started 14, and finished 6. Her best finish was 14th at Detroit and Iowa. She finished 24th overall in the series standings.
2013
On 30 October 2012, de Silvestro signed on with KV Racing Technology for the 2013 IndyCar Series season, driving the No. 78 Dallara-Chevrolet with sponsorship from Nuclear Clean Air Energy. De Silvestro joined veteran driver Tony Kanaan to make KV Racing Technology a two-car team for the 2013 season.[8] On 5 October 2013 at the Grand Prix of Houston, de Silvestro finished second in the first race for her first podium finish, joining Danica Patrick and Sarah Fisher as the only women in IndyCar history to record a podium finish.[9]
2014
Sauber
In February 2014, Formula One team Sauber announced that de Silvestro would join the team as an "affiliated driver" and would undergo a year-long training programme with the team, with the ultimate objective of racing in 2015.[10] De Silvestro began testing with the team at the end of April 2014 at Fiorano Circuit.[11] She had her first drive in the 2012 Sauber on 26 April, and completed 112 laps during the test.[12] However, in October 2014, Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn stated that the team had suspended de Silvestro's driving chances due to contractual troubles.[13]
2015
On 2 April 2015, de Silvestro announced she would drive the Andretti Autosport No. 29 Honda in the 2015 IndyCar Series season in an attempt to make the Indianapolis 500.[14] De Silvestro finished fourth in the second race of the season, the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana.
On 15 June 2015, it was announced de Silvestro would drive for Andretti's Formula E team at the championship's double-header finale in London.[15] She was confirmed with the team full-time for the 2015-16 season opposite Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns.
It was announced on 19 August that she would partner Renee Gracie at Prodrive Racing Australia in the Bathurst 1000 for V8 Supercars.[16] Following an impact with the wall at Forrest's Elbow on lap 15 for Gracie, the car underwent extensive repairs before being sent back out to finish 21st and 40 laps down – one more lap lost and the car would not have been classified.
2016
In 2016, de Silvestro became the first female driver to score points in Formula E with a 9th place in the 2016 Long Beach ePrix.[17] She finished the championship in 18th place with 4 points.
On 5 September 2016 it was announced that she had signed a three-year contract as a full-time driver for Nissan Motorsport in the Australian Supercars Championship, beginning from the 2017 Series.[18][19][20] This followed another appearance at Bathurst alongside Gracie, this time with the Nissan squad, where the pair managed to stay out of trouble amid the chaotic final laps and finish in 14th place and two laps down.
Motorsports career results
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/laps | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Formula Renault 2.0 Italy | Cram Competition | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 20th |
| 2006 | Formula BMW USA | EuroInternational | 14 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 113 | 4th |
| 2007 | Champ Car Atlantic | Walker Racing | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 19th |
| 2008 | Atlantic Championship | Newman Wachs Racing | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 167 | 8th |
| 2009 | Atlantic Championship | Team Stargate Worlds | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 176 | 3rd |
| 2010 | IndyCar Series | HVM Racing | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 242 | 19th |
| 2011 | IndyCar Series | HVM Racing | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 225 | 20th |
| 2012 | IndyCar Series | HVM Racing | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 182 | 24th |
| 2013 | IndyCar Series | KV Racing Technology | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 362 | 13th |
| 2014 | Formula One | Sauber F1 Team | Affiliated driver | |||||
| 2014–15 | Formula E | Andretti Autosport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27th |
| 2015 | IndyCar Series | Andretti Autosport | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 30th |
| International V8 Supercars Championship | Prodrive Racing Australia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 54th | |
| 2015–16 | Formula E | Amlin Andretti | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18th |
| 2016 | International V8 Supercars Championship | Nissan Motorsport | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 126 | 50th |
| 2017 | Supercars Championship | Nissan Motorsport | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1131 | 24th |
| 2018 | Supercars Championship | Nissan Motorsport | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1323 | 23rd |
| 2019 | Supercars Championship | Kelly Racing | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1564 | 19th |
| WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - GTD | Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 58th | |
American open-wheel racing results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
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 17 |
LBH 28 |
HOU 15 |
POR1 16 |
POR2 16 |
CLE 11 |
MTT 7 |
TOR 18 |
EDM1 13 |
EDM2 22 |
SJO 10 |
ROA 22 |
19th | 69 |
| 2008 | Newman Wachs Racing | LBH 1 |
LS 10 |
MTT 9 |
EDM1 8 |
EDM2 19 |
ROA1 9 |
ROA2 18 |
TRR 4 |
NJ 11 |
UTA 5 |
ATL 4 |
8th | 167 | |
| 2009 | Team Stargate Worlds | SEB 5 |
UTA 1 |
NJ1 2 |
NJ2 1 |
LIM 1 |
ACC1 3 |
ACC2 2 |
MDO 2 |
TRR 1 |
MOS 10 |
ATL 2 |
LS 10 |
3rd | 176 |
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums (non-win)* |
Top 10s (non-podium)** |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 3 | 35 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
- * Podium (non-win) indicates second and third place finishes
- ** Top 10s (non-podium) indicates 4th through 10th place finishes
IndyCar Series
| IndyCar Series results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Chassis | 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 | Honda | SAO 16 |
STP 16 |
ALA 21 |
LBH 17 |
KAN 21 |
INDY 14 |
TXS 24 |
IOW 21 |
WGL 24 |
TOR 9 |
EDM 22 |
MDO 8 |
SNM 13 |
CHI 23 |
KTY 25 |
MOT 23 |
HMS 23 |
19th | 242 | |||
| 2011 | STP 4 |
ALA 9 |
LBH 20 |
SAO 20 |
INDY 31 |
TXS 26 |
TXS 27 |
MIL 25 |
IOW DNS |
TOR 10 |
EDM 24 |
MDO 12 |
NHM 16 |
SNM | BAL 12 |
MOT 14 |
KTY 25 |
LVS1 C |
20th | 225 | |||||
| 2012 | Lotus-HVM Racing | Dallara DW12 | Lotus | STP 24 |
ALA 20 |
LBH 20 |
SAO 24 |
INDY 32 |
DET 14 |
TXS DNS |
MIL 24 |
IOW 14 |
TOR 24 |
EDM 23 |
MDO 23 |
SNM 17 |
BAL 22 |
FON 26 |
24th | 182 | |||||
| 2013 | KV Racing Technology | Chevrolet | STP 6 |
ALA 18 |
LBH 9 |
SAO 8 |
INDY 17 |
DET 16 |
DET 24 |
TXS 16 |
MIL 24 |
IOW 21 |
POC 11 |
TOR 10 |
TOR 14 |
MDO 11 |
SNM 9 |
BAL 5 |
HOU 2 |
HOU 10 |
FON 8 |
13th | 362 | ||
| 2015 | Andretti Autosport | Honda | STP 18 |
NLA 4 |
LBH | ALA | IMS | INDY 19 |
DET | DET | TXS | TOR | FON | MIL | IOW | MDO | POC | SNM | 30th | 66 | |||||
- 1 The Las Vegas Indy 300 was abandoned after Dan Wheldon died from injuries sustained in a 15-car crash on lap 11.
| Years | Teams | Races | Poles | Wins | Top 5s | Top 10s | Indianapolis 500 Wins |
Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3 | 69 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
Indianapolis 500
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Dallara | Honda | 22 | 14 | HVM Racing |
| 2011 | Dallara | Honda | 24 | 31 | HVM Racing |
| 2012 | Dallara | Lotus | 32 | 32 | Lotus-HVM Racing |
| 2013 | Dallara | Chevrolet | 24 | 17 | KV Racing Technology |
| 2015 | Dallara | Honda | 19 | 19 | Andretti Autosport |
Complete Formula E results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Andretti Autosport | Spark SRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI | PUT | PDE | BUE | MIA | LBH | MCO | BER | MSC | LON 11 |
LON 12 |
27th | 0 |
| 2015–16 | Amlin Andretti | Spark SRT01-e | SRT01-e | BEI Ret |
PUT 13 |
PDE 11 |
BUE 14 |
MEX 14 |
LBH 9 |
PAR 15 |
BER 9 |
LON 14 |
LON Ret |
18th | 4 |
Complete Supercars Championship results
| Supercars results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | Position | Points | ||||
| 2015 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford FG X Falcon | ADE R1 |
ADE R2 |
ADE R3 |
SYM R4 |
SYM R5 |
SYM R6 |
BAR R7 |
BAR R8 |
BAR R9 |
WIN R10 |
WIN R11 |
WIN R12 |
HID R13 |
HID R14 |
HID R15 |
TOW R16 |
TOW R17 |
QLD R18 |
QLD R19 |
QLD R20 |
SMP R21 |
SMP R22 |
SMP R23 |
SAN R24 |
BAT R25 21 |
SUR R26 |
SUR R27 |
PUK R28 |
PUK R29 |
PUK R30 |
PHI R31 |
PHI R32 |
PHI R33 |
SYD R34 |
SYD R35 |
SYD R36 |
54th | 84 | ||||
| 2016 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | ADE R1 |
ADE R2 |
ADE R3 |
SYM R4 |
SYM R5 |
PHI R6 |
PHI R7 |
BAR R8 |
BAR R9 |
WIN R10 |
WIN R11 |
HID R12 |
HID R13 |
HID R14 |
TOW R15 |
QLD R16 |
QLD R17 |
SMP R18 |
SMP R19 |
SAN R20 |
BAT R21 14 |
SUR R22 |
SUR R23 |
PUK R24 |
PUK R25 |
PUK R26 |
PUK R27 |
SYD R28 |
SYD R29 |
50th | 126 | |||||||||||
| 2017 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | ADE R1 20 |
ADE R2 23 |
SYM R3 15 |
SYM R4 15 |
PHI R5 13 |
PHI R6 13 |
BAR R7 23 |
BAR R8 25 |
WIN R9 23 |
WIN R10 20 |
HID R11 20 |
HID R12 28 |
TOW R13 18 |
TOW R14 23 |
QLD R15 27 |
QLD R16 19 |
SMP R17 19 |
SMP R18 23 |
SAN Q 22 |
SAN R19 18 |
BAT R20 Ret |
SUR R21 16 |
SUR R22 23 |
PUK R23 18 |
PUK R24 17 |
NEW R25 20 |
NEW R26 17 |
24th | 1131 | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | ADE R1 18 |
ADE R2 18 |
MEL R3 Ret |
MEL R4 23 |
MEL R5 23 |
MEL R6 16 |
SYM R7 23 |
SYM R8 21 |
PHI R9 24 |
PHI R10 22 |
BAR R11 15 |
BAR R12 12 |
WIN R13 22 |
WIN R14 23 |
HID R15 22 |
HID R16 17 |
TOW R17 25 |
TOW R18 22 |
QLD R19 19 |
QLD R20 20 |
SMP R21 14 |
BEN R22 23 |
BEN R23 23 |
SAN QR 22 |
SAN R24 Ret |
BAT R25 14 |
SUR R26 18 |
SUR R27 C |
PUK R28 21 |
PUK R29 18 |
NEW R30 10 |
NEW R31 24 |
23rd | 1323 | ||||||||
| 2019 | Kelly Racing | Nissan Altima L33 | ADE R1 15 |
ADE R2 16 |
MEL R3 18 |
MEL R4 19 |
MEL R5 17 |
MEL R6 21 |
SYM R7 21 |
SYM R8 21 |
PHI R9 15 |
PHI R10 18 |
BAR R11 12 |
BAR R12 12 |
WIN R13 23 |
WIN R14 23 |
HID R15 19 |
HID R16 20 |
TOW R17 19 |
TOW R18 10 |
QLD R19 18 |
QLD R20 19 |
BEN R21 Ret |
BEN R22 22 |
PUK R23 16 |
PUK R24 7 |
BAT R25 13 |
SUR R26 21 |
SUR R27 22 |
SAN QR 12 |
SAN R28 15 |
NEW R29 19 |
NEW R30 18 |
19th | 1564 | |||||||||
Complete Bathurst 1000 results
| Year | Team | Car | Co-driver | Position | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Prodrive Racing Australia | Ford Falcon FG X | .svg.png){kind=small} |
21st | 121 |
| 2016 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | |
14th | 159 |
| 2017 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | |
DNF | 152 |
| 2018 | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | |
14th | 161 |
| 2019 | Kelly Racing | Nissan Altima L33 | |
13th | 160 |
Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Heinricher Racing with Meyer Shank Racing | GTD | Acura NSX GT3 | Acura 3.5 L Turbo V6 | DAY 12 |
SEB | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | LGA | PET | 58th | 42 |
References
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Simona de Silvestro. |
- Pruett, Marshall (21 June 2011). "INDYCAR: Milwaukee Rewind". speedtv.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2012. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
- Lewandowski, Dave (20 April 2013). "De Silvestro recalls Long Beach win". IndyCar Series. Brickyard Trademarks, Inc. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "De Silvestro to test for HVM Racing". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- Bradley, Charles (6 June 2010). "HVM criticises safety crew over fire". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "De Silvestro in massive Indy crash". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. 19 May 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "De Silvestro fails Iowa medical evaluation". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 24 June 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "US Customs refuses woman racecar driver entry". RT. ANO "TV-Novosti". 2 September 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "Simona de Silvestro to drive No. 78". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. Associated Press. 30 October 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "Simona joins Patrick, Fisher as podium finishers". Boston Herald. Patrick J. Purcell, Herald Media Inc. Associated Press. 6 October 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "Sauber names De Silvestro 'affiliated driver' for 2014". Crash.net. Crash Media Group. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- "Sauber's female driver to make F1 test debut". Motorsport. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
- "Simona de Silvestro completes first day of F1 testing". USA Today. Gannett Company. 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2015.
- Anderson, Ben (2 October 2014). "Sauber F1 team says it had no choice on Simona de Silvestro". Autosport. Haymarket Publications. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- Lewandowski, Dave (2 April 2015). "Technology company connects with the '500'". IndyCar Series. IndyCar. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- DeGroot, Nick (15 June 2015). "Simona de Silvestro to run London ePrix for Andretti". motorsport.com. Retrieved 16 June 2015.
- "GRACIE/DE SILVESTRO TO SHARE BATHURST WILDCARD". speedcafe.com. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- Samuel Reiman. "De Silvestro becomes first female driver to score points in Formula E". FOX Sports.
- "Simona De Silvestro signs Supercars deal". SBS News.
- https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/motorsport/simona-de-silvestro-signs-supercars-deal/ar-AAixeZi
- http://simonadesilvestro.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/06-09-16-MR-Simona-Signs-with-Supercars.pdf
External links
- Official website
- Simona de Silvestro career statistics at Driver Database
- Profile on Racing Reference
- IndyCar Driver Page
- IndyCar 11 in '11 video
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Alex Tagliani |
Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year 2010 |
Succeeded by J. R. Hildebrand |
|
