Written by Mina Jigau, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Women have played an influential role throughout the history of motor racing. Many have taken to the wheels of motorsport machines, while numerous figures have worked tirelessly on the sidelines in various roles, shaping the racing world to the present day. Woman Spotlight Wednesday aims to take a look at the tales of these superwomen, who have surpassed various hurdles to reach where they are today.
Competing in the same legendary races other role models had before her, Italian-Swiss Simona De Silvestro had to raise the bar, and so the ‘Iron Maiden’ rose from the ashes of her legacy in the making.
Change had been a constant in De Silvestro’s life, moving from Switzerland to Italy then America, she quickly developed a taste for life in the fast lane and chased the rush of the race.
Her racing career began, as it usually does, in early childhood. When De Silvestro realised this was what she wanted out of life, De Silvestro moved to America and participated in her first North American Grand Prix in the Atlantic Championship, taking place in Long Beach, California in 2008 where she was the only woman to be entered in the race.
That first race brought De Silvestro the sweet, addictive taste of victory, as she became the second woman to win an Atlantic Championship race, following Katherine Legge.
After her successful racing season, De Silvestro started testing for Indy 500, and by 2010, she was competing full-time in the series. That same year, she achieved 14th, her highest finish to date in Indy500.
In 2010, at the first race with four female drivers, De Silvestro was awarded with not only the title ‘Rookie of the Year’ by the Indianapolis 500 committee, but also won the distinction of ‘Tony Renna Firestone Rising Star’. Following her immense achievements and intense races, she partnered up with HVM racing for the entire IndyCar season.
Everything seemed all too well, but during one of the practice sessions, De Silvestro crashed hard, casting flames upon her car, and sustaining second-degree burns herself. Fortunately, the extent of damage she suffered wasn’t too great to leave her debilitated, and she made the best out of a bad situation by rising from the ashes of her dreams and competing in the race.
She came 24th, and despite her injuries, performed really amazing, earning herself the title ‘Iron Maiden’. Following the 2010 season, she took a hiatus to recover from a whirlwind of a year.
De Silvestro came back in 2013, stronger than ever, and ready to take the world of Indy500 by storm. She took podium on her first race back, in Houston, finishing second and leaving behind her very own mark by becoming the third woman to have a podium finish in Indy500.
Her career in Indy500 continued up until 2015, before she joined Sauber Formula One team, as an affiliate driver. On the side, she had also started driving for Andretti Formula E, becoming the first female driver to score points for the team. In the midst of her success, she continued to be a test/development driver and reserve driver for TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E team.
De Silvestro had taken a small hiatus from Indy500, after years of weaving remarkable achievements into the history of the races. She went on to compete in the Australian Supercar championship with Nissan Motorsport in 2017.
In 2020, she became a factory Porsche GT driver and the following year decided to return back to her rightful place, competing in Indy500 in 2021 at the forefront of Paretta Autosport. This was such an iconic event for the motorsport world because at the time, Paretta was the first female-led team on the grid, able to score points and successfully compete.
Though IndyCar is regarded as the most diversity-embracing part of motorsport, there aren’t many teams that are made up of mainly women, which is why the Paretta and De Silvestro pairing was such a legendary moment.
It gave way to hope for more female-led teams and solidified the belief in women in motorsport. After years of struggling with cars that either caught on fire or couldn’t carry the race the way De Silvestro was ready to, her chance to shine had finally arrived.
In 2022, De Silvestro and Paretta joined forces again, racing for Road America, mid-Ohio, and Nashville Grand Prix.
Though 2021 was the last Indy 500 that had a woman enter for the race, and De Silvestro was the one to achieve that, we can expect more electrifying seasons from Paretta and the Italian-Swiss driver.
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