Driver Insider
Career Statistics - IZOD IndyCar Series *
| Year | Starts | Wins | Poles ** | Top 5 | Top 10 | Laps Led | Running at Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| 2010 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 10 |
| Total: | 32 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
** Includes all poles, including those awarded based on entrant points
Bio
When she was young, Simona de Silvestro’s future looked to include anything but motorsports, especially because racing had been banned in her native Switzerland since 1955.
But de Silvestro exceled at every sport she’s played growing up. She won her first ski race when she was 3 years old, was a top regional fencer and played championship youth tennis. So it wasn’t a surprise that she took to racing quickly, winning her first kart race.
"When I was a baby, my dad says I was quiet only when I watched Formula 1 on TV," she said. "When I was 4, he did a go-kart demonstration, but I couldn't reach the pedals, so I cried the whole day. By the time I was 9 or 10, I knew that racing was what I wanted to do, and my whole life has been about it. Driving open-wheel race cars has always been my goal. I really never had anything else in my head."
De Silvestro spent her early career honing her racing skills in European karting and junior formula series while racing under the Italian flag. In 2006, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean to pursue her open-wheel racing dreams.
From success in the Formula BMW USA championship and the Atlantic Championship, de Silvestro joined the IZOD IndyCar Series in 2010 and was runner-up in Rookie of the Year standings.
Driver History
IZOD INDYCAR SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
First start: March 14, 2010 (Streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil)
2011
• Finished 20th in IZOD IndyCar Series standings for HVM Racing.
• Recorded career-best fourth-place finish in season opener at St. Petersburg and posted three top 10s overall.
2010
• Finished 19th in IZOD IndyCar Series standings for HVM Racing.
• Recorded two top-10 finishes with a best of eighth at Mid-Ohio.
• Started season-best seventh at Edmonton.
• Named Chase Rookie of the Year for 14th-place finish at Indianapolis.
ROAD TO THE IZOD INDYCAR SERIES
2009
• Finished third in Atlantic Championship for Team Stargate Worlds with four wins, four poles and nine podium finishes in 12 starts.
• Claimed wins at Utah, New Jersey2, Lime Rock and Trois-Rivieres to become winningest female driver in series history.
• Led a series best 172 laps.
2008
• Finished eighth in Atlantic Championship for Newman Wachs Racing with a win at Long Beach, becoming the second woman in series history to win a race.
• Earned a total of four top-five results and eight top-10 finishes.
2007
• Competed in the the Atlantic Championship with Walker racing, earning two top-10 results as a rookie.
2006
• Finished fourth in Formula BMW USA withwin at Lime Rock
• Recorded six podiums and 11 top-10 finishes en route.
• Scored two third-place finishes at the U.S. Grand Prix and became the first woman to ever earn a podium result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
2005
• Finished 21st in the Formula Renault 2000 Championship in Italy.
2004
• Raced in the French Formula A Championship and finished 15th overall.
Early career
• Earned a second-place finish in the Trofeo Industria Parma, finished fifth in Wintercup Lonato and was third in Primavera Lonato. Also finished seventh in the Swiss Championship, 13th in Kart-Cup Monaco and second in the Bridgestone-Cup Switzerland.
