Simona de Silvestro finished second at the Houston Grand Prix, the third to final race of the 2013 IndyCar season, and then stormed into a KV Racing truck to take on the owner.
“Me! You need to hire me!” Swiss racer told her bosses. They are looking to replace Tony Kanaan, the Indianapolis 500 winner, who officially announced the day before that he would be leaving the team. De Silvestro was not on the shortlist for his chair.
She completed the next two races with KV Racing – her only season with the team – and then her four-year IndyCar run came to an end. She made three starts in 2015 driving for Michael Andretti, and she was the only woman in last year’s Indianapolis 500 to drive for the all-female Paretta Autosport team.
The road back to normal is long and winding, and de Silvestro will begin her first IndyCar season on Sunday at Road America in Wisconsin. This is the first of three races that Paretta Autosport plans to enter this season, and de Silvestro will join Tatiana Calderon on the field to give IndyCar two women taking part in multiple events for the first time since. since 2013.
Calderon, who will start the season for the fifth time for AJ Foyt Racing, said: “It’s been a pity that it’s been a long time in the last few years that we haven’t had someone at the top level of singles seats. The Colombian’s best was 15th on the track at Indianapolis; she only competes on road and street courses.
“There are women who can compete with men in a very competitive championship,” she continued. “I hope that together, we can continue to maintain that momentum and let more women.”
De Silvestro couldn’t help thinking about what might have happened if funding and car racing politics had been different in 2013. Her lowest result in the final nine races of that season was 14, and she closed with 5 consecutive tops- 10 seconds. In the final points ranking, she was 13th – placed between Sebastien Bourdais, the driver who replaced Kanaan at KV Racing, and Josef Newgarden, who is in the second season of IndyCar and is on his way to stardom.
“In racing, money definitely makes a big difference,” said de Silvestro, 33: “In 13, I finished ahead of Josef in the championship. He ended up going to Penske and then winning the championship twice. need to get the right shot. You need people who really want to support you.
“I think as a female driver we have a chance, but I think sometimes it’s really too fast when we’ve had a bad season. The support after that wasn’t really immediate. . I think with some guys, they have more opportunities.”
Road America will be de Silvestro’s 70th career start at IndyCar, and the team, owned by motorsport executive Beth Paretta, also plans to race at Mid-Ohio next month and Nashville next month. August. She last raced at Road America in 2008 in the Atlantic Championship.
Last year’s team at Indianapolis was supported by Roger Penske, who wanted a woman on the field, and Paretta aimed to staff her team only to women. This year’s edition includes 60% women but also relies on an alliance with Ed Carpenter Racing.
“We are delighted to be back in the IndyCar Series and working on the tracks and the streets,” said Paretta. “It’s been a great opportunity for us to learn and grow as a team with new locations, new fans, new challenges. We have to keep pushing if we’re going to be successful.”
