De Silvestro set for Italy’s Bobsleigh Olympic team

Former IndyCar Series racer Simona de Silvestro’s dream of qualifying for the Winter Olympics has become a reality as the Swiss-Italian will represent Italy in Bobsleigh competition.

“We officially made it,” de Silvestro shared on her social media accounts. “We’re going to the Olympic Games. Proof that a little crazy, mixed with belief, can make the impossible real. It all started with a dream that I wasn’t scared to chase! I cannot wait to represent Italy in Milano Cortina 2026.”

De Silvestro has trained for years in the new discipline, turning to Bobsleigh as her specialty after committing most of her life to open-wheel and sports car competition. She first broke through during the 2009 Atlantic Championship season with four wins and had a shot at winning the title until she was crashed out in the final race.

Graduating to IndyCar in 2010, de Silvestro’s natural speed and fighting spirit was evident from the outset. She recorded her best season in 2013, earning nine top-10 finishes, a career-best second place on the streets of Houston, and took 13th in the drivers’ standings, two spots behind her Indianapolis 500-winning KV Racing teammate Tony Kanaan.

An attempt to reach Formula 1 took de Silvestro back to Europe in 2014, and with those efforts meeting an unfortunate end, she returned to IndyCar in 2015 with Andretti Global on a part-time basis. Spells in Australian Supercars, Formula E and IMSA followed before Paretta Autosport hired de Silvestro in 2021 to make her sixth run at the Indy 500 with the women-led program and then connected with Ed Carpenter Racing in 2022, where she contested four races for Paretta before shifting her attention to winter sports.