Simona de Silvestro returning to Indy 500 with Paretta team

Simona de Silvestro, the 2010 Indy 500 rookie of the year, will attempt to make her first start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway since 2015, driving for a team being overseen by longtime automotive and motorsports executive Beth Paretta.

The No. 16 Dallara-Chevrolet of Paretta Autosport will be part of the Race for Equality & Change program announced by IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway last July.

Team Penske will provide technical support to the team, which could appear in other NTT IndyCar Series races this year ahead of a full-time season in 2022.

As I stated earlier, @BethParetta says that @ParettaAutoSprt plans to, ideally, run more than just the 500 this year, but it will depend on Simona's own racing schedule as a Porsche factory driver.

And they'll then pursue full-time in 2022.

— Nathan Brown (@By_NathanBrown) January 19, 2021

Last year’s 104th Indy 500 was the first in 20 years that didn’t include a female driver. If she qualifies for the May 30 race, Simona de Silvestro will be making her sixth Indy 500 start with a best finish of 14th in her 2010 debut (which earned her the Tony Renna Firestone Rising Star Award.

In four full-time seasons in IndyCar from 2010-13, de Silvestro, 32, finished a career-best 13th in points with a second place at Houston in ’13. Her most recent start was a 19th in the 2015 Indy 500 for Andretti Autosport.

The Switzerland native left IndyCar to become a Formula One development driver and also has race in Formula E, the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and SuperCar series. She has been a factory driver for Porsche since 2019.

Excited to join Paretta Autosport for the #Indy500. A dream come true to be able to come back to the speedway in this constellation with the association of @Team_Penske @IndyCar 🏁😃.
Thanks to Porsche for the support & letting me compete in this race @PorscheRaces. pic.twitter.com/MxuVCbjIgd

— Simona De Silvestro (@simdesilvestro) January 19, 2021

“I am very excited to have this incredible opportunity to return to Indianapolis and the Indy 500 with Paretta Autosport this year,” de Silvestro said. “My career really took off through my time competing in IndyCar and the Indy 500, so returning to compete with Beth and her new team in alliance with Team Penske is a special and rare chance in my career.

“Being part of the goal of diversity and inclusion for everyone, and especially women in IndyCar, and in motorsports in general, is very important to me and how I would like to see the future of racing. I want to thank the NTT IndyCar Series for taking such an important leadership role in providing gender and overall diversity inclusion in motorsports.”

According to a release, Paretta Autosport will focus on employing women in competition, operations, logistics, marketing and PR roles with the team.

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“Today is the beginning of a commitment to gender equity in sport, to encourage women to work hard so they can earn their seat at the table or spot on the grid,” Paretta said in a release. “INDYCAR has been a leader and a welcoming place for women for many years because of the hard work of many women and men before us, but now we have a stronger commitment with IndyCar’s ‘Race for Equality & Change’ to make sure opportunities continue in the future.

“Our team, along with our technical alliance with Team Penske, will work hard to give Simona the best car we can provide so she can achieve her best results. Competition drives us. The Indy 500 is the greatest race in the world, and one day soon we hope to have a woman’s face on the Borg-Warner Trophy.”

Said Mark Miles, president and CEO of Penske Entertainment Group: “We are pleased to welcome Beth and her Paretta Autosport team to IndyCar this year. Her team’s addition to the INDYCAR ‘Race for Equality & Change’ program this year will ensure that INDYCAR and the Indianapolis 500 continues the legacy of having a female driver qualify for the 2021 Indy 500. Of course, it will be up to Simona and the team to qualify the car for the grid, but knowing Beth, I know that her team will be up for the task.”

Paretta is most well known for her work with Dodge Motorsports and SRT, where she was the first female director to lead a performance brand and motorsports for a manufacturer. She was a part of the program that won the 2012 NASCAR Cup Series championship with Brad Keselowski.

The IndyCar Series has re-signed NTT as its title sponsor in a multiyear agreement starting in 2024.

NTT, a global information technology and communications company based in Japan, became the series’ title sponsor before the 2019 season after starting as a sponsor of the No. 10 Dallara-Honda for Chip Ganassi Racing.

NTT Data (a subsidiary of parent company Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.) will remain the official technology partner of IndyCar, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Brickyard weekend.

With the extension, an IndyCar spokesman said NTT would become the second-longest title sponsor in series history. The longest title sponsor was PPG from 1980-97 (under the CART sanction of the Champ Car Series).

NTT replaced Verizon, which was IndyCar’s title sponsor from 2014-18 after IZOD from 2010-13.

“NTT is an excellent partner across our enterprise with strong expertise and a deep commitment to our sport,” Penske Corp. chairman and IndyCar owner Roger Penske said in a release. “From Smart Venue technology at the Racing Capital of the World to the reimagined Series mobile application, NTT is transforming the fan experience in new and innovative ways. We look forward to a bright future together.”

NTT has used artificial intelligence-enabled optical detection technology at IMS to provide information to the track’s operations and security teams, helping improve fan traffic flow and safety, the track said.

“IndyCar is a great partner for NTT Data because of our shared commitment to driving innovation, increasing sustainability and delivering amazing experiences,” NTT Data CEO Kaz Nishihata said in a release. “We also appreciate how IndyCar is so diverse, with drivers from 15 different countries, and races that range from short ovals and superspeedways to road and street courses. It’s both an incredible sport and a wonderful example for our world.”

NTT also has been instrumental in helping redesign the IndyCar app and providing more race and driver data for use in NBC Sports’ broadcasts by utilizing 140 data points from every car in the field.

“NTT is fully invested in the development and growth of our sport and has already established a terrific track record in our industry with problem-solving capabilities and access to top talent and tools,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said.

Said NTT Data Services CEO Bob Pryor: “We’re thrilled to continue our collaborations that enhance and expand the fan experience for motorsports and serve as proof points for data analytics, AI, and other innovative digital technologies. For more than a century, this racing series has pioneered innovations making driving safer for everyone, and by continuing this relationship, we will accelerate the pace of innovations and new technologies, particularly related to sustainability that ultimately can benefit organizations, communities and individuals around the world.”

Starting as a Japanese telephone company, NTT grew into a $100 billion-plus tech services giant with U.S. operations based in Plano, Texas.