Beth Paretta forms female-led IndyCar team, to debut at Indianapolis 500

Long-time automotive and motorsports executive Beth Paretta has announced that she is forming a female-led NTT IndyCar Series team that will debut at the 105th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The Tuesday announcement at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is part of the track’s and IndyCar’s “Race for Equality & Change” initiative.

ICYMI: Paretta Autosport, a new female-led @IndyCar race team spearheaded by automotive executive Beth Paretta, has announced its entry for the #Indy500.2010 #Indy500 Rookie of the Year @simdesilvestro will drive for @ParettaAutoSprt in May. https://t.co/EvkGYZomCl

— Indianapolis Motor Speedway (@IMS) January 20, 2021

Beth Paretta makes bold pick

Paretta Autosport named Simona de Silvestro as its first driver with an eye on becoming a full-time team in the future.

To help Paretta in its endeavor, Team Penske will provide technical support for its Chevrolet-powered entry.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to officially announce the start of this program,” Beth Paretta said. “It has been a long time coming, a lot of hours, a lot of flights, a lot of meetings, but we are here. There's been a lot of talk lately about representation, and that is a very real thing. We hear about the importance of role models, examples, mentors, for people to have the opportunity to see themselves in the women on the grid and in pit lane.

“Just a bit of background about why I'm doing this, why we feel it's necessary, why I have been driven to put this together. I've worked with women engineers who only decided to follow the engineering path after they saw another woman in that role. I'm guilty of that myself. I only pursued the job as an automotive executive after I saw another woman in a role that I thought that maybe I could do one day. And -- even though I've seen examples of men in those roles for years.”

Some believed Simona de Silvestro was more talented than Danica Patrick in IndyCar

Thank you 😃 https://t.co/7wKPuwcu3p

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

Simona de Silvestro is no stranger to IndyCar, with 68 starts over five seasons. She has also started five times in “The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.”

The 32-year old from Thun, Switzerland is a veteran who has competed in many forms of motorsports, including the ABB Formula E Series and Repco Supercars Championship.

"I'm very happy, actually, that today is the day that I'm finally able to announce that I'm joining Paretta Autosport,” said de Silvestri in a Zoom call from her native country. “It's quite a special day. I think it's something that I've worked for my entire life, to get a proper shot at this race, and I think it's super exciting that it's finally happening. And when Beth actually called me a few months ago and told me about this opportunity, and I think literally an hour later, I was on a Zoom call with Roger Penske and Bud Danker. It was quite surreal, that it all happened so quickly, and for me to really come back to the Speedway with a constellation like this, with the association with Team Penske, it's really, to be honest, as a driver, a dream come true and I think it's something that is really special.”

Other than de Silvestro, eight other women have started the Indy 500.

Jimmie McMillian, the chief diversity officer of Penske Entertainment, is excited to see Paretta Autosport come to life.

“I can tell that you this is super exciting as I look out amongst what I know and see every day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the NTT IndyCar Series, which is not just women in the sport, but leaders. We are led by superstar phenomenal women every single day. It's one of the things that I probably hear the most. When people come in the building they think [it] is a male-dominated support.

"I take orders from women all the time around here, as many of us do, right, Doug (Douglas Boles, President of IMS)? And so, I think that needs to be reflected on the track and this is a powerful moment that matches our goals for the Race For Equality & Change when we're talking about not just walking it, but actually walking what we talk, living what we preach, and creating the opportunity for people to actually be able to see something and know that they can be it.”