De Silvestro surprised by Indy's speed on return: "Now I know what to expect

Simona de Silvestro is back in a mixed circuit Indy race after seven years at Road America with Paretta Autosports. Her last appearance had been in the Indianapolis 500 in 2021. With no testing time before the 2022 season debut, the re-adaptation was not easy, but Simona finished the race in 21st position after starting last.

"It was good to be back in an Indy car, I was very happy about it, but of course, in terms of results, we still have a long way to go. I never thought I would be back, so I'm very excited about it," de Silvestro said in an interview with the Motorsportwebsite .

"On the one hand, it's a very fun track, but on the other hand, without testing before and coming back to a single-seater after seven years, I was definitely impressed. The speeds are much higher. My engineer gave me a comparison between a GT car and an Indy car, and it's a very, very big difference," explained the Swiss driver.

After spending the last few years racing in the touring series in Germany, the Paretta driver said she has acquired some habits that she needs to forget in Indy. The adaptation with the tires hasn't happened yet either, but de Silvestro is already content with a more relaxed feeling in the car, and knows what to expect for the other two races she will race in 2022, at Mid-Ohio and Nashville.

"On Friday, when I got in the car, the feeling was that it was very fast. You need some time for things to get back to normal at a speed like that, and in the race I was feeling this way, of not being so fast, which is a good sign," Simona said.

"We are going to have a test day this week at the mixed circuit in Indianapolis and that will help me a lot. Now I know what to expect and I can really start working on the things I need to improve the most," concluded the Swiss woman.

Indy returns on July 3rd for the Mid-Ohio GP, with full coverage from GARNDE PRÊMIO.