Swiss-Italian racing driver Simona De Silvestro isn’t content to just be the “fastest woman on four wheels”—she wants to be a surfing champion, too. De Silvestro, 35, shared a picture of herself surfing in a wetsuit, the photo capturing the exact moment she got wiped out by a wave. Luckily the champion has a good sense of humor about it. “Definitely joining the Pro Tour next year! I got this 💪🏼😆,” she captioned the post. Here’s how De Silvestro trains, and her advice for wannabe racers.
1. Training and Cardio
De Silvestro prioritizes fitness to be the best driver on the racing track. “A lot of training outside of the race car, we spend a lot of time at the gym and doing cardio as the races are quite long and the heart rate stays very high for long periods of time,” she says. “There is also lots of cycling, running and heat training when we go to the hotter events.”
2. Body Strength
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De Silvestro focuses on building body strength as well as cardio. “Pretty much your core is quite important, so a lot of planks are really important usually in the morning and then I do some stretching as well which is quite important,” she says. “Glutes, legs for warm up and yes, a lot of cardio as well, a lot of running for us, as in racing our heart rate is quite high for a long time so yes cardio is very important, cycling. Also I like circuit training, especially where we can put in some games.”
3. Mountain Vacations
De Silvestro’s favorite place to visit is the mountains. “I love going skiing, hiking or mountain biking,” she says. “Being up in the mountain away from everything and mostly there is no phone reception, which is quite nice to relax and get away from things. I love Switzerland but I would like to check it out around here [Melbourne] and I hear New Zealand is quite cool as well.”
4. On the Road
De Silvestro tries to stay healthy when she’s on the road. “It’s a bit tricky when you travel so much but you always try to find good places to eat and get good sleep as well, that’s quite important,” she says. “Travelling is a big part of racing so you try to manage as best you can. Your body does become used to it, however I usually get quite sick when the season is over and you slow down. I think the body adapts to being high strung all the time and gets used to it.”
5. Good Advice
De Silvestro has good advice for anyone wanting to compete as a racer. “The biggest thing is believing in yourself, I would say, that’s the first thing, just believing in yourself that you can do it,” she says. “To push yourself out of your comfort and not normally like in the gym, everywhere just make sure people around you hear you. The road is not easy, definitely there will be some setbacks and just not to give up. When things are hard, think about yourself, think about how you approach it and try to change things a little bit, always try to challenge yourself, never get comfortable. Never get comfortable in what you’re doing, always push yourself.”
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