Simona speaks: Pursuing sponsorship

Simona De Silvestro said she has remained in her home country of Switzerland longer than anticipated — she missed last week's IndyCar driver meetings in Indianapolis — to continue pursuit of sponsorship for the 2014 season.

"There are companies here that are kind of interested (in IndyCar)," she said. "At the end of the day, I want to be in IndyCar, so that took a little bit of priority (over meetings)."

De Silvestro, who has spent four seasons in IndyCar, finished 13th in 2013 as Tony Kanaan's teammate at KV Racing Technology. It is believed to be one of the IndyCar teams her management team has been talking to for the upcoming season, but there aren't a lot of seats left to fill, which has her fans concerned.

"The big challenge is what (can) field me the right way," De Silvestro said of potential teams. "It has got to be the right environment."

De Silvestro, 25, said a benefit to staying in Switzerland this month has been the weather, especially considering what she's been hearing about in Indianapolis, her home during recent racing seasons.

De Silvestro said afternoon temperatures there have been around 45 degrees. Indianapolis has seen a lot of single digits since Christmas — sometimes it's been even colder than that. Indianapolis has had snow, too, which her part of Switzerland lacks.

"I've been training outside a lot here," she said. IndyStar