“Show your teeth as a girl”: A 15-year-old Viennese girl wants to get into Formula 1

Ivonn Simeonova doesn’t just have a big dream. She also subordinates everything to him. At the interview with the KURIER, one thing catches your eye first: a necklace. Not just a simple cross hangs on it, but also a small wrench. Not a flashy piece of jewelry – more of a piece that seems casual and that’s exactly why it sticks. Faith and technology, two things that at first glance have little to do with each other, are closely related to her.

Ivonn Simeonova’s journey to the racetrack starts early – and it doesn’t start by chance. The father was himself active in the formula sector; motorsport was not a foreign territory, but rather the language of the family. She sat in a kart for the first time at the age of five and started driving at the age of six State championships in Lower Austria.

Today she starts for that Kirschenhofer Racing Team in the senior class – from 14 years old, upwards open. Most opponents are between 16 and 20. And almost all of them are boys. “They think: ‘That girl can’t be in front,’” she says. Not an accusation, rather a sober description of the field in which she operates. Your kart performs around 30 hpdie Top speed is 150 km/h. Fractions of a second decide placements. “You have to show more teeth as a girl.”

David Coulthard’s funding program

Behind Ivonn Simeonova is a system that does not leave performance to chance. The “More than Equal” funding program – founded by David Coulthard and the Czech entrepreneur Karl Komarek – specifically supports young female drivers with the stated The goal is to produce a female Formula 1 world champion. Coaches, nutritionists, psychologists. Strength training for the all-important neck muscles. And a racing driving simulator that is in Ivonn Simeonova’s living room at home.

The student’s daily routine is tightly scheduled. School until 3 p.m., homework, simulator, gym. “I train every day, whether it’s strength or cardio,” she says. There is hardly any free time, sometimes none at all. “When my friends call me, I usually have to cancel.” She has already completed over 30 flights this year – races, training, program events. School runs in the background and material often has to be caught up on.

Leisure falls by the wayside

Sometimes, Ivonn says, she feels lonely – when she’s alone in the gym and knows that her friends are together. The sentence stands briefly in the room, without comment. Then comes the next: “But one day it will be worth it.” She can make up for the few teenage years she is giving up now later. That’s the calculation. She doesn’t sound like she has any doubts.

Simeonova describes what happens during the race as her own condition. “It’s cool, my own world. Being at the start is a thrill. I’m shaking and going over in my head what I’m going to do if this or that happens.” Danger is part of the sport, but not a dominant theme. “If you’re afraid, you can’t do 100 percent.” A sentence that fits – and that she says naturally.

Financially, the sport has only been going in one direction so far. “So far it’s just deposits, and now it’s very expensive.” Her family, who are active in business, bear the costs. There are no sponsors yet who could absorb this. There are no bonuses for victories. Just trophies.

She does not accept that women are physically disadvantaged in motorsport. “If a woman trains enough, it won’t be an obstacle.” This is not a declaration of war either, but rather a factual assessment. The sport has given her more than just victories. Discipline, sense of responsibility, ambition – things that cannot be measured in trophies.

She already has her sights set on the next step: Formula 4 as soon as she’s old enough. You have to be 16 years old to do it. The time has come at the end of August.

Until then: school, simulator, gym. And a necklace with a wrench.