Simona de Silvestro was born on September 1, 1988, in Thun, Switzerland. She was an active child who loved to keep busy, and by the time Simona was a teenager she had taken a liking to riding bicycles, playing golf, and wintertime sports like skiing and snowboarding. It was when Simona discovered racing that she put all of her athletic eggs in one basket and started pursuing a single sport aggressively.

There were many facets of racing that intrigued Simona de Silvestro. She was interested in the techniques of racing as well as the mechanics of cars. In 2001, when Simona was only in her early teens, she took up Kart racing. By 2002 she was finishing in the top 10 in the Swiss Championship race (having placed 13th at Kart-Cup Monaco and second at the Bridgestone-Cup, Switzerland).