Joanne Ciconte Is Completely in the Zone

Joanne Ciconte might be 16 years old, but unlike most people her age, she didn't just learn to drive. She mastered that skill a while ago. "I started karting when I was really young, and from the first time I got behind the wheel, I just knew racing was what I wanted to do," the F1 Academy rookie from Melbourne tells me during the break between the Singapore Grand Prix and her final race of the season in Las Vegas. She recognizes that her career path isn't the most traditional one, nor is the age at which she started pursuing it (9—yes, you read that right). "It's a bit crazy," she says. "While most people my age are just learning to drive on the road, I'm racing at over 200 kilometers an hour."

Ciconte is one of 18 drivers selected to participate in F1 Academy—the female-only, Formula 4–level racing championship—in 2025. It was founded in 2023 by Formula One to help prepare the next generation of women drivers for success in motorsport and has, in its short lifespan, earned itself a Reese Witherspoon–produced Netflix series and platformed superstars like Abbi Pulling and Bianca Bustamante. Ciconte is next up to hit the mainstream.

Those who've followed her career know that the Australian teen is a force on the racetrack. Back home, she spent her formative years rising the ranks in go-karting and, later, in single-seater racing. In 2023, she clinched the prestigious Australian Karting Championship Pink Plate before heading to the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)'s Girls on Track - Rising Stars program, where she put her raw talent on display in front of the same organization in charge of all of motorsport, including F1. After that, all signs pointed toward F1 Academy. She signed on to join the series in its third season, teaming up with fellow drivers Alba Larsen and Maya Weug on team MP Motorsport. In the fourth round of the season, at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montréal, F1 Academy announced a new official partner in Wella Professionals. The driver who would race in the brand's scarlet-red car? Ciconte, of course.

Even being as prepared as she always is going into any race weekend, Ciconte's rookie season in the competitive series hasn't been easy. But as the youngest athlete on the grid, she knew it would be a challenge competing against drivers who are well into their 20s. "It's been such a huge learning experience," she says of the 2025 F1 Academy season so far. "Every round has taught me something new—from how to handle the car on different tracks to managing my mindset through ups and downs." For her, this season was all about learning as much as she possibly could and working with her team to become the best driver possible. "It's definitely exceeded [my expectations] in terms of growth."

For her, the highs are always more important than the lows—a mindset that's kept her on track even when her results aren't what she'd hoped. "There have been moments of frustration, like when things didn't go our way in qualifying or when I made small mistakes," she says. That's when her maturity is at its most apparent. Learning from those slip-ups is what leads to growth. "I try to stay calm, reflect on what went wrong, and move forward quickly," she tells me. Motorsport isn't typically referred to as a team sport, but it is, and for Ciconte, the support she gets from her team is paramount, especially after a hard weekend at the track. They're the ones who pick her up on down days, not allowing her to lean into discouragement, but instead providing her with the necessary feedback for success in the future. "The connection with your engineers and the way you work together to find those extra tenths of a second—there's such a strong sense of teamwork in motorsport that people sometimes overlook," she says.

Her team at MP Motorsport is her family when she's away from home, which is practically all the time these days. Already this season, the F1 Academy grid has raced in Shanghai, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Montréal, the Netherlands, and Singapore, with its last grand prix of the season taking place this weekend in Las Vegas. It all kicked off in March—eight months ago. "Being away so much can be tough at just 16," Ciconte tells me. "I miss my family and friends a lot." But not having a safety net in some ways has allowed her to gain independence, something she'll need if she wants to achieve her goal of making it to F1. "Being on the road, working under pressure, and learning from so many people around me has really shaped who I'm becoming, not just as a driver but as a person," she says. "[F1 Academy] has changed me in so many ways."

With just one race weekend left in her rookie season, Ciconte is locked in. Though she says she's treating Las Vegas like any other race, there is an added bit of excitement tied to racing on the famous Strip. "I want to finish the season strong and take everything I've learned into the next chapter," she tells me. In F1 Academy, each driver can only race for two seasons, so she knows that every weekend matters. It's significantly harder for women to succeed in motorsport, and F1, the pinnacle, is particularly difficult to break into. In its 75-year history, there have only been five female F1 drivers to start a grand prix, with the last being Lella Lombardi, who raced from 1974 to 1976. It's not for lack of trying, with Giovanna Amati, Desiré Wilson, Susie Wolff, and Jamie Chadwick all fighting for spots throughout their careers.

F1 Academy, with its F1 backing and presence alongside the F1 paddock during popular race weekends, presents the best shot for young female talent to move up the ranks. "Growing up in a male-dominated sport with little female inspiration made me think it wasn't normal for a girl to want to race," Ciconte says. "Now, seeing [that] there are girls out there reaching for Formula 1 is an exceptional feeling."

Knowing that young women her junior can now look up to her and see a genuine future in motorsport is the ultimate motivator. She fell in love with racing at just 9 years old, recognizing her calling from the second she got behind the wheel of a go-kart for the first time. "It's the feeling you get when you're completely in the zone," she says. "It's just you, the car, and the track." Even back then, she knew it was going to be an uphill battle, but the promise of a challenge has never stopped her before, and it won't now, as she faces off against 17 other women who all want to cross the checkered flag first. What will happen when the lights go out at the two F1 Academy races this weekend? We'll have to wait and see. But I guarantee that Ciconte will be leaving everything she has on the track.