INTERVIEW: F1 Academy’s youngest driver on her “sacrifice and determination” to race

Ciconte's rise has been nothing short of stratospheric. She did not step into a go-kart until she was nine years old, after months of persuading her father, Robert, to afford her an opportunity.

That first time behind the wheel was a major turning point in Ciconte's young life. A seed was sown, there was no turning back. Just seven years later, she became the youngest driver to participate in F1 Academy when she made her debut in the opening round of this season in Shanghai in March.

Right now, the hard work, the dedication, the sacrifice, have been worth it.

"As a family, it's been hard because we've had to make so many sacrifices to achieve this," she said. "I haven't lived the life of an average 16-year-old by dropping my family, school, and friends. It's been difficult. I'm really fortunate to have such supporting and encouraging family and friends. They've always been really happy, and looking forward to what my success can turn into.

"It's, obviously, sometimes disappointing that I can't often make it to birthdays, or events with my family and friends. But I've always had a positive, strong mindset that the hard work and all these sacrifices that I'm making will pay off in the end, that it will bring me closer to my ultimate goal.

"I feel it's been a huge benefit starting motorsport at such a young age because of what I've been able to experience. It's also made me realise this sport does take a lot of sacrifice and determination."

For Ciconte, her life not only revolves around a race track. There is online schooling to contend with, "living out of a suitcase," as she describes it, as well as hours of physical and mental training to attune her young body and mind to a different way of being, compared to the overwhelming majority of 16-year-olds.

Despite the whirlwind of the last few years, she would not have it any other way. After five years of karting, winning various Australian State Championships, including becoming the 2023 Australian Ladies Pink Plate Champion, from 115 entries she was selected to take part in the Ferrari Driver Academy Girls on Track programme, aged 14.

Whittled down to eight seniors, as she was classed at the time, a stringent assessment programme followed, and so came the second major turning point, and her first taste of an open-wheel car with an F4 Prima as she left behind her home in Melbourne and travelled that 10,000 miles to Italy.

"I was 14, turning 15 at the time," she said. "I was one of the eight girls that got scouted for the program. I had to fly to Italy, to the Franciacorta Porsche Centre [in Brescia]. They had this program that tested our capability to drive, physical strength, mental strength. They did all sorts of cognitive tests. It was really an eye-opener to see how different the Formula world is from karting.

"From that, they chose four girls from the eight originally to move on to the final round, held at Maranello. Luckily, I was one of those girls. It was a huge achievement. Having the feeling of driving the Prima car, with Ferrari backing, was sensational. I remember saying to myself and my father that I wanted to continue this. It was something faster, harder, the eye-opener to the start of my Formula journey.”

It was a far cry from those early days when Robert resisted his daughter's pleas to be given a chance in a go-kart after she had watched her younger brother, Cosimo, enjoy himself. The stereotype of the time that motorsport was very much for men and boys was in evidence.

"The reality was that, and I hate saying it, but back then there were just no girls in the sport," said Robert Ciconte.

"I said to her, 'Joanne, there are no girls here', and she said, 'I don't care. I want to try’. I had a lot of admiration for her persistence in convincing me, so I gave her a turn."

Joanne concedes there was "a lot of doubt" from her father, that with no females in the motorsport industry, including mechanics, or engineers, it was "hard for him to see a reference."

"It's not an average, everyday sport," she said. "It's something completely different. But I was just so eager to have the drive. When the stereotype flew away from my dad, I think now, he doesn't regret giving me that opportunity."

Over time, motorsport's stereotype as a male-dominated industry has been eroded, affording teenage girls like Ciconte the chance to prove themselves on the ladder to the ultimate goal.

Last year, there were F4 outings in Australia and Spain, whilst an event in the Czech Republic marked her out as a rising star as she finished fourth in one of the races, with the added tags of best rookie and best female.

In short order, a call-up to F1 Academy followed and was naturally a major surprise for someone so young.

"Everyone knew before me," said Ciconte, referring to her family and management team. "I remember the moment actually. We were inside my house in the kitchen, and my mom, my dad and my brother were there.

"I was thinking, 'Why are we having this meeting with my whole family?’ Because usually, it's just myself, or my dad and I. It was all serious at the start. Then, it was like, 'Surprise! You're in F1 Academy 2025! Congratulations!'

"There was just this huge wave of different emotions that came over me because, obviously, it was stressful. To achieve something like this at 16 years old, to travel the world and follow the Grand Prix, is amazing."

Competing with MP Motorsport, and as a driver without the support of one of the ten F1 teams, Ciconte stunned on her debut in qualifying by finishing sixth fastest around the Shanghai International Circuit.

Unfortunately, what followed was harsh. She was handed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty after her team adjusted tyre pressures outside of the permitted time, a situation made worse as she had to serve the penalty under yellow-flag conditions. To add insult to injury, she received an additional ten-second penalty as the first was not fully served. 

For race two, and with the only way seemingly up, Ciconte was shunted from behind early on, sending her spinning and involved in a four-car incident that decimated the field.

As learning curves go, Ciconte's could not be steeper, but the teachings from it will serve her well for the rest of the campaign, which she approaches with confidence far from dented. 

"This year, considering I'm the youngest, and I don't have much experience, it's all about seeing where I am against some of my other opponents, learning all the different tracks," she said. "Some girls have more of an advantage because they've been to some of the tracks that are on the calendar.

"For me, it's about learning every race, no matter if I finish, or don't finish. I will definitely learn something, which I think is super important. This year I'm working on evaluating, improving together as a team, and then in year two, if everything goes well in year one,  I'm pretty confident to chase for the Championship win."

Images courtesy of Getty Images.