Joanne Ciconte was left satisfied following her performance during day 2 of the F1 Academy in-season testing at the Bahrain International Circuit. Completing a total of 44 laps throughout the session, the 16-year-old collected two top-four finishes.
Despite 2025 being her rookie season in F1 Academy, Ciconte has earned 8 points from three rounds, in Jeddah, Montreal, and Singapore. Currently, she is in P14 in the standings, yet she has made real efforts to learn and improve.
Taking advantage of extra seat time
After her strong morning performance during the second day of the F1 Academy Bahrain testing, Ciconte earned herself a P2 finish behind her teammate. The Australian was pleased with her lap times, emphasising the extra seat time that allowed her to improve.
This comes as wonderful news for Joanne Ciconte, who struggled after joining the F1 Academy grid this year. The MP Motorsport driver had a great finish to her day 2 that left her optimistic coming into the last day of the test.
“It’s very, very positive. I was able to have more seat time than usual. So that’s really benefited my driving. As a team, we all did really great. This circuit is incredible to push the limits and improve within your driving skills. It’s been pretty positive couple of days for us and I’m looking forward for tomorrow.”
Growing confidence around Bahrain
The track time at the Bahrain International Circuit is an important learning opportunity for these young drivers. Ciconte had the chance to familiarise herself with the track, which helped her confidence bloom. Additionally, this outing allowed the 16-year-old to see her results head-on, making the process much more rewarding.
“100% [more confident]! This track has a lot of run-off, so I think it’s a great idea that we came here. Especially for me as a rookie this year. It’s all about building confidence and pushing to the limits. I think that I did quite a good job. And it’s really rewarding to be quick and show some potential.”
Joanne Ciconte admitted she has no expectations from the F1 Academy finale in Vegas. Despite this, she hopes to carry on the confidence from testing into that final round. The Australian aims to push, in order to bring MP Motorsport some valuable results.
“To be honest, I don’t have any expectations. My goal is to keep improving within my driving. Obviously, we’ve been really fast today and yesterday. So I want to keep at that pace and we’ll see where I end up. After the test in Bahrain, I’m feeling more confident and motivated to race in Las Vegas. I think it will be a good one for the team.”
