Australian driver Joanne Ciconte continues to represent a growing wave of women making their mark in motorsport. After joining the F1 Academy grid in 2025, she now begins an exciting new chapter, competing in Japan’s Kyojo Cup with KCMG.
Having taken part in the FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars programme, which has helped identify talents like herself on a global scale, Ciconte’s journey reflects the ongoing focus on pathways for women in motorsport. Initiatives supporting female drivers remain a key topic of discussion as young talents, like Ciconte, continue to seek opportunities to break into the traditionally male-dominated industry.
While F1 Academy has provided women with a platform to showcase their talent on a global stage, it also raises questions of whether the industry is doing enough beyond the series to support female drivers progressing through the motorsport ladder.
In an exclusive interview with Pit Debrief, Ciconte shared her views and perspectives on how initiatives for women in motorsports can continue to develop and grow.
A notable rise in female participation
Since F1 Academy’s inaugural season in 2023, the series has generated significant visibility and strengthened calls for change across the industry, driven by Susie Wolff’s vision. By breaking stereotypes and showcasing what women can achieve in single-seaters, it has helped shift perceptions. However, for Ciconte, she noted the noticeable increase in female involvement in motorsport, especially compared to when she started karting.
Ciconte said: “I definitely have noticed a very big change, because as I said earlier when I started in go-karting there was barely any females in the sport. And so, I was racing purely against the boys. And it’d be a big field of boys too, and just very little amount of girls.”
“So, it was quite unusual if you look at it now but back then, it was quite normal for me to be the only girl on the field. That’s what really motivated me to beat the boys, that’s how I kind of grew and realised that, oh I’m the only girl on the field.”
Ciconte: “I’d love to be inspiring other young females to get into the sport”
The Australian driver strongly believes motorsport is one of the only sports that offers a true level playing field for men and women, noting that once the visor goes down, performance depends purely on the execution of a lap or race.
“But I truly think that motorsport is one of the only sports out there when you go racing when you put that helmet on and that visor is down, everybody is you know, one with the car. Everyone is a different driver; everyone is better in some sectors than the other drivers.”
“I just think that motorsport is one of the only sports out there, where just being yourself just totally plays a role out on that field, and men and women aren’t different when that helmet is on.”
Besides that, the 17 year-old also expressed her excitement at seeing female involvement in the sport steadily increase, both on and off track. While Formula One remains her ultimate career goal, Ciconte said inspiring the next generation of female racers is just as important to her.
“But it’s really awesome to see now, going back to a go-kart track or even now where I’m racing, there’s so many more females involved in the sport. Whether they’re a mechanic or a driver, it’s honestly incredible to see.”
“And I’m really happy for that, because being in Formula One one day is my ultimate goal, but I’d love to also be inspiring other younger females to get into the sport.”
The influence of initiatives like the Formula E Women’s Test
In recent years, beyond F1 Academy, a range of opportunities have emerged that have given women in motorsport the chance to showcase their talent in high-level machinery. The Formula E Women’s Test has proven successful, giving women the opportunity to drive faster machinery beyond Formula 4 and 3 levels. It has also helped open doors for female drivers to take part in the rookie practice sessions and tests alongside male competitors.
Now held for two consecutive years, the Formula E Women’s Test has featured past and current F1 Academy drivers such as Abbi Pulling, Chloe Chambers, Ella Lloyd, Bianca Bustamante and others, all of whom have gained experience through one or more sessions in the championship.
Explaining the significance of initiatives like these, Ciconte said: “Yeah I agree, I totally think giving out Formula E seats in a test and in these faster cars and male-dominated fields is an awesome idea. Because that way, a driver like me, you know, I could start aiming for that.”
“I could start aiming, can I get a seat in Formula E, like can, let’s go for it, let’s like set our goals to have a test in a Formula E or Formula 3.”
Breaking barriers and challenging misconceptions about women in fast cars
Last week, 2025 F1 Academy Champion Doriane Pin completed her first F1 test in Mercedes’ 2021 challenger, the W12. This marked a significant moment, as she became the first F1 Academy Champion to do so.
While opportunities like these have provided valuable learning experiences, Ciconte believes they also help break down boundaries and challenge misconceptions about how women perform in fast cars.
The 17 year-old added: “So I think it’s really incredible to see that they’re really giving out opportunities like that, and it also can give us an insight on a faster car, which there’s a lot of misconceptions about how once a girl gets in a faster car, how are they going to cope with that.”
“But, I think it gives us a good opportunity to start practicing and obviously a new audience and a new eyesight for girls in faster cars.”
Despite initiatives like the Formula E Women’s Test having created valuable opportunities to showcase talent, the question remains whether they are enough to drive broader change in how women progress through the motorsport ladder.
How should initiatives for women in motorsport develop in the next five years?
“Well, I think it’s quite hard to say.”, she said.
Although F1 Academy’s Netflix docuseries has offered a new perspective, Ciconte believes the bigger goal over the next five years is to see a female race in Formula One. With all these efforts aimed at highlighting female talent, the Australian driver strongly believes that reaching this goal should be possible.
“Because I think you know, obviously we’re growing on social media; I think that’s very important these days and obviously Netflix is cool. But in the next five six years, I’d love to see a female in Formula One, like I don’t think why we couldn’t.”
“And I think that I’m at the perfect age and I think F1 Academy and all these other female series around the world are putting a spotlight on female talents. And I don’t see why we can’t have another a girl in Formula One in the next couple years.”
