Source : ABC NEWS
Driven to reach the highest heights in motorsport, Australian teenager Joanne Ciconte has set her sights on racing in Japan.
At just 17 years of age, the Melburnian has plenty to crow about in her racing career.
She enjoyed success as a junior in karting before making the move to single-seater race cars in 2024.
Ciconte, along with fellow Australian Aiva Anagnostiadis, competed in the all-female F1 Academy series last year as the competition’s youngest driver.
But with the drive and ambition to reach the pinnacle of four-wheel racing, Formula 1, Ciconte is hoping a move to Japan proves to be the right launch pad.
Joanne Ciconte was the youngest competitor in the F1 Academy in 2025. (Getty Images: Formula 1/Alex Pantling )
She will compete in this season’s Kyojo Cup, an all-female formula racing series held at the famous Fuji Speedway.
The Victorian earned her place on the grid with an impressive test in December, and will compete for team KCMG for the 10-race season.
“I’m really excited to participate and shift my racing career into Japan,” Ciconte told ABC Sport.
“I think I’m with probably the best team on the grid, so I’m really, really excited to work with them and see where it can go for this year.
“I really have high hopes for my performance and results.”
Ciconte makes no secret of her desire to race in the best series around the world, with the ultimate goal to compete in F1.
And her move to Japan is part of that journey.
The teenager has her eyes set on earning a spot in Super Formula, a Japanese open-wheel series that has been a stepping stone for several F1 drivers.
Current drivers Liam Lawson and Pierre Gasly, as well as former McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne, all competed in Super Formula before making their F1 debut over the previous decade.
“I think it would be unbelievable to race in Super Formula because it’s the second-fastest open-wheeler category, apart from Formula 1,” Ciconte said.
“I really see a future based in Super Formula, so that’s another goal of mine in the next couple of years.”
Ciconte will also compete in two rounds of this year’s AU4 championship — round one at Winton Raceway in May and round four at The Bend in August.
Despite moving on from the F1 Academy, Ciconte said her 2025 experience had given her a foundation to build her racing career on.
“It was such an unbelievable experience. Just getting that insight of what it is like to be a Formula 1 driver, and travelling so much, and just experiencing the atmosphere at different races was just unbelievable,” she said.
“As much as it was a great learning experience, it was just as much fun and a really enjoyable season.
“Obviously, there were some rough patches, but you know, that’s motor racing. Motor racing is incredibly tough on that side. Other than that, I really enjoyed every bit of it.”
Another benefit Ciconte has taken from her 2025 season is the professionalism of motorsport.
A strict training regime of two workouts a day plus working in the simulator has kept Ciconte in racing condition since the end of the F1 Academy season.
Coping with the pressure that comes with competing at a high, international level is also a skill Ciconte has cherished learning.
“Some of the biggest challenges [last year] were just the mental part of it and not to be distracted by the little things on the side,” she said.
“I came into the series very new; doing some local races and then basically being on the global stage, at some of the biggest Formula 1 races, was definitely a huge moment for myself and definitely a step up in my racing career.
“Having to be surrounded by motorsport fans and racing under those kinds of pressure at a young age, I think over time it has taught me how to cope with that.”
Ciconte and her team expect this will allow her to jump into her 2026 campaigns with confidence.
Ciconte’s first racing weekend, the opening round of the AU4 championship, is two months away. She will then fly to Japan for the first round of the Kyojo Cup the following weekend.
