Representing your country on the international stage can be a daunting prospect. Doing so as one of the few internationally known women from your home nation on one of the biggest international stages there is while also only being sixteen years old and having to race against a field of highly competitive drivers is something else entirely. But for Joanne Ciconte, this endeavour just comes across as business as usual.
Cool, calm, collected and seemingly unfazed by the massive weight on her shoulders, the young Australian has taken the challenge of F1 Academy in her stride. The Paddock Chronicle got the chance to speak with her ahead of this weekend’s fourth round of the 2025 F1 Academy Season in Montreal, Canada. Here’s what we learned from the young Aussie.
Wella X F1 Academy
In the build up to this weekend, it was announced that F1 Academy had partnered up with Wella. The company would also be supporting Joanne Ciconte for the remainder of the season. For those that don’t know, Wella AG is a German company specializing in hair care, styling, colorants, and other beauty products. It was founded in 1880 in Germany by Franz Ströher. Since then, it has gone on to become an international brand.
“I think Wella is an awesome brand, you know, they’re like a family, they’re super welcoming, and I’m really happy to represent them. I think it’s awesome that they get to mess around with my hair, I can be all prepped up for the races, and I think it’s awesome. I think that health, hair care, is also really important because obviously when we put on our helmets we can cause some sort of damage. I think it’s an awesome brand to represent, you know, empowerment with females, and in racing that’s what we need, so I’m really privileged to race in their colours.” – Joanne Ciconte
Wella’s iconic red and mermaid identity will be splashed onto both Joanne’s car and race suit from this weekend onwards. The #25 car will also carry Wella’s empowering message Make It You on the rear wing. It’s an encouraging sign to see another women-centered brand getting into the motorsport world. This is even more so when it’s F1 Academy and the company itself gets to directly support an up and coming racing driver.
Joanne Ciconte – Representing Australia
Joanne Ciconte is one of two Australian women on the F1 Academy grid in 2025, alongside Aiva Anagnostiadis. Both drivers are the first from Australia to race in F1 Academy since it first went racing in 2023. Moreover, they are the first Australian women to compete in a series of this nature since Caitlin Wood in W Series back in 2021.
“I am more than happy, more than ever, and proud to represent my country, Australia, and to look back at such a young age when I was in go-karting and to look up at the Formula One drivers. This is honestly phenomenal, and to be in this position is great. It’s almost like a dream, so to, you know, be an inspiration for the younger generation of females that are hoping to be in F1 Academy one day or to be a Formula One driver really means a lot to me. Being at such a young age, travelling the world, racing alongside Formula One is really awesome. And I’m only 16, so to have that opportunity is really amazing!” – Joanne Ciconte
Australian women haven’t been as prevalent in international motorsport in recent times. Molly Taylor skyrocketed to racing stardom over the past few years, aided by winning the inaugural Extreme E title in 2021. Emily Duggan also gained notoriety through her success with V8 supercars. To see Joanne, and Aiva, carrying that torch forwards and being the inspiration for the next generation once again highlights the importance that a series like F1 Academy has, both on and off track.
F1 Academy: How Much It Means
The recently released Netflix documentary, F1: The Academy, had many positive elements to it. One of the aspects of the series it didn’t fully highlight, however, was the impact that the series had on its rookie drivers. From speaking with Joanne, it immediately becomes clear how much this opportunity means to her and how much she is relishing the challenge of the series.
“I think what I find the best is experiencing driving out of Formula One Grand Prix weekend. I think it’s such an amazing experience, and at such a young age, travelling the world and racing at these high crowd weekends is really phenomenal. I think a challenge is, you know, going against these girls that do have more experience, but it’s also beneficial in a way, because there is a lot to learn from them, and it only helps me go forward. I think that there’s more benefits and advantages than disadvantages, and yeah, just overall, it’s such a privilege to race in the F1 Academy.” – Joanne Ciconte
Learning from the drivers around her, both the other rookies, and those in their second seasons is another factor that should be studied more closely. We’ve seen the progress that drivers have been able to make from one season to the next. Chloe Chambers and Maya Weug are perfect examples of this. But we’ve yet to see in depth how the rookie drivers look to these more experienced drivers for inspiration and guidance. While part of the challenge of competing against them is beating them, Joanne is also 100% correct when she says it’s also beneficial. This is because she gets to learn from them, which helps her improve as a driver too.
About The 2025 Season So Far
Joanne Ciconte’s results in F1 Academy so far don’t tell the full story. At the first round of the 2025 F1 Academy Season in Shanghai, China, the Australian had an incredible debut qualifying session. She put her car up into sixth place by the end of the session. Close wheel-to-wheel action and limited racing due to the ever present safety car hindered her. However, she finished her first race in P14. Ciconte’s bad luck would continue in the second race of the weekend. She was unfortunately taken out by Shi Wei at T6 of the Shanghai International Circuit.
Bounce Back & More Bad Luck
However, Joanne Ciconte would bounce back at the second round of the year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. She qualified in eleventh and maintained that position for the first race. In race two though, Ciconte made her way up to P9 by the end of the second race. The Australian rookie had scored her debut points with two on the board.
Next time out though, the bad luck would return. Miami didn’t go to plan for Ciconte. An unfortunate qualifying session saw her start the first race from seventeenth. The Australian then got taken out of the race again, thanks to contact from British driver Chloe Chong. While battling for position, the Charlotte Tilbury driver drove into the back of her, eliminating them both from the race. The second race in Miami was then cancelled due to the bad weather persisting at the track. This weekend in Canada, a third race will be added to the schedule to compensate for Miami’s cancelled race.
Will Ciconte be able to capitalise on some good momentum and continue that run of good form she’s shown to be capable of from earlier in the season? We’ll have to wait and see.
Feature Image Credit: MP Motorsport