In the 75-year history of F1, no Australian woman has made the grid. In fact, only five women overall have officially competed in an F1 grand prix.
And yet, in 2025, two teenagers from Melbourne — 18-year-old Anagnostiadis and 16-year-old Ciconte — are spearheading the country’s presence in the all-female F1 Academy, the most direct pathway ever established for women chasing the ultimate dream of racing in F1.
For both, the road to Europe has been long, expensive and full of sacrifice. But their stories underline just how much potential Australia now has in women’s motorsport.
Anagnostiadis grew up more interested in dancing competitions than motor racing, until her parents brought her mother’s old kart out of retirement.
“Dad brought mum’s go kart back for her birthday… she went for a test day. But obviously it was a whole family thing, so we all went,” she recalled.
“I just said, ‘I want to have a go’. I was six at the time.
“I think they thought I was going to hop in and then be like, ‘no, I’m out’.
“But then I kept going every weekend and from then on in it just grew.”
The decision soon became a fork in the road — dance shoes or racing boots. By the time she was 11, Anagnostiadis had to choose.
“It got to the point where I was still dancing and racing, and there was a bit of a hectic weekend,” she said.
“They kind of sat me down, and they go, ‘Okay, you’ve got to pick one or the other.’
“I said I wanted to go racing, and they kind of looked at me like, are you sure?
“And I ended up here. It’s been a pretty cool journey.”
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The leap has taken her from karting podiums at the Australian Kart Championship, to the Motorsport Games in France, to India’s F4 championship and finally to Europe with Alpine’s Rac(H)er Academy, before landing a spot on the F1 Academy grid in 2025 with Hitech TGR.
It’s been a steep learning curve, and one conducted under enormous pressure.
“I had to perform at my absolute best,” she said.
“I could develop as quickly as I could from a go-kart straight into a car mid last year, and then we were just waiting to get the seat. And it finally all came together.”
Anagnostiadis’ rookie campaign has shown flashes of promise. A points finish on debut in Shanghai was followed by another eighth place in Montreal.
“I think it’s a mixed season,” she explained. “We did score some points, which was great, in the first race.
“It was a ‘Bradbury moment’. I just kept my nose clean and the positions came.
“Which then in Montreal I think we made a jump in car and in my driving as well.”
But with limited testing and few opportunities to get behind the wheel between rounds, each race weekend is a trial by fire.
“Every race meet you’re in front of a Formula 1 audience. FP1 is my first day in the car in five weeks,” she said.
“You’ve got to wake up as quickly as possible and you’ve got to try and make steps from five weeks ago.
“Some of the people look at the results, and they may not be up near the front, but for us, we’re making big steps every weekend.”
For Ciconte, the journey began with her younger brother.
It was he who first got into karting at the Oakleigh club — the same Melbourne track where Oscar Piastri once raced.
“My dad used to drive, nothing really too serious… but eventually he thought maybe this would be a great idea to get my kids into,” she said.
“I have a younger brother who was two years younger than me, and he was actually the first one in my family to get started.
“Seeing my brother take off the helmet with this huge smile really made me eager to have a drive.”
Convincing her dad wasn’t easy. Motorsport wasn’t seen as a place for girls, and Joanne had to push for her chance.
“Eventually me, like always pushing him. He was like, why not? And I got that opportunity to drive, and I fell in love with it,” she said.
“I just fell in love with the vibration coming through your body, and the adrenaline you feel.
“To experience such a speed at a young age was something phenomenal.”
Ciconte worked her way up the ranks, competing in regional and national championships across Australia and taking out the 2023 Australian Karting Championship Pink Plate.
Karting soon gave way to single-seaters, and within a whirlwind 18 months she was representing Australia in the FIA Girls on Track Rising Stars program at the home of Ferrari in Italy, Maranello.
That experience introduced her to Giancarlo Fisichella and Marco Cioci, the former F1 and GT drivers who now manage her career.
“[They] saw my potential, saw my talent, and they really wanted me to join their management,” she said.
“Joining them has been the best decision in my motorsport career… if it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be here now.
“They’ve guided me through my motorsport career as much as they can.”
That guidance has helped fast-track Ciconte into the F1 Academy with MP Motorsport, where she became the youngest ever driver in the short history of the category.
In her rookie season she has already claimed two ninth-place finishes — in Saudi Arabia and Montreal — despite having less mileage than most of her rivals.
“It’s been my biggest challenge to know that I have this potential and I’m faster than these girls in this corner, but in this corner, I just don’t have the confidence with the car,” she said.
Still, the teenager is embracing the role of a trailblazer.
“To be one of a handful of girls in Australia seven years ago [in motor racing] was something that I was so used to,” she said.
“Now, traveling around the world and being in the top female category in the world and seeing how many girls aspire to join, that is awesome.”
For both Anagnostiadis and Ciconte, competing in F1 Academy isn’t just about their own ambitions. It’s also about representation.
“To have two Aussies on the grid, it’s bringing a lot of attention to F1 Academy,” Anagnostiadis said.
“I think it’s kind of opening the horizon for those younger girls coming through to show Australia, this small island, can get opportunities over there… it can be seen by the Europe side of things.”
Ciconte agrees, adding that at just 16, she already fields constant messages from young girls wanting to follow her path.
“So many girls do contact me saying, ‘this is awesome, what you’re doing. How do I be part of it?’” she said.
“I say to them, no matter what kind of age you are, if you want to do it, you should definitely get yourself in a go kart, get yourself in any form of car, and just do some laps around the track.”
With two rounds remaining of the 2025 season, Anagnostiadis sits 15th in the championship on five points, with Ciconte one place behind in 16th with four.
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The results are modest on paper, but both drivers stress the bigger picture: building experience, learning the machinery, and staking a claim for future seasons.
“This is my rookie year, so we’re just learning all this year, and then when we step into next year, then it’s full push,” Anagnostiadis said.
“Formula 1 is getting that little bit closer with the path that I’m taking,” she said. “It was a dream…now the dream is kind of getting bigger, and the goal is kind of becoming more reality.”
Ciconte echoes that long-term focus.
“I have huge hopes for next year, because I think I’ll have more opportunities to drive, and hopefully we can push for the championship,” she said
What unites them is the sense that they are not just racing for themselves, but also for a new generation of Australian girls who now see motorsport as something they too can belong to.
As Ciconte puts it: “Being a girl, from coming from a background that isn’t so hugely into motorsport, and not being able to drive at all, to inspiring girls to get into a go-kart, get into some form of cars, is an awesome feeling.”
And in a sport where no Australian woman has ever made the F1 grid, the sight of two teenagers flying the flag in F1 Academy is proof that change is already underway, and that the next generation finally has heroes of its own.
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