{"id":507450,"date":"2026-02-27T11:47:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:47:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/507450\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:47:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T11:47:18","slug":"first-aussie-female-driver-in-formula-one-academy-opens-up-on-her-race-to-the-big-leagues-and-why-her-2025-injury-and-gender-arent-slowing-her-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/507450\/","title":{"rendered":"First Aussie female driver in Formula One Academy opens up on her race to the big leagues and why her 2025 injury – and gender – aren’t slowing her down"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aiva Anagnostiadis’s 2025 injury may have seen her switch gears, but it’s not slowing her down in her race to the podium.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old – who is Australia’s first ever female to be selected as a driver for the Formula One Academy – hit a rough patch last year after sustaining a broken leg at the end of her rookie season, counting her out of two races and leaving her questioning what the future would hold.<\/p>\n

Now, the Hitech TGR driver has sat down with Sky News Australia to reveal what’s in store – both in and out of the car – and why we should expect more girls on the grid in the next few years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While she’s not one to dwell on the past, the young racer dubbed her injury and months-long hiatus from competitive racing “difficult”, adding that it was frustrating not finishing the 2025 season “on the high”.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, by putting her disappointment in the rearview mirror, Anagnostiadis has found brighter horizons to set her eyes on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There’s been so many opportunities and things that have happened that I’ve got to do,” she optimistically shared of her break from the track.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’ve started working with kids at the racetrack,” she said, adding: “There’s so many sponsors and people that have come on board and there’s so many other opportunities that are opening up.”<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Narcissists\u2019:<\/p>\n

One of the opportunities that came Anagnostiadis’ way was a partnership with KitKat, which saw the young racer crown the biggest F1 superfan in the country and give them the chance to attend the 2026 Aus GP.<\/p>\n

Speaking of F1 die-hard Olivia, who allegedly knows more about racing than Anagnostiadis does, the driver was buzzing that more women were making their voices heard from the grandstands.<\/p>\n

“She has a tattoo. She moved states to watch the Grand Prix,” she shared, adding: “She’s so committed and takes so much time out of her life.”<\/p>\n

It’s moments like these that made Anagnostiadis realise that when one car door closes, another one opens.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m a strong believer that everything happens for a reason. We’re on this different pathway and it’s leading to bigger and better things.”<\/p>\n

But the question on everyone’s lips – when is she getting behind the wheel again?\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to Anagnostiadis, it won’t be long now… In fact, we only have a month to go.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s probably the best it’s been. The swelling’s only just stopped about three or four weeks ago.”<\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

She went on to say that she’s back at it with her running and training\u00a0 – and has even hopped into a go-kart a “couple of times”.<\/p>\n

“Now, we’re gonna get back in a car and see how that holds up.”<\/p>\n

But a broken leg isn’t the only obstacle that has threatened to get in her way as she battles for P1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

As a woman in a male-dominated sport, she’s learning the frustrations that come with being a trailblazer on the track, particularly when it comes to sponsors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There’s no girl in Formula One, so [sponsors] have got no one to actually look at and know that their money’s gonna get them somewhere,” she vented.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And when it comes to the money needed for the sport, it can sometimes feel like Anagnostiadis is a few steps behind the start line compared to her male counterparts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think every female kind of struggles with the budget side of things,” she shared of women in racing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I think it’s one of the toughest parts, trying to make our way through the sport,” adding: “Money does play such a big part in motor sport.”<\/p>\n

\"State<\/p>\n

But nothing is getting in the way of Anagnostiadis as she races ahead of the times, something she hopes to inspire others to do, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Do what you want,” she encouraged girls who are hoping to get on the track.<\/p>\n

“Don’t worry about what other people think or what you think they think. Just do what you love and continue doing it because it will take you far.”<\/p>\n

And don’t be too surprised when you see more women in competitive racing, says Anagnostiadis.<\/p>\n

\"Adelaide<\/p>\n

Reflecting back on her driving journey, Anagnostiadis revealed that she was “the only girl on the grid” when she started.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Flash forward to the beginning of 2025, “a third of the grid were female,” she gushed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s really cool to see how far we’ve come and being a role model in that as well.”<\/p>\n

And so, as she puts her foot on the pedal of the 2026 season, be prepared to eat Anagnostiadis’ dust – as well the many other women following her lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aiva Anagnostiadis’s 2025 injury may have seen her switch gears, but it’s not slowing her down in her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":507451,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[70319,64,63,817,835,254695,806,805,803,804,822,85],"class_list":["post-507450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-aiva-anagnostiadis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-f1","tag-formula-one","tag-formula-one-academy","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-racing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=507450"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/507450\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/507451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=507450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=507450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=507450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}