Joanne Ciconte showed significant progress in her second Formula Winter Series weekend, leading the female entries in qualifying and overcoming setbacks with strong recoveries in the races, ultimately securing a personal-best P16 finish in Race 3.
Joanne Ciconte made a significant step forward in her second Formula Winter Series outing, leading the female entries in qualifying and showcasing strong pace to contend for the top 15. However, she was unlucky to get caught in a few incidents that denied her the results she deserved.
Nevertheless, the Australian teenager made remarkable progress, fighting her way up the order in all races and ultimately securing a 16th-place finish in Race 3—her best result of the weekend in Valencia, Spain.
Ciconte, who contested part-time campaigns in Australian F4, F4 CEZ—where she secured a top-five finish in her only appearance—and Spanish F4 in 2024, has already demonstrated significant improvement in a highly competitive Formula Winter Series grid, a series that features some of Europe’s top F4 racers preparing for their main programs.
Having joined AKM Motorsport for the Iberian-based winter series, Ciconte gained valuable experience during the season opener in Portimão two weeks ago, securing two top-20 finishes. She particularly impressed in the early stages of her races, making gains from her starting positions.
One of her main objectives heading into the second round at Circuito Ricardo Tormo in Valencia was therefore to improve her qualifying performance, optimizing her starting positions to capitalize on her race pace.
And she delivered—already making big gains in pre-event testing, where she was 14th fastest in the opening session of the second day, just eight-tenths off the overall pace setter, and once again inside the top 15 in the second session.
The Australian carried that speed into qualifying on Saturday morning with equally encouraging results.
In Q1, Ciconte initially went P3 with a 1:37.4, before a red flag halted the session with nine minutes to go due to Baptista stopping in the second sector. Once the session resumed, lap times continued to drop.
Ciconte improved again and briefly broke into the top 10 with a 1:35.1. With one minute to go, she dipped below the 1:35 barrier, climbing back into 16th with a 1:34.964. She found a few more hundredths of a second on her final lap, taking the checkered flag in 16th.
Q2 followed shortly after, and Ciconte remained strong, initially placing 16th. She continued her impressive run, consistently lapping around the top 15, before ending the session in 19th—another very positive qualifying effort.
RACE 1
A few hours later, the first race of the weekend got underway with a packed 31-car field. Joanne Ciconte started from P16 as the highest-placed of the eight female drivers, battling for the Female Trophy.
It was a clean start into Turn 1 for most of the field, but Ciconte unfortunately had a difficult getaway and dropped to P22. On lap 2, David Walther went off into the barriers, bringing out the safety car. The race restarted with 21 minutes to go.
Ciconte gained one position on lap 5 as Alisha Palmowski pitted with suspension damage, moving up to P21. However, misfortune struck soon after, when a technical issue on lap 7 forced Joanne to retire prematurely, marking her first DNF in the series.
"Qualifying was brilliant, it was good to finally show my great potential and put me in solid positioning for the races", Joanne commented. "P1 for females for the first two races and P2 for race 3"
"Race 1 was unfortunately not our race", she summarized on Saturday. "I made a huge mistake on the start and the first lap which caused me to loose many positions. I kept my eyes forward, and was gaining on the drivers in front, then sadly out of my control a technical malfunction occurred leaving the car un drivable."
RACE 2
On Sunday morning, Joanne Ciconte started from P14, once again the highest-placed female driver on the grid of Race 2 after a remarkable qualifying session.
At lights out, polesitter Gabriel Gomez was slow off the line and quickly swallowed by the pack. Joanne, unfortunately, also had a challenging start and dropped to P18. She battled in the midfield but lost positions to Dupe and Walther, settling into P20.
As the race progressed, Ciconte posted competitive lap times but fell behind Thomas Bearman and Sebastian Bach. On lap 5, Teo Borenstein ended up in the gravel, bringing out the safety car. After a quick cleanup, the race restarted one lap later, with Ciconte now defending against Mathilda Paatz.
At the restart, Paatz launched an attack, triggering an intense battle around the top 20, with Ciconte fending off Paatz, Westcott, and Hurup Larsen.
Payton Westcott then joined the fight, and in the ensuing battle, the VAR car tagged Ciconte’s AKM Motorsport Tatuus, spinning her around. Joanne dropped to P29 but managed to rejoin the race.
However, with damage and a gap to the pack, another unfortunate incident out of her control derailed her race.
Ciconte didn't give up and began her recovery drive. She gained two seconds over Schranz and passed the Renauer Motorsport driver on lap 16, moving back into P28.
She climbed to P27 after Hurup Larsen and Olkucka collided, and engaged in a tight battle with Baptista and Schranz, separated by mere hundredths of a second.
Despite front-wing damage and being spun earlier in the race, Joanne finished P27 in a commendable recovery effort. She was later promoted to P26 after post-race penalties.
RACE 3
Starting P19 for the final race of the weekend, Ciconte aimed to bounce back from the previous misfortunes and deliver a cleaner race.
As the lights went out, Leo Robinson took the lead from Gabriel Gomez, while Joanne had another tough start, dropping to P25. However, she quickly recovered, overtaking two cars to move back into P23, chasing Alba Hurup Larsen.
Ciconte saw an opportunity as Hurup Larsen and Westcott battled ahead. On lap 7, she found a way past the Danish driver, taking P21. Running in the 1:36s range, she was marginally quicker than Westcott, just a few tenths ahead.
Joanne then lost one position to the fast-recovering Edward Robinson, but when Robinson was forced to pit with a loose engine cover, she regained P21. However, she now had to defend against the returning Hurup Larsen.
A fierce battle for the top 10 resulted in a collision between Gino Trappa and Sebastian Bach, bringing out the safety car on lap 14. Joanne ran P20 under caution.
The race restarted with just over four minutes to go, but another collision between Olkucka and Dupe at Turn 2 triggered another safety car intervention. Thanks to efficient work from the marshals, the race resumed one lap later, with Robinson leading Gomez and Popov.
Ciconte found herself once again battling closely with Westcott and Palmowski; on the final lap, she made a decisive move, passing Westcott and also gaining a position on Palmowski to finish P16—just shy of her first top-15 finish and marking her personal best in the series.
While luck was not on her side in several sircumstances, the clear step forward in qualifying and her strong drive in Race 3 highlighted Joanne Ciconte’s progress, in what was a very encouraging second round of the Formula Winter Series.
Next up is Round 3 at Motorland Aragon on March 1-3, where she will aim for even more progression.
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