Aiva Anagnostiadis

How much of a person's success is determined by talent and hard work - and how much is just plain old luck? Sometimes a gifted athlete comes along at the right time and things fall into place, while other times all the talent in the world simply isn’t rewarded.

For Australian rising racing star Aiva Anagnostiadis, talent, hard work and luck have all combined at the right time. She has come to the front line of motorsport at the precise moment for her talent and hard work to be recognised and pursued. Even if that hard work has only just begun.

In some of the most exciting news in recent Australian motorsport history, Aiva is about to hit the world stage as the country's first entry into the highly competitive, elite-level F1 Academy for 2025. This new category, run by Formula One, is designed to prepare women for higher levels of racing such as F3, F2 and the holy grail - F1. The series features 21 races across seven rounds, with every one of those rounds as a support category to F1 - putting the women’s talent on show to the whole F1 paddock. Never has it looked so possible for a female to join the Formula 1 grid. 

At just 17, Aiva has enough time up her sleeve to make a genuine go of it. Her mother Barbara raced too, but the world wasn’t ready for Barbara when she was ready for the world. With so much wisdom to pass down, Barbara is now ready for her daughter to get stuck in and achieve more than she was able to in a time when society expected antiquated things of women.

Sadly, the right combination of talent, hard work and luck didn’t fall into place 20 years ago when Barbara was in the same position. But hallelujah, change is happening even if it sometimes feels glacial. 

We were thrilled to catch up with Aiva before her wild ride clicked up a few gears and began its trajectory into the stratosphere. 

1. ​​Tell us about what you do and the exciting news you’ve unleashed on the world?

My name is Aiva Anagnostiadis, I am an F4 racing driver, and I started karting when I was 7 years old. I recently competed in my first F4 Championship in India, and now I have been selected for the 2025 season in the F1 Academy. I will be racing with Hitech Grand Prix Limited, one of the best teams in junior formula racing.

2. What’s been a pinch-me moment through your motorsport experiences so far?

A pinch-me moment this season was when I had a Zoom call with Susie Wolff

and Delphine Biscayne to tell me that I had been selected into the F1 Academy.

3. Where did your love for racing and cars come from?  

My love for motorsport came from my mum; she raced when she was younger and then got back into the sport when I was 6. I had my first try in a go-kart a couple of months after she got back and started racing, and about 1 year later, we were racing states and then that turned into national karting championships. It was a family hobby and very quickly turned into something not only me but my brother also wanted to do as a career. Now, we are both on a pathway to Formula 1.

4. How has your motorsport journey differed from your mum’s, what is her take on the F1 Academy?

My motorsport journey is nearly 25 years after Mum’s. In that time the advancement of females in motorsport and sport more generally has come a very

long way. When my Mum was my age, she told me that she dreamed of being a

racing driver and even wanted to race F1. Unfortunately, there weren’t any opportunities available to her to advance past Karting. Her family didn’t have a lot

of funds and sponsors just didn’t take female sport seriously. My Mum is so

happy that a series like F1 Academy exists, she says it’s the perfect platform to

gain the experience and profile needed to advance further in the sport.

5. What has surprised you about race car driving and the industry, what has been some big learnings in the last few years?

I spent my junior career with one team – Tom Williamson Motorsport so when I was racing in Australia, I always had the same circle of people supporting me. When we made the move overseas at the end of 2023, I think the biggest learning curve was the need to adapt to new karting and racing teams. Everyone has a different way of doing things, each team has their own processes, the engineers communicate differently etc so learning to adapt quickly to new environments has been equal parts challenging, exciting and motivating for me.

6. How do you juggle everything - school, travel, friends? What do your friends think of it all?

I am quite an organised person, and I like structure, so I balance schoolwork and racing quite well, I have been doing online school for the past year, so I’m now able to balance the work I need to do for my schooling and travelling for racing.

As for my friends, they’re incredibly supportive. I don’t think some of them fully

understand what I’m doing or what my day to day looks like but they’re still there for me and just like they’ve always been are supportive of all that I’m trying to achieve. I’m in contact with my friends and family from Australia nearly every day, but I’ve also had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world – people that I’ve met during the 2024 season.

7. Tell us about some of the hurdles you’ve faced to get to this point.

Motorsport is full of hurdles but that’s part of what it makes it so satisfying when you can achieve in the sport. Some of the biggest hurdles this past year have been:

- Making the jump from karts to cars midway through the year; the start of the 2024 season looked very different to the end. I did my first ever F4 race after only 6 days of practice in the car… competing against other drivers who have years of experience in the category but on the start line – you’re all on the same level and you have to find a way to compete.

- Another huge hurdle was the move overseas – we made the move together as a family – Mum and Dad sold the business, the house, everything and we’ve had to create a new life in a new country

- Finally and as most people know motorsport is an expensive sport – trying to find partners and sponsors that will join you on the journey for the long term can be difficult but now with a full racing calendar ahead, the opportunity to be on the F1 Academy grid, and the way Aussies love their racing, we hope that we’ll have an opportunity to get the support we need to build a long term career all the way to the top. 

8. If you could have one major sponsor on your car, who would it be and why?

Tag Heuer! It's a dream come true, and I couldn’t have asked for a better brand to represent.

Outside of my major sponsor, we’re looking for partners who are willing to jump on board for the long term. F1 Academy gives us an incredible global platform to showcase the people who support us – being the first Aussie to join the F1 Academy grid allows me to shine a spotlight on what Aussies can do despite how far away we are and how small our population is. We think there’s a great Aussie story to be told here and would love to work with partners who share that story and want to show the world what’s possible when you dream big.

9. What’s the end goal?

My end goal is to get to Formula 1, but I’m excited about the journey to get there – and the opportunity to race professionally as a career.

10. What are your Daily Habits that help you succeed? What tools do you use?

Daily habits are key because they keep you consistent and mean that when an

opportunity comes to jump in a car you’re ready. I’m training at the gym every day and manage my nutrition to keep me strong and energetic. I also use the simulator to help me keep sharp and ready for each new track.

11. Top three things you must be good at to be a racecar driver.

Consistency, passion and determination. To succeed in motorsport you need to want it more than anything else in the world.

12. One piece of advice to girls thinking about racing?

Give it your all but don’t forget to have fun while you’re doing it. And most

importantly, don’t let anyone tell you anything isn’t possible, it just hasn’t been

done yet!