Starting her racing journey at 11, Gianna didn’t have the same access to sponsorships or early exposure as many of her peers. Her family supported her passion from the off, but having never pursued the sport themselves, couldn’t open the same doors. Still, her talent was immediately apparent, and she is now on track to become South Africa’s first female F1 driver.
At just 16, Gianna’s story is only just beginning. I sat down with her to understand the determination it takes to navigate a world where the obstacles often seem impossible. And yet, despite these challenges, Gianna’s energy is infectious. She’s strong, bold, and serious when she needs to be. But she always takes time to enjoy the unserious things, whether it’s giggling with her peers or sharing stories.
As for the matter of talent, it’s easy to argue that it’s a gift many have, but few ever extract its fullest potential. Gianna, though, has plenty of just that. She’s also a quick study, is switched on, and even more importantly, motivated. Her five years in racing have produced opportunities and experience that far exceed what South African karting typically offers. In the early days, she quickly established herself as a frontrunner in ROK and Rotax karting championships.
She then moved into the international scene, competing in the Champions of the Future championship, where she delivered a promising performance. COTF is an FIA-sanctioned premier international karting championship and talent development programme launched by RGMMC Group. Alongside the COTF, Gianna performed well at the FIA Arrive and Drive programmes and the FIA Karting Academy Trophy and was recognised as one of South Africa’s most promising young female talents.
To take the natural next step beyond karting, she recently embarked on her MSA4 journey, which is a branch of single-seater formula racing that is often the first major leap from karts to cars. Her transition went smoothly, supported by the driver development structure at WORR Motorsports under Wesleigh Orr.
Race-life balance
Balancing school and racing is no easy feat. But what does a week in Gianna’s life actually look like? “Well, Monday through Wednesday is normally a gym session in the morning, then school. Then come home, have dinner, shower, and chat with my friends, because you always need some kind of social life. But on the occasional Wednesday and Thursday, I’m at the track either from 1pm or all day for training. Lots of sim training, and Friday and Saturday are at the race track. Then I rest on Sunday.”
There is a sense of seriousness when Gianna walks me through her week and she inevitably mentions the simulator. Apparently, she lives for this as it also represents something more than training, but also this, racing, also what she loves to do. Naturally, we discussed what it’s like to be one of the better drivers around and not yet have a driver’s licence. Her face lit up at that. “Strange.” But she loves knowing she’s the best driver in the house and her parents have nothing on her. Cheeky, but almost certainly true.
Being a racing driver obviously carries some weight in and around the high school corridors, so I had to ask: “Do your friends treat you like a racing driver, or just Gianna?” Her school friends have known her long enough that to them she’s just Gianna. But the friends she’s made in the paddock are a different story. It started with: “You’re Gianna… the Gianna.” A moment of recognition, but she said it quickly turned into friendships away from the circuit drama.
Visor down
Gianna has a structured routine ahead of race day. Getting into the car takes mental and physical preparation, and her fitness and mental coach plays a huge role in making sure she arrives in the right headspace. But when she needs, in her own words, “a real good pump of readiness” ahead of a race, there’s only one go-to: AC/DC’s Thunderstruck, at full volume.
She doesn’t necessarily see it as a routine, but she has a step-by-step process on race day. Step one: blast some tunes on the way to the track. Step two: arrive, get a drink, greet everybody. Step three: get ready and make sure her socks are on the right feet. She notes this is the most important step. Step four: say a prayer. Step five: do a few jumps. Step six: Get in and drive the wheels off.
And the moment it clicked that this is really happening? When the young racer was doing her seat fitment for her MSA4 car. According to her, she had a moment of realisation that this seat, being moulded for her, was going to carry her into proper Formula racing.
The email
The More Than Equal programme is a global, independent, non-profit initiative with the singular goal of finding and developing female talent that could one day produce the first female F1 world champion. It was co-founded by former F1 driver David Coulthard and Czech businessman Karel Komárek, and is also the official driver performance and research partner for F1 Academy. In short, this is about as significant a step as Gianna could take on the road to F1.
I had to enquire: “When you got that email, what did you feel? Excitement, validation, fear?” Her answer was simple: “It was all of the above. We were in Malaysia for one of the Karting World Finals, and my mom walked up and said I got selected for More Than Equal. I didn’t know how to process it. I’ve never had something that big happen before. I was like… ‘Me? Are you sure? Does it say Gianna in that email? Are you sure?’ I was shocked, but it really showed that my hard work is paying off.” It was a huge moment for her and her family, and the first real proof that the dream was within reach.
10 years from now
My final question for Gianna: “If we sat down again in 10 years, what do you hope we’d be talking about?” I already knew the answer. “I hope we’ll be talking about me in Formula 1.” So do I. I asked if she had any other goals beyond F1. Her answer was clear: Gianna wants to race on the biggest stage there is. F1 is the goal, but if her path leads through endurance racing or DTM, she’ll take it. She just wants to race.
Gianna is a rare breed in that she’s known what she wanted from a young age and relentlessly pursued it. Not out of family pressure or lineage, but passion above all else. She is en route to the F1 Academy, and the next few years could be the making of something extraordinary. Keep a close eye on Gianna Pascoal. There’s a very good chance she’s the future of women in Formula 1.
