Adelaide space-tech company Fleet Space Technologies has signed a brand partnership with Australian F1 Academy driver Joanne Ciconte in a bid to spotlight women pushing the edge of high-performance STEM.
The deal will see Fleet branding on Ciconte’s race kit and a custom helmet from the 2026 season, with both sides framing the tie-up around data-driven performance and opening doors for the next generation.
Ciconte, 16, is the youngest driver on the 2025 F1 Academy grid with MP Motorsport and scored her first series points at Jeddah in April, a milestone that underpins her rapid step up from Formula 4.
She said the deal “brings together two worlds I’m passionate about – pushing the limits of technology and breaking new ground for women in applied STEM fields”.
“Fleet Space’s historic contributions to Australia’s space heritage and relentless innovation in space technology reflects my drive to become Australia’s first female F1 driver; fueled by a passion for speed, precision, and exploration,” Ciconte added.
“Together, we’re showing what’s possible when you challenge boundaries and open new paths for the next generation.”
The partnership gives Ciconte fresh backing as she chases a long-term goal of becoming Australia’s first woman to race in in Formula 1, while Fleet gets a young high-performance brand ambassador at a time when it’s expanding in preparation for its involvement in Moon to Mars programs.
Co-Founder & CEO of Fleet Space, Flavia Tata Nardini, said Ciconte “mirrors the spirt” of her company.
“Breaking boundaries requires the same boldness to embrace risk, master cutting-edge technology, and create possibilities for others that didn’t exist before,” she said.
“As Fleet Space approaches its 10 year anniversary, we believe there is no limit to where curiosity, courage, and relentless drive can take the next generation – whether that’s the racetrack, low Earth orbit, or kilometres below our feet. Supporting world-class talent like Joanne as she rises to the pinnacle of her field is at the core of who we are: explorers.”
Fleet Space is just the latest Australian company to get into the F1 sponsorship game. Atlassian became the name sponsor for Williams at the start of this season while Melbourne-born Airwallex signed on as a sponsor of McLaren which is sitting comfortably atop the constructor’s table.
Fleet closed a A$150 million Series D in December at an A$800 million-plus valuation to scale its ExoSphere mineral-exploration platform, an AI- and satellite-powered system that gives miners faster readouts of what lies beneath the surface.
The company is also building a 5,300sqm global HQ and “hyper factory” at Adelaide Airport to ramp production of its sensors and small satellites.
Fleet co-founder Matt Pearson is the entrepreneur behind Airspeeder and Alauda Aeronautics, which just secured CASA’s experimental flight certificate for the Adelaide-built Airspeeder Mk4.
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