A teenager is set to become the next F1 champion after her go-karting hobby sparked a love of speed that’s not slowing down.
Emma-Rose Dowling has made history by becoming the first South African to be accepted into the F1 Academy’s Champions of the Future Programme in England – the breeding ground of up-and-coming F1 and F4 racers.
The 15-year-old combines her love of racing and her passion for makeup in a single colour: pink.
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The teen has her eyes set on F1 in the future and won’t be letting anything get in her way.
“My car has pink in it, my suit is pink and my helmet and shoes are pink,” Emma-Rose, who is from Benoni, South Africa, told Whats The Jam.
“This is just the beginning.
“I’m not too nervous about it all yet – I just want to show them what I can do in this course.
“I’ll see where things take me after the year is over but Formula 1 is the ultimate goal.”
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The schoolgirl first started go-karting when she was 10, before making the switch to racing cars.
She said: “A few years ago I watched my grandfather and uncle do a local endurance race for fun.
“My brother and I thought it was very cool – he did a few races and I asked my mum if I could too.
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“From then on, I loved it,”
Emma-Rose has spent the past year driving for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Academy, where she’s one of only two girls behind the wheel.
The rules of the academy were amended this year so the young team of 15-year-olds can drive cars on the racetrack.
While she’s confident now, Emma-Rose’s mum Sandor, 43, who runs a wellness centre, says it wasn’t always the case.
She said: “We believed in her because we saw how she drove.
“But she didn’t believe in herself.”
Emma-Rose added: “That’s because I was like a little girl when I started.
“But now I know I deserve to be on that track with the others.”
In most races and competitions where she participates in the junior divisions, Emma-Rose is still the only girl.
The promising speedster says she was “a bit intimidated at first” but things quickly changed.
She added: “The boys were bigger and stronger but over time I started becoming more mature and so did they.
“The older boys don’t care anymore that I’m a girl who wins or participates.
“They now see me as a driver and I see them as drivers too.”
While go-karting started out as a fun hobby, and she didn’t give much thought to where it could lead, Emma-Rose sees her future in motorsport.
While there are no rules preventing women from racing in F1, there have only been a handful of women drivers who’ve competed against men, with the last being Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976.
Emma-Rose said: “I want to see how far I can go.
“It’s already great to be the first South African in the F1 Academy so to represent the country further one day would be really special.”
Competitions often take Emma-Rose away from school, where her favourite subjects include maths and business, though there are accommodations in place to help her continue to study, including online classes.
Emma-Rose learned she had been accepted to the F1 Academy back in January, after her mum applied for her.
She said: “I was at home when my dad came into the room and shared the news.
“I was so shocked.
“My little brother Brodi and I jumped up and down with excitement.
“They choose only three people per age category and I’m the first from South Africa to be chosen.
“I was chosen for the senior category, which is for girls from 14 to 17.”
The academy’s mission is to “inspire and support young girls and women worldwide to embark on their own journeys in motorsport”.
At the academy, students are trained in racing techniques and prepared for higher-level formula racing.
One day, Emma-Rose hopes to be sponsored and race for big teams like Mercedes, McLaren or Red Bull in F1.
While she’s at the academy, she will continue her schooling online and make regular trips to the UK with her mum to take part in race preparation and races.
Emma-Rose currently trains with a driving instructor four times a week for around four hours at a time, and her friends often come to cheer her on from the sidelines.
She added: “The risk is that I miss out on school, a normal life, hanging out with my friends, but I still want to commit to racing.
“My friends understand my passion and they know where I’m heading.”
Emma-Rose’s family are all F1-mad too.
Her brother Brodi, 12, is a big fan of Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari, dad David, 45, and Sandor support Mercedes, while Emma-Rose cheers for Red Bull and McLaren and is crazy about Lando Norris.
Brodi is a racer too and Sandor says she doesn’t worry too much about the speeds her kids reach behind the wheel.
She added: “I know the training they’ve done and I know they have the ability and confidence and skill – but I do worry about how trained the other kids on the track are.
“I’m more afraid of that.”
She and David support their kids every step of the way.
She said: “Whether they have a good day or a bad day, we encourage them, remind them to be humble, to work hard and that what you put in, you will get out.
“I’m very proud of my daughter and my son.
“My dream for both of them is F1.
“But if not, they’re both skilled and capable of doing and enjoying anything in motorsport.”
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