She’s only just legal to drive on British roads – passing her test a couple of months ago.
But Chloe Chong is already driving at speeds of 150mph and is set to be Britain’s next racing star – already becoming the new driver of makeup powerhouse Charlotte Tilbury’s F1 sponsorship.
Aged just seventeen, Chloe Chong is still at school and studying for her A-levels all whilst traveling the world solo to pursue her dream of becoming the best female F1 driver in the world.
She made history as the youngest ever driver to race with F1 Academy in 2023 aged just 15 and has since been labeled the one to watch.
Now, speaking to The Mail in an exclusive interview, Miss Chong has opened up about her journey to the track and how she hopes to grow female representation within the sport.
Her interest in the sport spiked aged three from watching F1 with her Dad.
Chloe Chong is already driving at speeds of 150mph and is set to be Britain’s next racing star – already becoming the new driver of makeup powerhouse Charlotte Tilbury’s F1 sponsorship
She made history as the youngest ever driver to race with F1 Academy in 2023 aged just 15 and has since been labeled the one to watch (pictured aged six)
Begging him for years, he eventually let her begin karting at a track close to her house, which coincidently happened to also be the same track where Lewis Hamilton began his career, Buckmore Park Kart Circuit.
‘My passion for racing started actually when I first encountered F1 with my dad,’ she said.
‘I was about three or four years old and because he’d take care of me at home because my mum was the working parent of the family, we would just always spend time together and he’d have it on either in the background or we would watch it and have a conversation out of it.
‘And at that time I was too young to comprehend the whole business of the sport and what it all means in the bigger picture.
‘But I loved hearing the cars go around and seeing the drivers overtake and I remember just starting to go in the living room trying to make a car out of all the sofa cushions.
‘Then the passion turned into a love, and I kept begging my dad to go karting, and by the age of six, he got fed up and ended up letting me go and I’ve never looked back from there.’
In 2022 was chosen to take part in a programme called FIA Girls on Track – a rising stars programme – which she originally didn’t want to go to because she was on a school trip with her friends in South Africa.
But her parents pushed her forward to join the programme, and she achieved second place out of over 1,000 girls.
Aged just seventeen, Chloe Chong is still at school and studying for her A-levels all whilst traveling the world solo to pursue her dream of becoming the best female F1 driver in the world
She made history as the youngest ever driver to race with F1 Academy in 2023 aged just 15 (pictured) and has since been labeled the one to watch
In 2022 was chosen to take part in a programme called FIA Girls on Track – a rising stars programme – which she originally didn’t want to go to because she was on a school trip with her friends in South Africa
She then went back to school for a couple of months and focused on passing her GCSE’s.
The F1 Academy was then launched in 2023 as an entry-level series for women drivers taking their first steps in motorsport.
The category is designed to give drivers access to more track time, racing and testing, as well as support with technical, physical, and mental preparations.
The Academy now competes on 15 of the 24 F1 circuits around the world throughout the year.
Chloe’s dad woke her up at 6am in February 2023 with a call from Italian team PREMA Racing who then signed her for their first F1 Academy campaign – aged just 15 years-old at the time.
She was the youngest driver on the F1 Academy grid and went on to conquer a top six position at her very first car race and made improvements throughout the year, finishing with a strong four-race scoring streak.
Still trying to be a ‘normal’ teenager at times, Chloe recently passed her driving test, revealing it amazingly didn’t come easy to her.
‘I just got my drivers license,’ she said.
‘I was so stressed about it.
‘I thought I was going to fail because I parked really far from the curb and then the guy started asking me to do a bunch of hill starts on really steep hills near where I live.
‘So thank God I got through it and I managed to pass, and now I can finally drive myself to and from training.’
Now studying for her A-Level’s alongside traveling the world to the F1 circuits, she transferred to a remote school to enable her to keep competing.
With her parents supporting her from home, she once had her teammate Bianca Bustamante, 20, become her legal guardian.
‘I was at school and then moved to remote schooling,’ she said.
‘When I first joined F1 Academy, I was 15, so legally I wasn’t really allowed to travel alone as a minor.
‘So at one point I had Bianca Bustamante who was my teammate at the time, become my parental guardian. She signed a paper basically saying that she was my guardian for a bit.
‘But after that I wanted to be more independent. So travelling to and from Italy with my previous team, I did a lot of that myself.
‘My brother and sister need to be taken to and from school as they’re still quite young, and my parents have a lot on their plates, so I hope to be as independent as possible.’
In February last year Charlotte Tilbury (L) announced its first-ever global sports sponsorship becoming the first female-founded brand and the first beauty brand to sponsor F1 Academy
The young star has just been announced as the new driver of makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury’s F1 Academy sponsorship
The young star has just been announced as the new driver of makeup brand Charlotte Tilbury’s F1 Academy sponsorship.
In February last year Charlotte Tilbury announced its first-ever global sports sponsorship becoming the first female-founded brand and the first beauty brand to sponsor F1 Academy.
Describing herself as anything but a ‘girly girl’ Chloe said makeup has always been something her and her friends have experimented with, and she hopes the new signing will bring a new audience to racing.
She told The Mail: ‘Even at school, when I wasn’t as focused with my racing, I’d always talk to my friends about makeup.
‘It was a new thing in our lives, especially beginning secondary school, and Charlotte Tilbury always came up. And at that time I’d never had a Charlotte Tilbury product.
‘It was only about a year ago I bought my first Charlotte Tilbury item.
‘So going into F1 Academy and learning that I’ll have a sponsor seat and I didn’t know who, I was wishing for it to be Charlotte, but I wasn’t too sure because I wouldn’t say I’m the girliest of girls.
‘But when I heard the news and they came to meet me it was definitely a dream come true.
‘I think they’re the best sponsor on the grid and I can’t wait to represent their car on track and put the car in position.
‘It will look fabulous on the podium.
‘It’s all about getting more women involved and more women representing themselves at the highest level of sports.
‘When I was growing up, I never saw a female in Formula One except for Susie Wolff.
‘So when you look at how times have changed, it’s amazing to see the platform that F1 Academy has and you know the backing that it now has.
‘Many people around the world have good memories of going karting, but they’ve never pursued it.
‘So I think having the role models and females in F1 Academy and seeing them race and seeing them, be as competitive as the guys that are moving up is inspiring and it’s going to change the game for women’s racing.’
Not only impressive on the track but Chloe can also play eight instruments.
Using music as a tool to help her prepare for a race, she told how she switches between classical, jazz or house.
She said: ‘Music is very important to me. I absolutely adore music.
‘I’ve been playing it a lot since I was a young kid. I play eight instruments, so listening to music before the start of the race gets me into the rhythm of things.
‘It just makes me more relaxed.
Last year she ticked meeting Lewis Hamilton off her bucket list and because of her love for music says there is one celebrity she is desperate to now meet
‘Racing is all about just being smooth and being very mindful of yourself, but also just letting things flow.
‘Once you start to force things in racing, it starts to go a bit wrong and you start to wear down the tires and all sorts of things happen to the car and yourself, so the mentality thing in racing’s a big thing and having music really helps me.’
Last year she ticked meeting Lewis Hamilton off her bucket list and because of her love for music says there is one celebrity she is desperate to now meet.
‘My dream in life is to meet Adele,’ she said.
‘Last year I met Lewis Hamilton and it was the best experience ever.
‘He’s truly amazing, he’s so humble.
‘He gave me some great tips about racing, great tips on how to push myself.
‘So I ticked him off the bucket list, and next is Adele.’
To celebrate the renewed partnership and ensure its impact reaches everyone, everywhere, 100 per cent of proceeds from purchases of Charlotte’s award-winning Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray made on International Women’s Day (8 March 2025) will help to fund free karting sessions for young girls to experience racing and help discover the next generation of formidable female drivers by breaking down the barriers to entry.
