At only 16 years old, Juju Noda is the youngest driver to ever compete in the W Series.

Juju Noda joins the series after a two-year stint in Danish F4 where she took her first win in her debut race, before going on to achieve two more race wins, five pole positions, and twelve podium finishes.

“I grew up a lot [in Danish F4]”, Noda admits, “I learned a lot about the car and setups, which improved my knowledge a lot”.

Improving her racing expertise and experience will be essential to Noda getting the most out of her W Series stint as she joins
the championship as a rookie full of untapped potential, which is ready to be explored and cultivated.

Noda is aiming to reduce her experience deficit to the rest of the grid by competing in the Drexler Formel Cup during the breaks in the W Series calendar, but she also believes that she can learn a lot just by observing the other drivers on the grid.

“Most of the drivers have more experience than me – and some have a lot more experience that me”, she says with a laugh, “and only having half an hour to practise makes it very difficult [for me] to figure out how to drive fast around the circuit – so being able to look at their data and how they drive, it helps me a lot. In a way, competing with them is a great way to learn”.

Noda was initially approached about joining W Series three years ago, she reveals, but had to wait until she was older for discussions to happen in earnest.

Noda and her teammate, 17-year-old Bianca Bustamante, will be racing for the W Series Academy team, a race seat which – among other things – guarantees Noda a seat in the series for the next two seasons.

“I’m very honoured to be a part of the grid this season, even though I know it’s going to be tough,” she admits, “but for now, I am trying to enjoy driving on an F1 racetrack and learn things from all the drivers.”

It has been a slow start to the championship for Noda, who currently is 17th in the driver standings, and until Hungary, was one of only two drivers not to have scored points yet this season. A lack of track time, experience, and restrictive setups have all contributed to this, Noda explains. “I don’t really know any of the racetracks in W Series, so only having half an hour’s worth of practice and then going straight into qualifying is pretty tough for me”.

While being added to the F1 support bill on race weekends has generated massive exposure for the series, it has come at the expense of track time, with W Series having to drop their second Free Practice session to fit in with the limited track time constraints – which places drivers with less experience of the tracks at an immediate disadvantage.

To ensure that driver’s skills are always at the forefront of the sport, all cars in W Series are owned by the series itself and are mechanically identical to each other, with teams existing primarily for sponsorship and organisational purposes, reducing the scope for a driver to drastically change how their car is set up. “It’s different to when you race in an individual team,” Noda explains, “when you are part of an individual team, they focus on the car to make you competitive, but W Series is different so you can’t focus solely on the car, so sometimes you have to give up the way you want to do it [drive the car], which is something I need to get used to”.

Despite this, Noda remains calm. “Since I have the option in my contract [to race for two seasons], I’m more focused on the learning side of things this year. Learning more things about the tracks, the car, and how to drive it – I am not under pressure to get the best result possible”.

Still, Noda is optimistic about achieving good results as this season unfolds, particularly when W Series heads to Suzuka, for her home Grand Prix, in October. “I’ve driven around Suzuka before”, Noda says, “so for the first time this season, I’ll be able to compete with other drivers using my experience, so I’m looking forward to being very competitive in Suzuka.”

As well as her on-track motivations, Noda has more personal reasons behind her excitement at racing in front of a home crowd. “My grandpa was unwell, but he is recovering now – and he is looking forward to coming to watch my race [at Suzuka] so I’d like to race my best in front of him’.

For Noda, this season is all about taking small steps forward, closing the gap to those ahead of her, and becoming more competitive. “To be as competitive as other more experienced W Series drivers – that’s my goal for this season,” she explains, “and with that result, next season I can aim to win the championship”.

Throughout her career, Juju Noda has been lauded as a racing prodigy, compared to the likes of Charles Leclerc, Max Verstappen, and Jamie Chadwick – and now, under the lights of W Series, she has the opportunity to prove herself worthy of the title. I cannot wait to see her make her mark on the series, and on motorsport as a whole.