At just 16 years old, Maria Germano Neto is taking on one of the biggest challenges of her young racing career, making her debut in single-seaters with TC Racing in the 2026 Spanish Formula 4 Championship.

The Portuguese driver arrives in F4 after an impressive karting career which saw her claim multiple national titles, achieve international victories and earn recognition as the best female driver in the FIA Karting World Ranking in 2023.

Now, as she begins the next chapter of her career, Maria is looking to gain valuable experience in one of Europe’s most competitive junior single-seater championships while continuing to work towards her long-term ambition of reaching Formula 1.

Maria Germano Neto’s Journey So Far

Maria first stepped into a kart at just four years old, officially beginning her racing career a year later.

Her introduction to motorsport was almost accidental. In her first outing in a kart, her father initially attached a rope between his kart and Maria’s, allowing him to guide her around the circuit. When the rope came loose, however, Maria continued driving on her own without hesitation. What started as a first experience in a kart quickly became something much more serious.

Maria began competing in junior karting and soon established herself as one of Portugal’s promising young talents. She kicked off her karting career by winning the Portuguese Karting Cup in 2016, before winning the Bridgestone Cup in 2018.

Following on from this early success, 2019 saw her claim both the Portuguese Karting Open and the Portuguese Karting Championship in the Cadet category.

Her progress was also being recognised away from the circuit. Maria was named a Jovem Promessa do Desporto Nacional (Young Promise of National Sports) by the Portuguese Federation of Motor Racing and Karting.

As she gained more experience in Portugal, Maria began competing internationally and making history along the way. She became the first Portuguese female driver to achieve victories in both Spanish and Italian karting championships.

At just nine years old, she also became the youngest driver ever to compete in the finals of the world championship at Le Mans. By this point, Maria was already competing at an international level and the opportunities continued to grow.

In 2021, she won the junior category of the FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars programme. The achievement brought support from the Ferrari Driver Academy, which backed her development between 2021 and 2025. The support gave Maria the opportunity to continue racing internationally within a professional structure, while also helping her attract the sponsorship needed to continue progressing through the sport.

Her karting career reached another major milestone in 2023 when she was recognised as the best female driver in the FIA Karting World Ranking.

After years of competing across Portugal and Europe, Maria had established herself as one of the leading young female talents in karting and was now looking towards the next stage of her career.

Balancing School and Racing

While Maria’s racing career has taken her around Europe, she has also had to balance competing internationally with school life.

Frequent travel means missing lessons and spending a significant amount of time away from home, making it difficult to maintain a normal routine alongside racing. Maria has previously spoken about the challenge of keeping up with her studies, often having to find time to work while travelling or during race weekends.

Fortunately, she has had plenty of support from her teachers and classmates. Her classmates are particularly interested in her racing career, regularly asking about the countries she visits, her training and what it is like to compete internationally.

For a young driver, learning to manage those commitments away from the circuit is another part of the development process.

The Move to Single-Seaters

After years of success in karting, Maria’s attention eventually turned towards single-seaters. She had already spoken about her ambitions to progress through Formula 4 and Formula 3, with the ultimate goal of reaching Formula 1.

Ahead of the 2026 season, those ambitions became a reality when TC Racing signed Maria for the Spanish Formula 4 Championship. The move marked her first full season in single-seaters and also made her the first female driver to represent TC Racing.

For Maria, it was the realisation of an ambition she had been working towards since first climbing into a kart.

“Joining TC Racing is a dream come true. Ever since I started in karting, I’ve always dreamed of stepping up to single-seaters, and now I have the opportunity to compete in F4 Spain with a top-level team,” Maria said.

“I’m very excited to learn, improve every day and take on new challenges, both on and off the track.”

The significance of becoming TC Racing’s first female driver was also important to Maria, giving her extra motivation as she began this new chapter of her career.

“This signing also means a lot to me personally: being the first female driver at TC Racing motivates me even more to show that with hard work, passion and perseverance, there are no limits.”

TC Racing Team Principal Imanol Zubikarai was equally positive about the signing, describing Maria as a young European karting talent with “ability, discipline and ambition”.

He also highlighted the potential for her presence to inspire other young women looking to pursue careers in motorsport.

2026 Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship

Before the main Spanish F4 season got underway, Maria used the three-round Eurocup-4 Spanish Winter Championship to get her first taste of competitive single-seater racing.

The February and March campaign gave her the opportunity to learn the F4 car, gain race experience and adjust to the differences between karting and single-seaters.

The opening round at Portimão proved challenging, but Maria showed encouraging progress at the Circuito de Jarama. She finished P11 in Sunday’s final race, narrowly missing out on a top-10 finish.

At the final round at MotorLand Aragón, she continued to gain confidence through close midfield battles. Maria climbed from P25 to P21 in the opening race, before moving from P25 to P16 in the reverse-grid sprint. She finished P20 on track in the final race, although a time penalty later dropped her to P24.

The results were less important than the experience gained across the three rounds, with Maria steadily becoming more comfortable in the car and developing her racecraft ahead of her rookie Spanish F4 campaign.

2026 Spanish F4 Championship

With her first competitive single-seater experience under her belt, Maria entered the 2026 Spanish F4 Championship ready for her first full season in Formula 4.

The Championship’s 10th season began in April at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, giving Maria her first opportunity to compete across a full Spanish F4 weekend. As a rookie, her focus throughout the season is on gaining experience, developing her pace and learning how to consistently compete in a highly competitive junior single-seater field.

The opening rounds proved challenging for Maria, with her Spanish F4 debut ending prematurely after she was caught up in an accident that wasn’t her fault. She then returned to Portugal for her home round at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve, where a hand injury threatened to prevent her from competing. Through a determined recovery, Maria managed to return to the car in time to race in front of her home crowd, although the weekend remained difficult as she continued adapting to the demands of F4.

Photo Credit: Adrián Navarro / FOTOCAR13

The following round at MotorLand Aragón provided a more encouraging weekend, with Maria showing stronger race pace and recovering several places throughout the races. After qualifying P31, she finished P20 on track in the final race after starting from P33, before post-race penalties for other drivers promoted her to P15. The result gave Maria her season’s-best finish and provided an encouraging boost as she continued to gain confidence and experience in the F4 machinery.

After the summer break, Maria returned to the Circuito de Madrid Jarama for Round 4, but another disrupted weekend made it difficult for the Portuguese driver to showcase her full potential. Despite the frustrations, the experience provides another learning opportunity for the 16-year-old as she continues her rookie campaign.

The most recent round at Jerez proved once again challenging for Maria, still carrying the slight injury to her hand as well as a three-place grid penalty from Jarama. She finished 34th in the opening race after a 10-second penalty for track limits was applied. Her weekend then turned from bad to worse when she was forced to retire from Race 2. However, she responded with a stronger performance in the final race, placing 24th but failing to secure a Female Trophy.

The Road Ahead

With two rounds of the 2026 season remaining, Maria is still on the hunt for her maiden points in the Championship. Up next is Navarra where she will hope to return to consistently fighting in the midfield and for Female Trophy victories.

For Maria, the remainder of the season is about continuing to learn, develop and gain as much experience as possible. Her move into Formula 4 is the latest step in a journey that began in a kart at just four years old and has already taken her to national championships, international victories, Ferrari Driver Academy support and recognition as the best female driver in the FIA Karting World Ranking.

Now, with her sights set firmly on the future, Maria is beginning the long road towards the higher levels of single-seater racing. Her ultimate ambition remains unchanged: to continue moving up the ladder, with Formula 3 and, eventually, Formula 1 firmly in her sights. With almost a full season in Spanish F4 under her belt at just 16 years of age, Maria has already taken an important first step towards achieving those ambitions. Her journey is only just beginning.

Catch her in the last round of the Spanish F4 championship in Montmeló, Barcelona, on 6-8 November 2026.

Maria Germano Neto: Portugal’s Only Female…