Yamuna Sternbeck is a Queensland-based open-wheel racer who moved from six years of karting into Formula Vee and Formula Ford 1600, competing in the Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship and becoming one of the few women in the region to do so.

EARLY YEARS

The moment that started everything was simple enough: a seven-year-old saw a go-kart at Warwick Kart Club and the decision was made on the spot. “As a 7 year old once I saw a go kart at Warwick kart club I knew this is what I wanted to do,” Sternbeck has said. [1] From that point, she spent six years racing karts before her father, Michael Sternbeck, helped steer her toward open-wheel competition. [2] By 2023, she was a Year 10 student at Clifton State High School, balancing schoolwork with her rookie season in Formula Vee — a combination that, by her father’s account, she managed without letting either slip. [2] Her younger brother Madhava also competes in open-wheel racing, making motorsport something of a family undertaking. [2]

EARLY SUCCESS

Sternbeck’s 2023 rookie season in open-wheel racing was spent with Team MYSTAR in Formula Vee, competing in the Queensland State Championship and qualifying for national rounds — a notable step for a driver in her first year out of karts. [2] At the Queensland State Championship that year, her reported best finish was P3. [2] At the national Formula Vee rounds she recorded finishes of P6, P7, and P8. [2] She also competed at Morgan Park Raceway in Warwick, recording a sixth-place finish at one event there. [2] The research does not specify in each case whether these results were overall or class finishes. By 2025, she had made the move into Formula Ford 1600 (Kent), appearing on the Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship points sheet with 52 points after the first eligible round of that season. [3] In 2026, she continued in the same category, accumulating 108 points across three eligible rounds of the Queensland championship. [4]

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2023: Rookie season in Formula Vee with Team MYSTAR; qualified for national rounds in her first year of open-wheel competition. [2]
• 2023: Reported best finish of P3 in the Queensland State Championship; P6, P7, and P8 finishes at national Formula Vee rounds. [2]
• 2023: Described as the only female competing in Queensland and New South Wales Formula Vee competition at the time. [2]
• 2025: Recorded 52 points in the Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship, Formula Ford 1600 (Kent), after Round 1. [3]
• 2026: Accumulated 108 points in the Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship, Formula Ford 1600 (Kent), through five rounds. [4]

INSPIRATIONS

Sternbeck credits her father as the central influence on her racing career. “My biggest mentor has been my dad who’s been with me for the whole journey getting me in the right headspace and supporting my racing dreams,” she has said. [1] Beyond her immediate family, she has cited Formula 1 drivers Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri as inspirations. [1]

REPUTATION

The most telling assessment of Sternbeck’s early form came from someone who had watched every session: her father. Michael Sternbeck described her 2023 rookie season in open-wheel racing as one in which she had “taken to it like a fish to water.” [2] He was speaking as her father and supporter, not as a team official — which perhaps makes the appraisal more candid, not less. On the physical demands of stepping up to Formula Ford, Sternbeck herself was straightforward: she acknowledged she was still building the strength the car required and that there was plenty to improve before she could match the pace of more experienced competitors. [1] She said she was addressing that with basic bodyweight training. [1]

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of 2026, Sternbeck remained active in the Queensland Circuit Racing State Championship in Formula Ford 1600. [4] Her stated ambition is direct: “My dream would be to get a sponsored racing seat. I will drive anything fast!” [1] Funding has been a practical obstacle — in 2023, her father noted that the family’s team had no local sponsors and was hoping for business support. [2] In the shorter term, her focus has been on process over outcome: after one Formula Ford meeting, she said her immediate goal for the next round was simply to put in a good lap and keep refining it. [1]

References:

[1] Morgan Park Raceway interview, Facebook
[2] Our News – Firing on All Cylinders, 4 October 2023
[3] Motorsport Australia – 2025 Queensland Circuit Racing Championship Points after Round 1
[4] Motorsport Australia – 2026 Queensland Circuit Racing Championship Amended Points after Round 5