Cecília Rabelo

Cecília Rabelo is a Brazilian racing driver from Varginha who made history in 2024 as the first woman to secure pole position in the Brazilian F4 Championship, launching herself from karting success into a rapid ascent through single-seaters and into GT endurance racing.

EARLY YEARS

Born around 2007 in Varginha, Brazil, Cecília Rabelo grew up in a country with deep motorsports roots but precious few pathways for young women to break into the sport. Details about her family, her childhood, and what first drew her to racing remain largely private, but what’s clear is that someone—whether parents, mentors, or her own relentless drive—saw something worth nurturing early on. By her early teens, Rabelo was already carving out a name for herself in national karting competitions, racking up podium finishes and showing the kind of raw speed that gets people talking. In a sport where most girls are filtered out before they even get started, she kept going.

At just 15 years old in 2022, Rabelo took her first steps into single-seater racing, participating in two rounds of the Paulista Formula Delta series while simultaneously logging free training sessions to prepare for a full assault on Brazilian F4. That same year, she joined the all-female FIA Girls On Track team in the Brazilian Endurance Championship alongside Antonella Bassani, Bia Martins, Gabriela Mesa, and Thaline Chicoski, finishing eighth overall. It was a year of learning, testing, and proving she belonged—not in a women’s category, but in racing, period.

OTHER INTERESTS

Beyond the cockpit, Cecília keeps her personal life firmly under wraps. There’s no public record of hobbies, academic pursuits, or passions outside motorsports. Whether that’s by choice or simply because she’s been too busy racing to cultivate a public persona is anyone’s guess. For now, the track is where she does her talking.

EARLY SUCCESS

Rabelo’s karting career laid the foundation, but her breakout moment came when she committed to Brazilian F4 full-time in 2023 with Cavaleiro Sports, piloting a Minelli M3 powered by a Mitsubishi Mivec 2.0 engine. She was frank about the challenge ahead: “It will be my biggest challenge in motorsport… I’m going to dedicate myself to the maximum because I know it won’t be easy. The objective is to learn, gain experience and fight for good results in the championship.” She became the second woman confirmed on the 2023 Brazilian F4 grid after Rafaela Ferreira—a milestone in itself, even if the results didn’t immediately follow. That rookie season netted just three points across two race starts, but it was a foothold.

By 2024, Rabelo had leveled up. Joining Oakberry Bassani F4 and racing a Tatuus F4 T-021 with an Abarth 1.4 Turbo engine on Pirelli rubber, she turned heads across the 20-race season. She finished 13th overall with 40 points, scoring four points finishes and 12 top-10 results—a solid rookie F4 campaign by any measure. Her personal best finish was fourth, but the real story came at Interlagos during the championship’s marquee round supporting the Brazilian Grand Prix. There, Rabelo became the first woman in Brazilian F4 history to take pole position—and she did it twice in one weekend, claiming pole for Races 1 and 3. It was a statement performance, the kind that rewrites the narrative and forces everyone to pay attention.

Rather than continue climbing the single-seater ladder in 2025, Rabelo pivoted to GT and endurance racing, joining the Porsche Cup Brasil ecosystem. She competed full-time in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Brasil Sport class, driving the #98 Porsche 991 GT3 Cup, and also contested select rounds of the Porsche Endurance Challenge Brazil. At Velo Città’s opening round, she scored class podiums in both races and cracked the top 10 overall—an impressive GT debut. Despite incidents that hampered Round 2, she bounced back at Interlagos with another top-10 overall result. By the time the international rounds rolled around, Rabelo was ready: at Portimão, she won her class in Race 1 and finished second in class in Race 2. By mid-season, she sat sixth in the Sport class standings with 37 points, proving she could adapt quickly to different machinery and longer races.

In 2026, Rabelo took another leap, this time across continents. She competed in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class, finishing eighth overall with 470 points—a respectable result in a fiercely competitive North American series and further proof that her talent translates across borders and categories.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• Pre-2022: First podium finishes in national karting competitions in Brazil.
• 2022: Competed with the all-female FIA Girls On Track team in the Brazilian Endurance Championship, finishing eighth overall.
• 2024: First woman to secure pole position in Brazilian F4 Championship history, achieving a double pole at Interlagos for Races 1 and 3.
• 2024: Finished 13th in the F4 Brazilian Championship with 40 points, 12 top-10 finishes, and a personal best result of fourth place.
• 2025: Class winner at Portimão in the Porsche Sprint Challenge Brasil Sport class, plus second place in class in Race 2.
• 2025: Class podiums in both races at Velo Città Round 1 and top-10 overall finishes at Velo Città and Interlagos in Porsche Cup Brasil competition.
• 2026: Eighth place finish in the IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge GSX class with 470 points.

INSPIRATIONS

Rabelo has not publicly discussed her racing heroes, mentors, or sources of inspiration. Whether she’s motivated by trailblazers who came before her, family encouragement, or simply her own competitive fire remains her business. What’s evident is that she doesn’t need external validation to keep pushing forward—her results speak louder than any interview soundbite could.

REPUTATION

Within Brazilian motorsports circles, Cecília Rabelo is regarded as a driver with serious promise. Media coverage has consistently highlighted her “great potential,” “impressive speed,” and “strong pace,” particularly in her transitions from single-seaters to GT and endurance formats. The tone is one of cautious optimism: she’s making history, yes, but she’s also backing it up with performances that suggest staying power. Her double pole at Interlagos wasn’t a fluke—it was the product of a teenager who understood the assignment and executed under pressure.

That said, Rabelo is still early in her career, and the racing world has seen plenty of promising young drivers fade after early breakthroughs. What sets her apart so far is adaptability. She’s moved from karting to single-seaters to GT racing in just a few years, and she’s been competitive in each. Incidents have cost her at times—Round 2 at Velo Città in 2025 being a notable example—but she’s shown the resilience to bounce back. As the first woman to achieve what she has in Brazilian F4, she’s inevitably become a symbol, but she seems far more interested in being fast than being a figurehead.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

As of 2026, Rabelo has already proven she can compete internationally, having wrapped up her IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge campaign with a top-10 finish. What comes next is anyone’s guess. She could continue in North American sports car racing, return to Brazil’s thriving Porsche ecosystem, or attempt another leap—perhaps to European GT championships or even a return to open-wheel racing. Given her trajectory so far, betting against her would be unwise. She’s 19 years old with three years of car racing experience, a history-making pole position, and a growing reputation as someone who adapts quickly and races smart.

Whether her ambitions lie in endurance racing’s top echelon, a full-time international GT program, or something else entirely, Cecília Rabelo has already done what most racers never will: she’s made history. Now she’s working on making it stick.

References:

Cecilia Rabelo secures Porsche Sprint Challenge Brazil class win at Portimão
Cecilia Rabelo the second girl confirmed on the 2023 Brazilian F4 grid
Cecilia Rabelo Driver Database Profile
Cecília Rabelo makes history in F4 Brasil with double pole position
Speed Queens Driver Profile – November 2024