Sweden’s Milla Sjöstrand is one of the most decorated young female talents in European motorsport — a three-time FIA Girls on Track: Rising Stars finalist who has moved from karting into Formula 4 with the stated ambition of becoming the first woman to start a Formula 1 race in over fifty years.

EARLY YEARS

Born May 3, 2008, in Södertälje, Sweden, she got her first taste of motorsport at age four when her family went on vacation and she climbed into a two-seater go-kart with her mother. “I loved it and instantly knew that it was something I wanted to pursue,” she has said [15]. Three years later, at age seven, she began competing — and by her own account was “instantly hooked” [1]. By her early teens she had established herself as the fastest female karting driver in Sweden [14], a title she earned through years of consistent work on domestic circuits including Uppsala Karting Circuit, which she has named as a favorite venue [8].

OTHER INTERESTS

When she is not at the track, Milla Sjöstrand can be found back in Södertälje with family, her cats, or, by her own admission, enjoying pancakes [1]. Horse riding features regularly in her schedule [3], and she logs time in the gym as part of her physical preparation for racing [10]. She has also spoken openly about balancing her racing commitments with school — a negotiation she documented in a YouTube video titled “School and Racing” [11].

EARLY SUCCESS

Her karting career built steadily through Sweden’s national competition structure. In 2022, she accumulated 420 points in the MKR Series Sweden — OK Junior [2]. In 2023, she raced in the Stockholm Race Weekend — OK Junior, finishing third in the standings [2]. That same competitive window produced three separate selections as a finalist for the FIA Girls on Track: Rising Stars program — in 2020, 2021, and 2023 — making her the only Swedish driver to appear in the program multiple times across its four-year run [5][13]. Those selections brought tangible development benefits, including a visit to the Ferrari F1 factory for testing and training [6]. She also accumulated nine days of testing in Formula 4 machinery and logged time in Formula Renault, Rallycross, and electric touring car configurations, broadening her technical baseline well before her first competitive F4 season [5].

The step into single-seater car racing arrived in 2025, when she joined Team Step Motorsport in Denmark for the Nordic 4 Championship — her first full Formula 4 season. She scored points, finished inside the top ten in multiple rounds, and secured two podium finishes over the course of the campaign [17][18]. That debut season demonstrated the consistency she has described as her defining strength: “Doing the same thing every lap. In a race, you can’t just do one fast lap and then make mistakes” [12].

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2020: Selected as a finalist in the FIA Girls on Track: Rising Stars program [5][13].
• 2021: Selected as a finalist in the FIA Girls on Track: Rising Stars program for the second time [5][13].
• 2022: Accumulated 420 points in the MKR Series Sweden — OK Junior karting championship [2].
• 2023: Finished third in the Stockholm Race Weekend — OK Junior karting series [2].
• 2023: Selected as a finalist in the FIA Girls on Track: Rising Stars program for the third time — the only Swedish driver to achieve this distinction multiple times [5][13].
• 2025: Competed in the Nordic 4 Championship with Team Step Motorsport (Denmark), scoring points, finishing inside the top ten, and securing two podium finishes during her debut Formula 4 season [17][18].
• 2025: Selected as one of eleven drivers globally for the Formula Global Shootout Program (FGSP), held by Indian FIA F4 [5].

INSPIRATIONS

Sebastian Vettel has been the primary reference point throughout her development. “My role model growing up in racing has been Sebastian Vettel,” she has said in multiple interviews [4][11]. The qualities she identifies are specific: “I’ve always looked up to Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel for their work ethic and how they built a team around them” [4]. It is telling that she gravitates toward drivers known for methodical excellence rather than flashy natural talent — an orientation that maps cleanly onto her own stated approach to performance.

REPUTATION

Within international junior motorsport, she is regarded as one of the world’s fastest young female drivers — a description that appears consistently across official profiles and is backed by the independent validation of her repeated FIA program selections [5][8]. Her management, Minardi Management, has characterized her as “relentless by nature,” pointing to “sharp focus, calm determination, and the ability to deliver results under pressure” as defining traits [8]. Those who have followed her development note that her competitive attitude cuts through the gender conversation without dismissing it: “I don’t care if I compete against boys or girls, I just want to be the best,” she told interviewers in 2025 [12]. That directness — combined with a track record of delivering podiums in her first Formula 4 season — has earned her credibility in paddocks where female drivers are still required to prove themselves twice over.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

The 2026 season is planned to see her step up to the F4 Central European Zone Championship, a more competitive and internationally visible series than the Nordic circuit where she made her car-racing debut [4][10]. Beyond that, she has outlined a clear ladder: Formula 4, then F1 Academy, then the higher formula categories leading toward Formula 1 [5]. The end goal she states without hesitation — to become the first woman to race in Formula 1 in over fifty years [1]. “Now, at 17, I’m racing in Formula 4 with one clear goal: becoming the first woman in 50 years to race in Formula 1,” she wrote on her personal website [1]. Her advice to young girls considering the sport carries the same unsentimental clarity she brings to her driving: “Ignore the doubts, work incredibly hard, and remember that passion is your greatest asset” [8].

References:

Milla Sjöstrand — About (Personal Website)
Milla Sjöstrand — Driver Database
Interview with Milla Sjöstrand — Minardi Management (August 2024)
Milla Sjöstrand Interview for WMotorSportPL — Minardi Management (February 2026)
Milla Sjöstrand — Official Website
Milla Sjöstrand — Women in Tech Sweden
Milla Sjöstrand — YouTube Short
Milla Sjöstrand: Relentless by Nature — Minardi Management (November 2025)
Milla Sjöstrand Drives Night Race with Step Motorsport
Milla Sjöstrand — Minardi Management Driver Profile
School and Racing — YouTube
Milla Sjöstrand: I Don’t Care If I Compete Against Boys or Girls — Minardi Management (May 2025)
FIA Girls on Track – Rising Stars — Wikipedia
The Future Is Faster: Meet the Upcoming Stars in Karting — Females in Motorsport
Milla Sjöstrand Interview — WMotorSportPL
Milla Sjöstrand Interview — YouTube (October 2025)
Milla Sjöstrand: Personal Branding in Motorsport — Erika Elinor
Rosanne den Drijver Claims Maiden Nordic4 Victory; Milla Sjöstrand Secures Double Podium — Racers Behind the Helmet