What suddenly made you decide that becoming a racing car driver was something that you needed to do?
I’ve always been into cars but I never had the chance to explore racing. When I was younger, I couldn’t afford to try out motorsports so I didn’t think about exploring this hobby until now, with the finance career that I have. During the pandemic, we didn’t get to travel outside Hong Kong for three years. So, when the borders reopened last year, I just wanted to do everything at once. That’s when I decided that I really wanted to give it a try and test the waters with the help of my team, T-1 Racing. When I first started testing the car, I didn’t expect the trajectory to end up the way that it has. Everything happened by chance and whenever there was a new opportunity, I just seized it.

Are there crossovers between the worlds of Formula 4 racing and finance?
Finance is a male-dominated industry, just like racing. I was the first female Formula 4 racing driver in China so I definitely saw some similarities with the world of finance. There are a lot of other perspectives as well. For example, in finance there are a million bits of information being thrown at you at the same time. When you are communicating on the radio in the car, there are a million bits of information being thrown at you too. It takes a lot of skills to listen properly and adapt on a very quick level. That’s what my job in finance also requires me to do.

Are you hoping to inspire other women to follow in your footsteps?
When I first started the journey, I did not expect someone like me to be a person who could open pathways for others. That comes with pressure, yes, but at the same time I wanted to give my all out there and not really care about the outcome too much. Representing is what I am trying to do.

Motorsport – the power of a machine with the precision of the human touch – is a craft in its own right, isn’t it?
Formula driving is another level, compared to other types of racing. It is the one that’s the most technical and requires the widest skillset. When we talk about racing, and the craft of Formula racing, it’s definitely the pinnacle of motorsports. Because one tiny mistake – let’s say you step on the brake a little harder than you’re supposed to – and you could lose the car. It’s a no-margin-of-error type of driving and it requires a lot of focus.

Is there more that you want to achieve in motorsport?
From the first time that I sat inside a Formula 4 racing car until the Macau Grand Prix last year was a span of just six months. And I haven’t done any racing since that time because I think that was the climax. It has been an incredible journey.