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Bianca Bustamante
Bustamante in 2024
Nationality	Filipina
Born	(2005-01-19) January 19, 2005 (age 19) Manila, Philippines
F1 Academy
Years active	2023–2024
Car number	16
Former teams	Prema Racing, ART Grand Prix
Starts	35 (35 entries)
Wins	2
Podiums	5
Poles	0
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	7th in 2024
Previous series
2023–2024 2022	F1 Academy W Series

Bianca Denise Bustamante (born January 19, 2005) is a Filipina racing driver and is a part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

Junior career

W Series

From January 31 to February 4, 2022, Bustamante competed in a W Series test in Arizona, United States, along with 14 other prospective drivers. She then participated in a second pre-season test in Barcelona on March 2–4 along with 11 other potential drivers and 9 automatic qualifiers from the previous W Series season. On March 22, Bustamante was confirmed to compete in the 2022 W Series season. She finished the season in 15th place scoring 2 points across 7 races.

Formula 4 UAE Championship

On January 9, 2023, Bustamante was announced to race under Italian team Prema Powerteam for the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship. She finished the season in 27th place scoring 3 points across 15 races.

F1 Academy

2023 season

On February 3, 2023, Bustamante was confirmed as the second driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing.

Bustamante finished 3rd in the series' first race at the Red Bull Ring, but was promoted to P2 following the disqualification of Nerea Martí. Having finished ninth in the second race, her car suffered a technical failure on the formation lap for the third race and did not start.

Bustamante initially qualified 2nd for the second round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but was demoted to 8th for a track limits infringement. Having recovered to fifth in the first race, Bustamante then won her first race in the reverse-grid second heat – earning personal congratulations from President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.

Bustamante did not finish the first race of the weekend at Monza, before grabbing her third podium of the season in the following reverse-grid race and winning the third and final race of the weekend.

Bustamante scored a total of 116 points, finishing 7th in the championship standings; one point behind MP Motorsport's Amna Al Qubaisi.

2024 season

On October 18, 2023, McLaren announced the signing of Bustamante to the McLaren Driver Development Programme and that she will represent McLaren for the 2024 season under ART Grand Prix. Bustamante is the first female driver signed to the McLaren Driver Development Programme and the second full-time female driver signed by McLaren after Emma Gilmour for McLaren XE.

In Round 1 at Jeddah, Bustamante finished fifth in Race 1 and was promoted to sixth (from eighth) in Race 2 due to penalties for other competitors. Bustamante qualified in fourth for the second round at Miami and finished the first race in ninth after stalling at the start, but set the fastest lap in consolation; in Race 2, she scored her first podium of the season with a second-place finish. In Round 4 at Zandvoort, Bustamante crashed during qualifying and finished outside the points in both races – a pointless streak which continued in Singapore after she received a stop/go penalty in Race 1 for being out of position on the grid, before colliding with Tina Hausmann in Race 2 whilst recovering from a spin.

Italian F4 Championship

2023 season

On May 24, 2023, it was announced that Bustamante would make her debut in Italian F4 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, driving for Prema Racing in a one-off appearance, replacing Aurelia Nobels.

2024 season

Bustamante returned to Italian F4 for the final round in Monza, driving for ART Grand Prix, the French team making their debut in the series.

GB3 Championship

On December 19, 2024, it was announced that Bustamante will join GB3 Championship in the 2025 season with Elite Motorsport.

Formula E

On October 15, 2024, McLaren announced Bustamante and her F1 Academy successor Ella Lloyd as the line-up for the McLaren Formula E Team women's test pre-season testing for the 2024–25 season in Formula E. She placed in third in the test.

Personal life

Born in Manila, Bustamante resides between Laguna, Philippines, and San Jose, California. Former GT racer Darryl O'Young acts as Bustamante's manager.

In March 2024, vehicle rental company Avis ranked Bustamante the third-most influential non-European female racing driver; at the time, she had a combined 2.2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok. In December 2023, upon joining McLaren, she received backlash on social media after it emerged that she had liked several tweets critical of Formula One driver Lance Stroll, one of which used ableist language.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

* Season still in progress.
As Bustamante was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points.

Complete USF Juniors results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete W Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Indian Racing League results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete F4 UAE Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete F1 Academy results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 South East Asia Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Winter Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete F4 British Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Euro 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GB3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

1. "W Series' first 2022 test to take place in the USA using F4 cars". Formula Scout. January 13, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
2. "Belen Garcia tops W Series' Barcelona test, three more drivers confirmed". Formula Scout. March 4, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
3. "2022 Driver Line-Up Revealed". W Series. March 22, 2022. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
4. "PREMA, Mumbai Falcons set for 2023 start with full ranks". Prema Team. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
5. "Filipino driver Bianca Bustamante joins F1 Academy with PREMA Racing | Formula 1®". Formula 1. February 3, 2023. Archived from the original on October 28, 2023. Retrieved February 3, 2023.
6. "Bianca Bustamante gets podium in inaugural all-female race". ABS-CBN. April 29, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
7. "R01 RED BULL RING - F1 ACADEMY RACE REPORT". Prema Racing. May 1, 2023. Retrieved April 30, 2023.
8. "Round 2 qualifying results amended". F1 Academy. May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
9. "Bianca Bustamante claims inaugural F1 Academy win in Race 2 at Valencia". F1 Academy. May 6, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
10. "F1 Academy driver Bianca Bustamante on life in the fast lane". dw.com. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
11. "Marcos lauds Bianca Bustamante". Manila Times. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
12. "Bianca Bustamante claims second career win in F1 Academy in Monza". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
13. Uson, Melanie (October 23, 2023). "Bianca Bustamante finishes first F1 Academy season in 7th place". Philstar Life. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
14. "McLaren sign F1 Academy's Bustamante as history made". Formula 1. October 18, 2023. Archived from the original on November 9, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
15. Medland, Chris (October 18, 2023). "Bustamante becomes first female in McLaren driver development program". RACER. Archived from the original on November 14, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
16. "F1 Academy: Mercedes junior Doriane Pin holds off Abbi Pulling to win first race of 2024 season in Saudi Arabia". Sky Sports. March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
17. "F1 Academy: Doriane Pin wins Race 2 in Saudi Arabia to complete opening round double in all-female series". Sky Sports. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
18. "Pin, Al Qubaisi and Lovinfosse penalised following Jeddah Race 2". F1 Academy. March 9, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
19. "Bustamante 'heartbroken' with costly start error as she sets out ambitions for Race 2". F1 Academy. May 4, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
20. "RACE 2: Pulling completes the Miami double with masterful victory". F1 Academy. May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
21. Solanki, Shayni (August 25, 2024). "Pulling claims F1A Race 1 victory in Zandvoort". Motorsport Week. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
22. Solanki, Shayni (August 25, 2024). "Pin cruises to F1A redemption victory in Zandvoort". Motorsport Week. Retrieved August 25, 2024.
23. "Bianca Bustamante to make Italian F4 debut at Spa". Racers Behind The Helmet. May 24, 2023. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
24. "Bianca Bustamante makes appearance in Euro 4 and Italian Formula 4 Championships for Monza rounds". biancabustamante.com. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
25. "Bianca Bustamante graduates to GB3 Championship for 2025 season". F1 Academy. December 19, 2024. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
26. "NEOM McLaren Formula E Team announces Bianca Bustamante and Ella Lloyd for the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Women's Test". McLaren. October 15, 2024. Retrieved October 15, 2024.
27. "Pulling Fastest In Formula E's First Women's Test". Formula E. November 8, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
28. Andaya, Ed (August 29, 2022). "Bianca's life in the fast lane". Journal News. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
29. "Meet F1's first woman driver - Filipino-American Bianca Bustamante, Mclaren's latest rising star and racing phenom". The Star. September 22, 2024.
30. "Who are the most influential female drivers in Europe and worldwide?". Avis Car Rental. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
31. Go, Beatrice (November 11, 2023). "McLaren teen racer Bianca Bustamante looking to make motorsport household name in Philippines". scmp.com. South China Morning Post. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
32. Suttill, Josh (December 27, 2023). "McLaren F1 junior apologises for liking anti-Stroll ableist tweet". The Race. Retrieved December 27, 2023.

External links

• Bianca Bustamante career summary at DriverDB.com
• Profile at W Series Archived April 22, 2022, at the Wayback Machine
• Profile at F1 Academy
• Bianca Bustamante personal website

• Living people
• 2005 births
• W Series drivers
• Racing drivers from San Jose, California
• UAE F4 Championship drivers
• F1 Academy drivers
• Prema Powerteam drivers
• Filipino female racing drivers
• Sportspeople from Manila
• Filipino expatriate sportspeople in the United States
• Filipino racing drivers
• Italian F4 Championship drivers
• ART Grand Prix drivers
• BlackArts Racing drivers
• South East Asian F4 Championship drivers
• McLaren Racing drivers
• Indian Racing League drivers
• Hitech Grand Prix drivers
• British F4 Championship drivers
• BRDC British Formula 3 Championship drivers