Credits: F1 Academy Limited
Filipino driver signs off current racing season and ends her chapter in F1 Academy at Abu Dhabi season finale
2024 saw tremendous personal growth for Bustamante which was a focal point this season
Bustamante remains committed to climbing the F1 ladder with 2025 program to be announced shortly
Filipino racing driver Bianca Bustamante finished her 3rd racing season in Formula Cars following an intense final race in the F1 Academy in Abu Dhabi, concluding her efforts to fight for the F1 Academy Series title. This ends a season-long journey for the 19-year-old driver, who began racing in the all-female racing series in its inaugural season in 2023 - driving for McLaren Racing with the support of ART Grand Prix. After competing in fourteen races across the seven-weekend F1 Academy schedule, Bustamante’s efforts led her to a P7 in the overall standings.
The season finale at the Yas Marina Circuit proved even more crucial - with an additional race added to the weekend’s schedule. This was due to the cancellation of race 2 in the penultimate round in Qatar, giving drivers further opportunities to make up additional progress to the very end.
Bustamante got off to a promising start, with a strong free practice demonstrating her top 5 pace, followed by the qualifying session that resulted in a P4 starting position for both Race 1 & 2, and P5 for Race 3. Despite difficulty at the start of both races, which saw excessive wheel spin off the line and a drop of positions, Bustamante was able to recover which saw her finish in P5 in Race 1, followed by P7 at the end of Race 2.
Determined to improve and fight for the podium in Race 3, Bustamante made some start procedure changes and improved her race start dramatically compared to the two previous races. Unfortunately, when battling in the lead pack, a car in front of her braked early causing Bustamante to go into avoidance, locking her brakes, and eventually colliding into a competitor ahead. This led to a 10-second time penalty in the race, and despite a strong fight for the remainder of the 14 lap race, she finished in P14 in her final F1 Academy race. This means Bustamante finishes P7 overall in the 2024 F1 Academy Series Drivers Championship standings.
This year still proved to be full of major achievements for the young female driver. She attained a podium finish within the first few races of her F1 Academy season, achieving P2 and the fastest overall lap during round 2 in Miami. In addition, she was able to maximize her season mileage by finishing all seven rounds of the series without any early retirements or DNF’s. The Abu Dhabi finale also concludes her F1 Academy career, due to F1 Academy regulations that restrict their drivers to participate in more than two seasons.
Multiple outlets have also highlighted the continuous growth of her profile - including being named SportsPro Media’s 64th most marketable athlete of 2024, as well as several high-profile media appearances, sponsorship collaborations, and presence on publications such as the cover of Vogue Philippines. 2024 also saw additional opportunities for Bustamante to engage more directly with her growing fanbase, most notably by hosting her first fan meeting in her native Philippines, ‘Race to Inspire’ in August this year.
Looking ahead to the new year, Bustamante remains committed to improving her skill and technique in junior formula, which will see her climb a step up the racing ladder towards her dream of competing in Formula 1. Exciting details about her 2025 racing program will be announced shortly.
Bianca Bustamante | Race Driver, #16 McLaren Racing and ART Grand Prix
“What a year it has been! I gave it my all for my final F1 Academy race weekend because I wanted to finish this season strong, but things just didn't come together like much of the season. We wrapped the season in P7 overall, 6 spots lower than I would've wanted, but I'm so grateful for everything I've learned this season. Unfortunately, sometimes things go your way and sometimes they don't - this season was the latter. Nevertheless, it only motivates me more to take everything I learned and build on it this winter for the 2025 season.
I will look back fondly on my F1 Academy years and be proud of what we have achieved from these two seasons. I am excited to look ahead to my future racing program as I return to the traditional racing ladder with both male and female racers on the grids.
Thank you to Susie Wolff and her amazing team for giving us girls this amazing opportunity. And thank you to all my sponsors who made my F1 Academy season possible - including LEE, McLaren Racing, Cisco, NTT Data, Google, Mastercard, Optimum Nutrition and Sephora. Thank you to all of my fans, and most of all, my family for their continued support.”
Credits: F1 Academy Limited