Bianca Bustamante finishes first F1 Academy season in 7th place

Filipino Formula One racer Bianca Bustamante placed seventh in the standings as she concluded her first F1 Academy season.

Bustamante’s journey in this year’s F1 Academy season wasn’t entirely smooth, but she was able to conquer hiccups and secure the seventh spot in the all-female single-seater formula racing championship held in Austin, United States. 

In race one, the 18-year-old racer from Laguna completed all 12 laps, landing in fourth place.  

Bustamante started in P3 in race two but had a hiccup along the way. She, however, still managed to finish seventh.

“Just incredibly sorry, stalled starting from P3 due to hot track conditions tires just melted through the asphalt and I dumped the clutch way too aggressively,” she wrote in her Instagram stories.

“All myself to blame, but fought back like my life depended on it. Was just dancing out there and made 7 positions in 8 laps, even having to catch up to 10 sec gap after stalling,” she continued. 

Bustamante placed 13th in the last race, managing to land on the seventh spot in the overall standings with 116 points after winning two races and securing four podium finishes. 

Bustamante made headlines in May for winning the round 2 competition in Barcelona, Spain, and in July for winning the round 5 in Monza, Italy.  

She is set to compete again in 2024 to represent the ART Grand Prix under the McLaren Driver Development Program—the home of champions like seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.