Bianca Bustamante seeks to raise bar with title chase

MANILA, Philippines – 2024 just might be the banner year for Bianca Bustamante!

After a successful debut in the inaugural season of F1 Academy last year, the Filipina racing driver is gearing up for her sophomore campaign in the series, which is set to start at the iconic Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia this weekend, March 8. This year, the teen’s goal is to fight for the championship title as she competes alongside French team ART Grand Prix with the support of McLaren Racing. 

After taking two victories and four podium finishes in 2023, the 19 year-old is looking to raise the bar in 2024 with a new approach to her F1 Academy campaign. Thanks to the McLaren Driver Development programme, her support has grown both on and off the track and this has helped Bustamante to put focus on several areas to develop including the mental aspect of racing.  

The Jeddah Corniche Circuit is the second longest on the Formula One calendar, and one of the fastest too. This means that Bustamante would have to demonstrate exceptional precision and bravery on the iconic street circuit in her Papaya-colored Tatuus F4-T421.

With both McLaren and ART Grand Prix by her side, Bianca has taken extra steps to prepare for the upcoming season. To help strengthen her driving, on top of a recent 3 day test at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and also at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, she had competed in 3 out of 4 rounds of the Formula Winter Series in Spain during the off season, to provide her with the preparation needed for a strong start to her upcoming season.

After the unveiling of their exciting lineup of tracks, the 2024 F1 Academy has been highly anticipated as the all-female series will take place at select race events across the Formula One calendar.