Bianca Bustamante
Bianca Bustamante (born 19 January 2005) is a Filipina racing driver. She most recently competed for Prema Racing in the feeder series F1 Academy, and is a part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme. Career

W Series 

From 31 January to 4 February 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 2–4 March along with 11 other potential drivers and 9 automatic qualifiers from the previous W Series season. On 22 March, 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 9 January 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 3 February 2023, Bustamante was confirmed as the second driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing. After the inaugural race at Red Bull Ring, Bustamante finished P3, however due to a technical infringement discovered during Parc fermé of Nerea Martí's Campos Racing car, Martí was disqualified from the results pushing Bustamante up to P2. Bustamante's car suffered a technical failure at the start of the formation lap during the third race at Red Bull Ring and could not start. At Circuit Ricardo Tormo, Bustamante initially qualified P2, however, a track limit infringement saw that position move down to P8. The reverse grid order of race 2 now meant Bustamante had achieved her first ever pole position which she subsequently turned into her first ever race victory the following day. At the first race of the 5th round of the season, Circuit Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Bustamante was not able to finish due to a racing incident that prompted her to retire the car from the race. She grabbed her third podium of the season the following race after qualifying on pole due to a reverse grid classification. On the third race, she clinched her first full points win, her final and second win of the 2023 season. Bustamante scored a total of 116 points, finishing 7th in the championship standings, just a point behind MP Motorsport's Amna Al Qubaisi. 2024 season 
On 18 October 2023, McLaren announced that they had signed Bustamante to the McLaren Driver Development Programme and would run McLaren's livery in the 2024 season of F1 Academy under ART Grand Prix. She is the first female driver signed to the McLaren Driver Development Programme and the second female driver after Emma Gilmour to be signed by McLaren. Italian F4 Championship

2023 season 
On 24 May 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. Personal life
Bustamante resides between Laguna, Philippines and San Jose, California, and is the daughter of Raymund and Janice Bustamante. Racing record

Racing career summary 

* Season still in progress. Complete W Series 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)

Complete Formula 4 South East Asia Championship results

References

External links 
 
 Profile at W Series 
 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 people
McLaren Racing drivers