Last year, Filipina driver Bianca Bustamante won two races and finished on the podium an additional two times en route to a seventh-place finish in the inaugural F1 Academy season. After making the switch from Prema Racing to ART Grand Prix and signing with McLaren’s Driver Development Programme, she’s setting her sights on the championship. Bustamante spoke to Feeder Series and select media about how she’ll attempt to make that happen. 

By Calla Kra-Caskey

In the four months since the 2023 F1 Academy season concluded, Bianca Bustamante has been busy preparing for the next season physically and mentally. That included a move to London, where she is closer to McLaren’s headquarters in Woking and ART Grand Prix’s in Paris. Having moved away from home on her own at 16, she feels like she’s found a place where she belongs. 

“I’ve found a home away from home, and McLaren has really been nothing but family to me.”

Support from the McLaren development programme

Bustamante has spent her winter training on the sim at the McLaren Technology Center but has also focused on her mental skills. McLaren has provided the driver with a sports psychologist to work with. She’s also been fueled by the belief in her from the development programme.

“I think I’m the type of person that generates power and confidence from the people surrounding her, and the fact that I have a team that truly believes I can be competitive this year and fight in the front… it says a lot, how invested they are in supporting me, supporting my dream, supporting my potential. 

“There’s a lot of people involved… It’s like a project, Project Bia, and everyone is so hands-on. At one point I feel like, do I really deserve all this support? But they think I do, and I owe it to myself to believe it.” 

Bustamante pointed to former F1 driver and Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro, who now leads the McLaren driver development program, as her “sensei.”

“He keeps me on track. He’s rough on me when he needs to be, he puts the hammer down when he has to. I’ve needed to learn to accept it. He’s an insanely amazing driver, so driving-wise he’s given me a lot of advice that I surely needed as a rookie.”

She’s also mentored by former racer Warren Hughes. 

“He’s basically with me in all of my testing and all of my races. He was with me in the Winter Series, he’s with me in F1 Academy. He’s basically my coach, he’s my mentor, he’s my main ally on track. Whenever I’m driving badly, he tells me! And when I’m driving good, he pushes me to fine-tune all of that.”

In terms of other women in the paddock, McLaren business operations director Stephanie Carlin is “in charge of making sure I’m living my best life and best career within the team.”

Offseason preparations at the Formula Winter Series

Bustamante competed in the first three rounds of the 2024 Formula Winter Series, alongside fellow F1 Academy drivers Lia Block and Carrie Schreiner. Bustamante struggled with technical difficulties and took a grid penalty to replace her engine at the beginning of the third round.

“Things weren’t in our favor, we had some technical issues with the car. It was a long battle… That’s one thing I’m proud of. I went down swinging.

“Qualifying P32, even knowing that we were losing 8 kph down straights, and not many people know that. But you still gotta see it through, and I did. I was very proud of how I reacted, of course, with the help of my sports psychologist.”

According to Bustamante, the last race, in which she started 22nd and finished 17th, was “quite representative of our pace.” Previously, she had managed a best result of 26th.

Bustamante raced in the series for GRS but was also supported by her ART engineer and team members from McLaren. 

“They gave it their best chance to make sure I had a good winter campaign, so I’m really thankful for that.”

Setting her sights on the title

F1 Academy had several closed tests at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, as well as the Jeddah Corniche Circuit, where the first race will take place. Bustamante is motivated by her testing results.

“We were fastest at Jeddah, we topped a few sessions, and overall, we were so strong. The fact that we’re coming into the race weekend knowing that we were strong in the preseason tests, and the fact that I was able to work with my team and McLaren and feel so at home… we were able to get good results and that’s what matters.”

Bustamante says she feels confident going into the first race weekend, comparing it to the circuit at which she finished with two podiums in three races last year. 

“[Jeddah] has taken a close spot next to Monza as my favorite circuit. I love fast circuits. I love the fact that you’re so close to the wall, so close to the limit, just sending the car.”

She’s excited—and nervous—to be racing in front of her new team, for the first time. She’s also motivated by the large Filipino population in Saudi Arabia, whom she hopes will be able to support and watch her race. At testing, she enjoyed being able to speak Tagalog at the circuit. 

When asked about her goal for the season, Bustamante said, “Over the Winter Series, I felt like I’ve already reached my goal. My goal this year was to come off as a better driver than I was last year.”

“Last year, I didn’t know how to react when things weren’t in my favor, when things weren’t perfect, when the car wasn’t the fastest, or when I didn’t qualify in the front. Then all of a sudden, I didn’t have any skill set to bounce back, reset, and fight the next race as if I’m there to win.”

“I often link my results to my self-worth, so when I wasn’t getting good results, I felt like I wasn’t worth it or couldn’t find happiness elsewhere. Going into this season, it’s different, with a completely different mindset. It’s not always gonna be about winning because you can’t win all the time.”

But does she believe she can win? Absolutely. When asked about the changes to the season, including the new race tracks and compressed schedule, Bustamante said she believes it works to her advantage. She’s already been to most of the tracks, such as Miami, and she’s raced in Abu Dhabi.

“The fact that we won’t be having reverse grids means there’s more chances of being up there with your raw speed and true pace.”

“This year I’m here to win, I’m here to fight for the championship, and I’ve got every single variable with me to be able to go in there and perform as best as I can.”

The F1 Academy season kicks off this weekend supporting the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

Header photo credit: Formula Winter Series