Bianca Bustamante has just been announced as the newest member of the McLaren Driver Development program
Bianca Bustamante, class 2005, has joined the McLaren Driver Development program. The 18-year-old from the Philippines is a promising talent in motorsport. The Filipina will also represent McLaren by running the team’s livery on her F1 Academy race car in 2024. The car will be run by ART Grand Prix.
Bustamante will have Cisco as her primary sponsor. The American tech company will become an Official Primary Partner of the McLaren F1 Academy program. Bustamante will take part in Cisco’s 60 Scholars collaboration with McLaren. Cisco’s 60 Scholars is an initiative supporting women in STEM career pathways. In 2024 Cisco branding will be represented on Bianca Bustamante’s race car, overalls, and team kit.
F1 Academy: a stepping stone in motorsport
18 hard fought races, all coming down to the final 3…
F1 Academy is here to crown our first Champion. 👑#F1Academy pic.twitter.com/zUKWcwisft
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) October 19, 2023
2023 Marks the launch of F1 Academy. This is an ambitious new project created to develop and prepare female drivers to progress to higher levels of competitions in motorsport. This project’s goal is to provide the drivers with the fundamental level of experience to progress into Formula 3 and join the road to F1.
The first season has seen five teams, who also compete in other junior categories, field a total of 15 drivers. Every team has three single-seaters each. These teams are known to be a great stepping stone for young talents. Names like Prema, ART, MP Motorsport, etc. are well-known in the world of feeder series. Paired up with some of the most respected brands in motorsport like Pirelli, Tatuus, and Autotechnica this project can become something more prominent.
Susie Wolff is leading the project and who better than her? More than once she has expressed her will to create a space for young girls in motorsport. With F1 Academy we can say she’s done it. After all, she has experienced first-hand what it means to be a woman in this world. With her, at the head of the project, we believe that these young girls are finally going to be heard in a world as rowdy as motorsport’s.
The 2023 season of the F1 Academy is not finished yet, but we can certainly say that this will have a big impact on motorsport. This weekend will mark the last round of the season and the first time that F1 Academy is going to be live on television. This is a big opportunity for these young drivers to be seen and to be heard.
Who is Bianca Bustamante?
So far Bianca Bustamante’s career has been eye-catching. Apart from winning multiple karting competitions, in her single-seater career, she has competed in the W Series, Formula 4 UAE Championship, Italian Formula 4, and USF Juniors. Since then, she’s established herself as an up-and-coming driver to watch. Her ambition is to open up the way for young Asian drivers, and she’s certainly doing it.
Most recently she’s been taking part in the 2023 F1 Academy season with the team Prema. Until now in this season she has conquered two wins, in Valencia and Monza, and two podiums, in Spielberg at the start of the season and in Monza. Heading into the final round of the 2023 season at the United States Grand Prix in Austin she currently sits seventh in the standings.
Bustamante is going to be the first woman to be part of McLaren’s program. This is a huge milestone not only for the Woking-based team but also for the young driver. Alongside the Papaya team, she has quite the potential to become a star in motorsport. Bianca’s involvement will see her join the lineup of young talent that McLaren is creating. This is a huge milestone for the Filipina driver, and we hope to see her grow and develop her talent.
McLaren’s future
It’s no secret that McLaren has been investing in young, talented drivers. In fact, Bianca Bustamante is not the only driver who has recently joined McLaren’s program. 2023 Formula 3 Champion Gabriel Bortoleto has joined the team at the start of October. Joining them in this project we have American junior driver Ugo Ugochukwu and Arrow McLaren’s Pato O’Ward.
The program was created with the idea of forming a talent pipeline for McLaren’s Formula 1, IndyCar, and Formula E racing teams. The goal is to develop their talents and work not only with junior drivers. At the head of the project is Emanuele Pirro, winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He oversees the project and personally talks with the drivers and their managers to keep in contact as much as possible. McLaren has proved to be successful in choosing the right drivers and helping them grow. A clear example are Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, by far one of the strongest lineups on the 2023 F1 grid.
So Bianca Bustamante will clearly join a climate of improvement and development. The F1 Academy project is taking off and the hope is to see these young women evolve as drivers. Bianca has demonstrated her potential in this season, and we hope to see her grow into herself. A young talent like hers is not one to neglect.
“A big thanks goes to Susie Wolff and the team at F1 Academy for fighting so hard for us girls and to give us this opportunity to be the best we can be. Additional thanks go to Zak Brown, Andrea Stella, Emanuele Pirro, Sebastian Philippe, my sponsors, and all my supporters for believing in me and making this all possible. I am full of gratitude, and I promise to give it my all.”
