Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 30) – Bianca Bustamante relishes her historic milestone of being the first Filipino race car driver to be part of the prestigious W Series, the all-female support race of Formula One (F1).
“This is the most amazing moment of my life,” Bustamante said during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum on Tuesday.
“For the first time in my life, I was driving an F3 (Formula Three) car and it was very fast,” she added.
The 17-year-old Bustamante is one of the country’s decorated karters before venturing into motor racing after she was invited last year by the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile in their Girls on Track Program for young female drivers.
At the start of 2022, Bustamante got invited to some qualifying tests in the United States and Spain, which became the basis for her to clinch the coveted W Series seat.
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Earlier this week, the W Series announced that Bustamante will race under the W Series Academy Team for two seasons starting this May during the inaugural F1 Miami Grand Prix.
The W Series Academy Team program is designed to support the development of up and coming young female drivers.
“Being selected to drive for the Academy Team program is an additional privilege, as it reaffirms W Series’ confidence and faith in my racing abilities,” said Bustamante, who will race alongside young Japanese driver Juju Noda in the W Series Academy Team.
With all the accolades she has been receiving, Bustamante emphasized that her achievements will be a step closer to reach her ultimate goal of racing in F1.
“It’s like a dream to me,” she said. “The W Series is here to help and hone drivers to get to Formula 1. The goal is Formula 1. So, this is an amazing chance.”
For her inaugural W Series, Bustamante said she will do her best to perform well and learn for her future races.
“It’s a fully loaded season for me,” she shared. “I want to excel. I want to win. There’s so much to learn, and mentally I will always be aiming to be the best.”
