McLaren recently signed their first-ever female driver for their Driver’s Development Program. The team welcomed Bianca Bustamante from the F1 Academy.
This would be one of the first times that a woman will be making it to Formula 1. Bianca is an F1 Academy driver and races with the PREMA team. The driver has also won races and has been a part of the W-series that became the F1 Academy in 2023.
Bianca Bustamante is a Filipino driver for the PREMA team at F1 Academy. She started her career in the W-series after testing for a seat in 2022. Although racing in the W-series did not shine her potential as much after she finished the season in 15th with 2 points. She then went ahead to try her luck in the Formula 4 UAE championship which led her to 27th place in the championships. However, Bianca was not the one to lose or give up.
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In 2023, she announced joining the PREMA team for the F1 Academy feeder series. And soon her hard work started paying off. The Filipino driver finished P3 at the Red Bull Ring race, however, after her rival was investigated for an infringement, she went up to P2.
She also won her first-ever race at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. After an infringement that put her in the back of the field and a reverse grid for the next day, she won her first pole position and race.
She has now clinched an opportunity to run the McLaren 2024 livery under the McLaren Driver’s Development Programme. She is the first woman to be signed under the program and the second by McLaren.
Lewis Hamilton congratulates Bianca Bustamante for signing with his ex-team
Lewis Hamilton and McLaren have had a very healthy past. After winning his first-ever championship title with the papaya team in his rookie season, he has always wished his team well.
However, he soon moved to find a better place to continue his journey. After joining Mercedes, the driver has talked about having female drivers in Formula 1 many times. He has also been seen visiting the W-series to cheer on the female drivers for their races.
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Being so involved with the promotion of women in F1, and talking about wanting diversity and inclusivity in the sport, he made sure he congratulated Bianca. Bianca also took to Instagram to share the sweet moment between her and Hamilton.
The F1 Academy will be having its first race in America. With that being said, Bianca is present in Austin for the weekend just like the F1 drivers. So when Sir Hamilton found out about the race, he took some time to go down and cheer on the girls.
That was when Hamilton also congratulated Bianca for her new McLaren seat. Bianca also received a TikTok award recently for being the Sports Creator of the Year.
The Filipino also made her appearance at the Singapore Grand Prix. Nonetheless, she has outdone many have been waiting for. With her name now included among the F1 drivers, she becomes the hope for women in F1.