The Filipina racer is a PREMA.
"Pinoy Ako!!!"
Eighteen year old Bianca Bustamante proudly tweeted a photo raising the Philippine flag while at the track in Barcelona, Spain on Monday. She is one of the 15 racers of five teams chosen to compete in the F1 Academy's inaugural season.
"Proudly raising and racing the flag here in Barcelona," Bustamante posted on media day. "Sincere thank you to everyone who support and believes!"
Bianca is actually the first racer signed up by PREMA Racing for F1 Academy back in February.
Boasting the likes of Charles Leclerc and Mick Schumacher as F2 champions, the Italian racing team picked up Bustamante after she made her single-seater debut last year with the W series. And she already made a start for the team, competing in the Formula 4 UAE Championship and finished 27th.
"We enjoy working together in the F4 UAE Championship and we feel there is great potential we can build on for the future," Team Principal Rene Rosin told F1 Academy back in February.
"I think she will be an outstanding fit right from the start, especially considering what she was able to achieve in her first experiences, and we are determined to provide her with our best support."
"With PREMA, I'm joining a top driver development program both on and off the race track, and most importantly, I will have a rigorous race and test program, giving me the much-needed seat time to perform at my best in competition," Bustamante added.
The Filipina will be joined by 16-year-old Chloe Chong of the United Kingdom and 22-year-old Marta Garcia of Spain.
They will compete against Campos Racing, MP Motorsport, ART Grand Prix, and Rodin Carlin in the first season of F1 Academy. This is a new Formula 1 project aimed to develop and prepare female drivers to progress in more elite competitions.
The calendar will feature 21 races across seven rounds, which are designed to feature F1 Grand Prix tracks to sharpen drivers' technical skills.