She is finally home after a successful stint at the F1 Academy.
Motorsport stalwart Bianca Bustamante, who was among the very first racers tapped to compete in the inaugural F1 Academy series, is back home, having arrived in Manila on Thursday night after spending nearly four months overseas.
Of course, she got a very Filipino welcome even at night—and it appears the 18-year-old racer felt every bit of it. In fact, she actually took to Twitter to share how she knew she was finally home.
“Grabe traffic, feel na feel ko welcome home,” Bustamante tweeted, alongside a crying emoji and a heart emoji.
The Manila native is coming of a relatively successful F1 Academy stint, impressing even F1 driver Esteban Ocon of the Alpine F1 Team before claiming her first F1 Academy win last May in Valencia, Spain. She claimed a second victory at the Autodrome Nazionale Monza in Italy a month later and ultimately finished her inaugural season 7th place overall with 102 points on the strength of four podium finishes in 18 races.
Unfortunately, Bustamante could not end her season on a high note, finishing it with she described on Instagram as “the worst weekend of my season so far.”
“Qualifying was challenging because I couldn't put together the best sectors, and with everyone running so close it meant I qualified down the order. Of course, this set up all of our races to be extremely difficult fighting from the back,” Bustamante wrote on Instagram, where she also outlined her struggles over the past weekend—including coming into contact with another driver and making crucial mistakes on the circuit.
The young racer, though, is unbowed and promised an even better the next time around.
“I am definitely hard on myself, and right now I aim to work as hard as I can over the summer to be back on top for the last round of F1 Academy in Austin, Texas,” Bustamante added.
But that's for the future. For now, Bustamante deserves to enjoy her time back at home.
(GM)