Filipina racer Bianca Bustamante moves on from F1 Academy after exhausting her two seasons with the series, which also signaled an exit from her time with McLaren.
Bianca Bustamante confirmed her move out of the McLaren stable a year after signing on as the team’s first-ever female driver in their Driver Development Programme.
Following her two-year tenure in female single-seater series F1 Academy, Bustamante moved up to the GB3 Championship with UK-based Elite Motorsport, as she continued to chase her dream to race in F1. Drivers can only race two seasons with F1 Academy, with the Filipina race part of the pioneering batch.
Bustamante went on social media on Tuesday to share the next step in her career, where she also expressed her gratitude to McLaren. Representing the Woking-based team, she ended up P7 in the driver’s standings in the 2024 F1 Academy season.
She also nabbed a podium for the team.
“Feels like first day of school again,” Bustamante prefaced.
“The new season officially kicks off for us today as it’s my first days testing in the brand new Tatuus MSV GB3-025. Honestly the car looks and feels amazing, so much to learn and develop to prepare for our season. But this new beginning also marks the end of my 2 year stint with F1 Academy and McLaren,” she added.
Earlier this week, reports surfaced that McLaren has parted ways with the Filipina driver, mostly due to her tenure at F1 Academy ending.
[RELATED: Bianca Bustamante reportedly leaves McLaren ahead of GB3 Championship debut]
Despite her short and sweet journey with McLaren, Bustamante underscored the impact that McLaren had in her career, as she also moved to base her career in the UK with her signing with McLaren.
“This whole journey will have a bookmark as my favourite chapter of my career to date. I learned so much during my 2 years in the [F1 Academy], and its prepared me well in many ways for the next step in my racing career, truly proud to be a graduate of F1 Academy,” wrote Bustamante.
“But most of all I want to give a big thank you to Zak [Brown], Steph [Carlin], Warren [Hughes] and everyone at McLaren, for giving me so much support and guidance during my year with the team. It was such an invaluable experience, one that I never would have imagined as a junior driver. You all helped me get to where I am today,” she added.
Though feeling melancholy with her exit from McLaren, Bustamante also expressed her excitement at moving up the Formula ladder into GB3.
Now formally welcomed to Elite Motorsport, the 20-year-old looked forward to taking the next step in her racing career.
“I look back at my time with McLaren with a full heart, but now its eyes forward and full focus on my biggest challenge yet in the [GB3 Championship] with [Elite Motorsport] , round 1 kicks off in April at Silverstone. Let’s gooooooo!” she said.
Currently, Bustamante is joined by William Macintyre in Elite Motorsport with their third driver still to be determined.
Bustamante joins F1 Academy 2024 champion Abbi Pulling among the women in the feeder series.
The season will feature eight triple-header rounds.