| Bianca Bustamante | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:Bianca Bustamante.png | ||
| Driver Details | ||
| Nationality |  Filipina
| |
| Date of Birth | 19 January 2005 | |
| Experience | F1 Academy Italian F4 Championship | |
| Formula E Career | ||
| Tests | 1 | |
| Début |  2024 Jarama Test
| |
Bianca Bustamante (born 19 January 2005 in Manila, National Capital Region, Philippines) is a Filipina racing driver who tested for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team during the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.[1] A McLaren Driver Development Programme member and race winner in F1 Academy, Bustamante would be the first Filipina driver to take part in an official FE session, having taken part in the women only session at the 2024 Jarama Test ahead of the eleventh FE season.[1]
Background[]
Bustamante began karting at the age of ten, racing in various series in South America before graduating to single-seaters in 2022, secuting a test and ultimately race spot in the W Series, as well as a cameo in the USF Juniors series for the season.[2] Finishing fourteenth in the latter, and also make a few runs in the Indian Racing League, Bustamante would spend 2023 in the W Series' successor, F1 Academy, claiming two wins and seventh in the championship, having started the season with a run to 27th in the Formula 4 UAE Championship, with appearances in the Italian F4 Championship, USF Juniors and the Macau Formula 4 Race.[2] McLaren would subsequently sign Bustamante to their Driver Development Programme at the end of the season, resulting in Bustamante getting another campaign in F1 Academy for 2024, as well as another set of cameos in various other series.[2]
Having raced through the winter in the Formula Winter Series, Bustamante would not enjoy the same peaks in her sophomore F1 Academy season, failing to record a victory although she would reamin seventh in the final standings.[2] The Filipina would also race in Italian F4, Euro 4 and the F4 British Championship during the season, earning her a place in the GB3 Championship for 2025.[2]
Formula E History[]
Bustamante was able to use her connection to the McLaren Driver Development Programme in order to get a chance to test for the McLaren Formula E Team during the 2024 Jarama Test, where the Filipina racer was handed the #5 Nissan e-4ORCE 05 to drive in the session designated for female drivers.[1] Bustamante, partnered by her successor in F1 Academy Ella Lloyd, would impress during the test, setting the third fastest time of the session, six tenths faster than her teammate, while also completing 39 laps of the Jarama circuit.[3]
Full Formula E Record[]
Shown below are a series of tables outlining Bianca Bustamante's career in Formula E in statistical form:
| Bianca Bustamante's Formula E Test Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Role |
| 2024/25 |  NEOM McLaren Formula E Team[1]
|
5 | Nissan e-4ORCE 05 | Test/Development Driver |
References[]
Videos and Images:
References:
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 'NEOM McLAREN Formula E Team announces Bianca Bustamante and Ella Lloyd for the 2024/25 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Women’s Test', mclaren.com, (McLaren Racing, 15/10/2024), https://www.mclaren.com/racing/formula-e/2024/bianca-bustamante-and-ella-lloyd-for-the-2024-25-formula-e-womens-test/, (Accessed 25/10/2024)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 'Bianca Bustamante', driverdb.com, (The Race Media, 2025), https://www.driverdb.com/drivers/bianca-bustamante, (Accessed 07/01/2025)
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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