Bianca Bustamante wins maiden F1 Academy victory

Bianca Bustamante, a Filipino race car driver signed with Prema Racing, has won her first F1 Academy victory.

During Race 2 in Spain, Bustamante led the heat from pole to flag and brushed off advances from Art Grand Prix’s Lena Bühler and MP Motorsport’s Hamda Al Qubaisi.

“I was just driving by feel that race, using all the experience we had gained throughout the whole week of testing. Starting on pole, I was really feeling the nerves, knowing there were a lot of fast drivers behind me. The team gave me an amazing car today and I am delighted to take home my first-ever career win today!” Bustamante said in a press release from F1 Academy.

Bustamante started the race alongside her teammate Chloe Chong with our kababayan taking first place, and Chong sitting second on the grid. It did not take long, however, for Race 1 podium-sitter Bühler to snatch second place from Chong.

And while race fans were promised an eventful start, MP Motorsport’s Emely de Heus and Carrie Schreiner from Art Grand Prix made contact, which sent the Dutch driver into the gravel. Abbi Pulling from Rodin Carlin, was also collateral damage of the incident.

Having caused enough damage on track, the stewards deployed the Safety Car and issued de Heus a black flag.

After the restart, Marta Garcia of Prema Racing surprised her fellow racers by moving six places up the order. She pushed hard and even managed to get past her teammate, Chong.

Up ahead of the pack, Bustamante was comfortably sitting ahead of Bühler with an 0.8-second lead. At the back of the Filipina race driver, a battle ensued between de Heus and her teammate Alma Al Qubaisi.

And while the girls from MP Motorsport were duking it out, Bustamante calmly maintained her lead up to the chequered flag to claim her first win in F1 Academy.

Thanks to her victory, Prema Racing was able to take the lead in the Team’s Championship with 13 points ahead of MP Motorsport. Bustamante is now sixth overall with a total score of 44 points.

Photos from W Series and Formula 1

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