Bianca Bustamante makes history by being the first Filipino to win an FIA-sanctioned race

Bianca Bustamante is an 18-year-old Filipina racer, whose potential and promise have allowed her to snag her first career victory at the second race of the F1 Academy’s second round at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia, Spain. 

Bustamante, a rising star in the international racing scene, managed to get the first-place finish earlier in May. 

During the qualifiers of the race, Bustamante managed to secure a pole position after several modifications were made to the lineup. Bustamante led the race from start to finish, throughout the entire 11-lap run at Circuit Ricardo Tormo. Winning allowed Bustamante’s race team, PREMA, to secure its third win for the season. 

Bustamante gained 10 points from the race. Her teammates, Marta Garcia, and Chloe Chong, also posted noteworthy performances and finished in P5 and P4, respectively. Chong earned three points, while Garcia earned four for their efforts. 

Prior to Bustamante’s first career win, she finished in fifth place in the first leg of the season ahead of both of her teammates. An error in the middle of the race caused her to lose places, sliding into a gravel trap on the track. 

Race 3 was held on Sunday, and Bustamante managed to climb from 13th to 6th place. At the end of the day, she won six points as a result of her efforts. Bustamante’s teammate, Garcia, earned the win for the third race, claiming her third race win for the F1 Academy season. 

In terms of overall standings, Bustamante is now sixth overall in the official standings with 44 points, while Garcia is the season leader with 96 points in total. 

According to the F1 Academy’s calendar, with two rounds in the bag, and a total of seven to look forward to, there are more opportunities for Bustamante and her team to cement or climb up the leaderboards. The next round, the third one for the season, will take place in Barcelona, from May 19 to 21, 2023.