San Francisco — Eighteen-year-old Bianca Bustamante has become the first Filipina to win an F1 Academy race with PREMA Racing. The F1 Academy is a new all-female racing series founded by Formula 1.
Bustamante was born in the Philippines but also spent time growing up in the Bay Area. She told San Francisco’s KGO-TV that her family moved from San Jose to Sonoma Raceway while she was growing up so she could compete in go-kart racing.
“You have this feeling like ‘Oh, I’m going to crash, I’m going to crash’ but you’re not and I think that feeling of being close to the edge gives you a lot of adrenaline,” Bustamante said.
Bianca’s passion for racing cars is undeniable. The 18-year-old made history with her win in early May but she hasn’t slowed down.
Bianca makes you smile in conversations, but don’t let that fool you. She is a race car driver and she is fast. She has been into karting since her early days which started at the age of three.
“I can really remember my first memory of driving it, I was probably going about 60 kilometers an hour so it was really fast for me and I just fell in love with the speed,” said Bustamante.
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“60 kilometers or 6 kilometers?” We asked her and her reply was quick “60”!
Bustamante is proud to represent the 113 million people living in the Philippines and Filipinos around the world, but she is also well aware of the challenges her family faced while growing up, both in the Philippines and the United States, specifically in the Bay Area.
“My dad was an OFW. He was an OFW in America in San Jose, so he worked there a lot building, he worked three jobs giving money for my race to put food on the table, that’s why I rarely saw him and that’s why I I won a lot because it wasn’t just me.” “Every Filipino there had it, especially when the anthem was played.”
While Bianca’s recent win in the F1 Academy was major, she will never forget winning the Macau International Kart Grand Prix at the age of nine.
“I went to take a step in the third-to-last quarter and took the checkered flag, and that was my first international win in Macau and I think after winning that, flying the Philippine flag on the podium, being the only girl in the game, it was like really, it’s It was the most pivotal point in my career.”
Bianca says she has always looked up to former NASCAR and IndyCar racer Danica Patrick. She is not shy when it comes to talking about racing in a field dominated by men.
“In the beginning, it can be very difficult to follow a path that many people don’t usually take, and I’ve always said to myself, if it was easy everyone would do it,” Bustamante said. “Yeah, I can drive a car that fast but the next day I can do a make-up or makeup routine or do a dress check just doing normal little girl things. Sometimes being real is the best you can be. That’s what I’ve always tried to show little girls.”
When KGO spoke with Bianca she had just finished a full training session. Then she chatted with KGO for 35 minutes without a break and her passion for sports was evident. Ultimately, she said, racing in the major Formula 1 series, IndyCar, or NASCAR is “Everest” as she calls it.
Fans can follow Bustamante in her face Instagram And Tik Tok.
Find more information about F1 Academy is here.
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