Bustamante says Formula 4 Macau GP debut a ‘tough lesson’

MANILA: Bianca Bustamante, the first Filipina driver to win in Formula 1 Academy and also the first to be signed with the McLaren Driver Development Program, called her Formula 4 debut a “tough lesson.”

Despite finishing in 11th place in the race qualifying and conquering a wet race to move up in the ninth spot for the final heat, Bustamante suffered a DNF (Did Not Finish) in the first lap of the last race.

“P11 in qualifying and a clean drive in a wet Race 1 moved us up to P9 for the final. We worked extra hard today to go over onboards and data improving my technique to close down the gap. But yea on lap 1 a driver out braked themselves, flew past me, and hit the wall in Lisboa, giving me absolutely no room to go which caused me to DNF,” Bustamante’s Instagram post read.

“For hours I was replaying how it all happened thinking of any other way I could’ve avoided it but it was just unavoidable. I gave it my best fight for a top eight but this one was out of our control,” she added.

But just like any other lesson, Bustamante has learned from the experience and is ready to “fight back.”

“We’ll fight back as always!! A P9 in race one was a major improvement, and we gotta take that as a win to keep progressing,” Bustamante noted.

Last weekend’s race took place in one of the hardest street circuits in the world — Macau Guia. For her Formula 4 stint, Bustamante raced for BlackArts Racing and drove a Tatuus F4-T421.

Photos from Bianca Bustamante 

Also read: 

Bustamante is McLaren Driver Development Program’s 1st female driver

Filipino in first place: Bianca Bustamante wins F1 Academy race in Valencia

Filipino driver Bianca Bustamante joins F1 Academy