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

MANILA: Bianca Bustamante, a Filipino racer, and all of the country's motorsport fans will never forget what happened in Round 2 of the 2023 F1 Academy series. Bustamante won the second race at Valencia, Spain — her first career victory.

During the podium ceremony at Circuit Ricardo Tormo on Saturday, the 18-year-old experienced an emotional moment when Lupang Hinirang, the Philippine national song, performed for the very first time in her professional career.

The driver of the #16 PREMA Racing had a fantastic weekend in Valencia, which began with strong showings in both Free Practice sessions. In qualifying, Bustamante carried on with this run and set quicker lap times each time around the 4 km Grand Prix course. Bustamante, along with several other drivers, had post-session lap time deletions owing to track limit violations even though they finished P2 and P5 in the respective race grid-setting sessions. Bustamante was consequently ranked P8 in Q1 and P13 in Q2, giving her the lead in the reverse grid race.

Bustamante demonstrated that she had the speed to compete with the top athletes by making overtakes and moving up to P5 by the end of Race 1. With the aim of getting off to a good start and putting herself in a position to control the pace of the pack, Bustamante lined up in pole position for Race 2 with a cautious sense of confidence. The youthful driver made a strong getaway and took the lead for the first time in her professional career after turning into Turn 1 on the first lap. Bustamante drove calmly and composedly despite intense pressure from pursuing opponents as the air was clear in front of her.

With some brilliant defensive driving, she was able to stave off the late charge and eventually claimed the checkered flag to win the F1 Academy race.

Bustamante was hoping to take full advantage of her starting position in Race 3's final chance to earn points by moving up from P13, where she had started. Over the course of 17 circuits in a fast-paced race, she gained 6 positions while avoiding problems. She earned a hard-fought P7 position and 6 significant points, bringing her weekend point total to 26.

Bustamante expressed: “What a weekend! Starting on pole for Race 2, I was really feeling the nerves, knowing there were a lot of fast drivers behind me. However, we had a great getaway from the line and the team gave me an amazing car to take home my first ever career win! Valencia is bound to remain a special circuit in my heart. Full focus on the next weekend as we aim to challenge for the win regularly in the upcoming rounds.”

After a fantastic weekend, she is currently in P6 in the Drivers Standings, with PREMA Racing easily leading the Teams Standings. Bustamante has established herself as a championship contender, getting better each time she takes the track in her F1 Academy vehicle. Despite the setbacks caused by post-qualifying lap deletions, she was able to maintain her composure to take a sizable points haul and maintain her strong momentum in the fiercely contested first season of the all-female racing series. As the third round of the series, which is slated to take place from May 19 to 21, moves to Barcelona, she will be aiming to continue her recent run of impressive performances.

Photos from F1 Academy

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