Bianca Bustamante set for F1 Academy debut in Austria

MANILA, Philippines — Philippine racer Bianca Bustamante will be one of 15 racers who will see action in the inaugural F1 Academy series opener at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria this weekend.

Bustamante will race under Italian team PREMA Racing and is expected to participate in all seven rounds of Formula 1's all-female series.

F1 Academy drivers will compete in the Tatuus F4-T421 chassis, which has been designed to be unique for the series.

Prior to her F1 Academy debut, Bustamante has been busy training in the PREMA facility in Vicenza, Italy, where she was able to get ample time on a simulator.

The 18-year-old has also been working on her strength and conditioning, visiting 321 Perform training center in France where she was able to rub shoulders with F1 driver Esteban Ocon.

“The day I stepped into the PREMA facility my immediate thought was, ‘I’m home.’ I have learnt so much throughout the two months of intensive training with such an amazing team - but of course, there is plenty more to learn as it’s only the start of the season,” said Bustamante.

“Training is tough - regardless of whether it’s physical or mental - but I am grateful that I discovered things about myself that I didn’t even know. From seemingly impossible upper body exercises to psychological evaluations to assess my strengths and weaknesses, PREMA certainly equipped me well to face my next racing challenge.”

Bustamante also attended two preseason tests with F1 Academy at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and Circuit Paul Ricard.

Throughout these sessions, Bustamante made gains, showed pace and was consistently on the sharp end of driver timings.

The first round of the F1 Academy series begins Friday morning, local time, with free practice sessions. Qualifying is then held twice in the afternoon.

The three races of the opening weekend of the series happen on Saturday, April 29.

Prior to F1 Academy, Bustamante raced in the W Series and the F4 UAE Championship.