Bianca Bustamante brings talent to Formula E as CUPRA KIRO development driver

MANILA, June 25 ------ Filipina F1 Academy race winner Bianca Bustamante is fueling up her Formula 1 aspirations as she brings her racing prowess to Formula E. Bustamante, 20, was recently confirmed to have signed with American-owned racing team CUPRA KIRO as its development driver.

This opportunity comes as a result of one of her 2024 career highlights where she finished P3 in the first-ever Formula E Women’s Test for the NEOM McLaren Formula E team. The “raw, unforgiving” street circuit in the now defunct Tempelhof Airport in Berlin will greet Bustamante at the official Formula E rookie test on July 14.

Prior to this, she already spent her “first day on the job” with the team where she went over “technical preparations and debriefs, getting acquainted with the Gen 3 Evo car all over again” and bonding with teammates Dan Ticktum and David Beckmann. “Soaking it all up and trying to learn as much as I can from this great team around me before we get in the car next month for the rookie test! So so thankful to have this opportunity and can’t wait to see how the weekend unfolds,” she wrote in an Instagram post.

Bustamante also shadowed the team throughout the Jakarta E-Prix last weekend, which saw CUPRA KIRO and Ticktum’s first race victory. “In the current phase of my driver development journey, I feel so fortunate to have these types of opportunities. I was able to shadow the team through the entire race weekend, listening in on the debriefs, on the team radio, and just absorbing as much as I can. It was a really valuable experience and I met so many great people throughout the weekend,” she wrote in a post.

Bustamante will juggle her stint in Formula E with the ongoing GB3 Championship where she is racing with UK-based team Elite Motorsport alongside fellow Filipino Flynn Jackes and British driver Will Macintyre. She is currently placed 24th in the driver’s standings with 17 points. Prior to GB3, Bustamante was a development driver for McLaren. She also raced for two seasons in F1 Academy where finished seventh overall in both 2023 and 2024 and secured two victories in her first season.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com