Bianca Bustamante to debut at F4 British Championship

July 10 ------ Filipina racer Bianca Bustamante is set to reinforce the championship leading team for her ROKiT F4 British Championship debut on July 13-14. The 19-year-old speedster will race under British team Hitech Grand Prix for the series’ sixth round to be held at the Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands.  

Bustamante is set to test her skills and quick-thinking in the Dutch circuit which features long straights and challenging turns, allowing for minimal errors. For three sprint races, the first female McLaren Development Driver will be racing alongside male and female drivers in the first event of the championship series outside of the United Kingdom. The races will be streamed live on the British F4 YouTube channel.  

This will not be the first time for Bustamante to tackle the race track in the Netherlands. In the 2023 edition of F1 Academy, she scored a sum of 12 points across the three races held in this circuit. “I’m looking forward to racing in the ROKiT F4 British Championship for the first time! Though I raced at Circuit Zandvoort last year, it will be my first time in the championship where the level of competition is intense and will have some of the best male and female driver’s from around the globe,” she said in a statement.  

This Zandvoort stint will serve as part of her preparation ahead of round 4 of the 2024 F1 Academy where she is competing for the whole season under ART Grand Prix. With three rounds in, Bustamante currently sits at 5th place in the drivers’ championship ranking with 57 points—almost half of the total points she earned during her rookie season last year where she finished 7th place with 116 points. So far, Bustamante was able to score points in each of the six races of the all-female championship series. Her best result was during race 2 of round 2 in Miami where she cliched P2.  

There are four rounds left for Bustamante to improve her rank. Next round will be at the Zandvoort track on August 23-25. Bianca Bustamante clinches her first podium in F1 Academy 2024 in Miami. 

Source: news.abs-cbn.com