Formula One and glamorous women have always gone hand-in-hand, but the latter are very rarely seen behind the wheel. Until now.
The star of a new Netflix series is ripping up the rule book and hopes to become one of the biggest names in racing alongside Lewis Hamilton.
At just 20 years old, Filipina driver Bianca Bustamante will next weekend become only the third woman driver in the history of professional motorsport to have qualified for and started a mixed sex race at the GB3 Championship at Silverstone – a feeder event for young drivers hoping to progress into the serious end of motorsport and even F1. And that after becoming the first woman to be accepted into the prestigious McLaren Driver Development Programme a year ago.
But it hasn’t come easy for Bianca, who is set to star in Netflix’s new docuseries F1 Academy alongside 14 other female drivers.
Speaking to the Mail, she says: ‘I’ve been financially independent since I was 16, so I’ve had to work for everything. My flat, the food I eat, everything. I’ve had to work for all of that.
‘But it does take a toll on someone mentally.’
Self-starter Bianca has been able to fund her passion for Formula One and buy her own London flat through brand deals thanks to her huge social media following – more than three million across Instagram and TikTok.
At just 20 years old, Filipino driver Bianca Bustamante will next weekend become only the third woman driver in the history of professional motorsport to have qualified for and started a mixed sex race at the GB3 Championship at Silverstone
She is signed to Storm Management, the model agency that discovered Kate Moss, and has been on the cover of Vogue in the Philippines. She has also worked with the likes of Google, video game company EA Sports and luxury jewellery brand APM Monaco.
Yesterday she was named by Forbes as one of the 30-under-30 record-breaking athletes for her achievements in F1.
All that exposure at such a young age is not without its problems, however.
‘It’s petrifying to be an open book for everyone on social media,’ she says.
‘I have used it as a platform to fund my career and to help me progress on the motorsport ladder and because of that openness it’s allowed me to work with certain brands.
‘I’ve kind of needed to grow up in front of the whole world.
‘I grew up in front of three million people across all my social media platforms and I find it very scary sometimes.
‘It can be worrying to lose myself along the way. Lose my sights and morals and who I really am.
‘I have my diary there for everyone to read.
‘I am now able to put myself in my dream scenario where all I can do now is just focus, focus on the job, focus on racing, focus on driving, not worrying about whether we can afford the next race, whether we can afford the next season, whether we can afford to go and train.’
Self-starter Bianca has been able to fund her passion for Formula One and buy her own London flat through brand deals thanks to her huge social media following – more than three million across Instagram and TikTok
There have only been two female drivers in the history of professional motorsport who have qualified and started a race: Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958 and Lella Lombardi in 1975 and 1976.
Bianca is feeling the pressure.
‘This new step up still feels so new to me,’ she says.
‘I get in the car and I still feel like I know nothing. I feel like a rookie every single time, which I am I guess.
‘That step from junior driver to being professional now as we go into the GB3 season… people talk to me like I’m no longer a kid, I’m an adult.
‘Working with the new team is amazing. It’s my first time working with a British team.
‘It’s good that they speak English, so there’s no more language barriers for me, which is really good because I’ve raced with Italians and the French. And I always found that a little bit difficult.
‘I’ve got teammates that are like brothers to me now.’
Already with a huge social media following and soon-to-be GB3 debut under her belt, Bianca is about to get even bigger.
Bianca will feature heavily in new docuseries F1 Academy, highlighting the drama of the women’s races
Following the tremendous success of Netflix’s Drive to Survive, which is on its seventh season and has been credited with bringing a whole new audience to the sport, new docuseries F1 Academy will heavily feature poster girl Bianca.
Produced by Reese Witherspoon’s company Hello Sunshine and launching globally later this year, it highlights the drama of the women’s races through exclusive, behind-the-scenes access as they break barriers in one of the demanding sports in the world.
Bianca was born in the capital of the Philippines, Manila, before moving to California and eventually London last year. Before McLaren announced her signing, she became only the second ever driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing.
She made the podium, finishing third in her first race and seventh in the final championship standings.
She has credited her career to her father, Raymund, who took her karting from the age of five.
Her mother Janice initially had reservations about her taking up racing, before she realised the ‘love and passion’ Bianca had.
When we speak, Bianca has just got back from a seven-day training camp in Annecy, France, where she trains both body and mind.
And what does a regular training day look like?
‘I am normally training from 9am until 5pm,’ she says.
Bianca was only the second ever driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing
‘The mornings start off with mental training and peripheral vision reaction, which is the capability to gather information as quickly as possible and remain calm in the car even when you’re dealing with stressful situations.
‘Then the afternoons are lifting heavy for muscle gain and core strength. We do neck training and forearm training which is very important for grip.
‘Then we do trail running or free driving which is important for my breathing and improving my VO2 max.’
This leaves little time for relationships, she says, joking that she is ‘too career orientated’ to think about a boyfriend.
And these career goals are impressive indeed – at Silverstone next weekend, she will drive a car 20 seconds faster than she is used to against men for the first ever time, competing in her first mixed gender race.
On the days she thinks it would be easier to give up, it’s the knowledge that she’s a woman competing in a male-dominated sport that keeps her going.
‘Not a lot of women are encouraged to pursue the sport,’ she says. ‘But it’s not just to represent, but to encourage and inspire and show the next generation that anything is possible and that there’s no space you can’t be in.
‘I want to pass the torch a little bit brighter.
‘When you look at the pool of people in the paddock, it is just men.’
Thanks in no small part to her example, however, that’s already changing.
‘It doesn’t take just one person to be screaming the message but a whole village and everywhere I go there are more female fans, more female workers, more drivers. And there is so much strength in numbers.
‘Changes will eventually happen, but it takes time.’
