F1 Academy race-winner Bianca Bustamante will make her GB3 Championship debut with Elite Motorsport in 2025.
Bustamante, who celebrates her 20th birthday in January, has finished seventh for the past two years in the F1 Academy standings.
Born in Manila, Bianca resides in Laguna (Philippines) and having competed in both local and international karting competitions since the age of five, was the overall champion in the 2019 Asian Karting Open X30 Junior Championship.
She began racing single-seaters in 2022, finishing as top Rookie in the W Series standings that year, before winning two F1 Academy races the following season at Monza and Valencia in the all-female racing series.
In addition to scoring an F1 Academy podium this year in Miami, she contested three races in the Formula Winter Series (Valencia, Jerez, Aragon), Italian F4 (Monza), Euro 4 (Monza) and British F4 Championships (Zandvoort).
Bustamante also placed third in the Formula E women’s test with McLaren in November.
Bianca Bustamante said: “GB3 is a great step to progress up the ladder of single-seater competition. Having competed in the F1 Academy for two seasons in F4 machinery, I felt GB3 was the perfect step to learn higher downforce and bigger powered cars, with the next step aimed at Formula 3.
“With the great calendar mixing European and British circuits, as well as a strong grid of drivers, I expect GB3 to provide me with a great learning platform. I look back fondly on my F1 Academy years and am proud of what was achieved but I’m now excited to return to the traditional racing ladder with both male and female racers on the grid.
“Elite Motorsport has a proven track record in the GB3 series and my management team and I felt this is due to its strong engineering and focus on driver development. I know I will face a lot of challenges so to drive in an experienced and supportive infrastructure were important factors when confirming a team for 2025.”
Team Owner and Manager Eddie Ives said: “We are extremely pleased to welcome Bianca to Elite Motorsport.
“It is very clear Bianca has a fantastic attitude combined with total professionalism.
“I’m confident that with these attributes along with her experience and success she’s already accomplished in such a short space of time, together with the skills of my excellent GB3 team, will no doubt lead to a fantastic season.”
19 December 2024
