2023-10-18 14:09:24
McLaren has announced that Bianca Bustamante has joined the team’s driver development programme, becoming the first female driver to enroll in the team’s development programme. She will also be a representative driver for McLaren, adding McLaren livery to her race car with her Cisco, who has become the new official primary partner of the F1 Academy for the 2024 season.
Bianca is an 18-year-old from the Philippines who has been racing since she was 5 years old and is a promising female driver in the motorsports world, having won multiple karting championships across Asia. In her single-seater career to date, she has competed in the W Series, F4 UAE Championship, Italian F4, USF Junior and most recently with the F1 Academy for the 2023 season. She has two wins and two podiums this season, heading into the 2023 series finale, the Austin United States Grand Prix. Bianca will join McLaren’s driver development program, led by Emanuele Pirro, which will see her join the team’s talent pipeline as she looks to move up to F1, IndyCar and Formula E. Cisco becomes official primary partner of McLaren F1 Academy. Cisco is a leader in enterprise networking, video collaboration and security technology and is an official partner of the McLaren F1 Team from 2021. The F1 Academy partnership builds on Cisco’s collaboration with McLaren’s 60 Scholars, an initiative supporting women on STEM career paths. As part of the multi-year partnership, Cisco branding will appear on Bianca Bustamante’s race car, overalls and team kit. Bianca will represent McLaren in the 2024 F1 Academy from ART Grand Prix. Emmanuel Pirro, Director of Driver Development, McLaren Racing: “We are delighted that Bianca is joining our driver development program. She is a promising young talent with an excellent work ethic and is a great addition to our team. We look forward to watching Bianca develop as a racing driver. We are also pleased that Bianca will represent the team in the F1 Academy Series and look forward to racing at Papaya in 2024. Andrea Stella, McLaren F1 Team Principal: “The team is delighted that Bianca is joining us and that McLaren is joining the F1 Academy. We are a diverse and inclusive team. We are delighted to be deeply involved in F1’s work on this important theme of improving gender diversity in motorsport, which is a fundamental principle of the McLaren Racing Driver Development Program under Emmanuel’s guidance. I look forward to watching Bianca grow and progress.”
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