‘You have to believe’ - McLaren’s Bianca Bustamante on F1 training and importance of female representation

Game-changing, race-winning and trail-blazing motorsport superstar Bianca Bustamente will be back in action this weekend as she takes to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to battle it out in the ongoing F1 Academy Championships. 

Under two years old, the F1 Academy is a female-only and junior-level single-seater championship, founded by Formula 1 in the wake of W Series’s unfortunate financial demise. Bustamante, 19, featured in the final year of the W Series competition before teaming up with Prema Racing for Formula 4 UAE and subsequently the F1 Academy in 2023. 

In October 2023, it was then announced that the Filipina racing driver would be part of McLaren’s Driver Development Programme for the 2024 F1 Academy season. 

She is currently fifth in the driver’s Championship following the first two races in Jeddah and Miami but she has recently spoken of her hunger to achieve that first race win and believes Barcelona will provide her with the perfect opportunity. 

Speaking with NationalWorld ahead of her upcoming race in Spain, Bustamante said: “Going into Barcelona, I have the confidence that I’m going to go there and win and I know I’ve got what it takes to do it. I’ve got an amazing team behind me and all these people cheering me on, which will hopefully make it even sweeter when that first win does come.” 

“Me and the team have a great equilibrium - we’ve got a great flow, the car is amazing and we’re improving every time we’re out on the track. I still don’t feel like the finished article and I’m nowhere near to reaching my full potential, so I’ve got to keep striving to unlock what I have left to give.

As part of McLaren’s partnership with Optimum Nutrition, Bustamante also detailed how she is able to tailor her training and recovery in order to help her body withstand the G-Force and withstand the mental strains of a race weekend. 

“Typically, I have mid and post-season training camps, where I’ll train nine hours per day for seven days straight. This will include mental and physical training, reaction time, coordination and weightlifting. You need to be physically strong to withstand the G-Force and to hold your body as you’re breaking into each corner. There’s a lot of focus on my neck because it’s so important in motorsport.

“Recovery is very important. During race weekends, I’ll eat up to four times a day, which is a big shock after I’ve been eating around two meals a day. I hydrate as much as possible before an event and take supplements and hydration tablets during a race week to keep me healthy.”

The 19-year-old racing driver is the first ever female driver to be signed onto the McLaren Driver Development Programme and only the second ever female driver to race with the Papaya team. 

While confessing that there is still a huge amount of work to be done before any sort of gender parity can be seen in the world of motorsport, Bustamante has revealed how supportive her team has been regarding her development. She has also expressed her excitement at being considered a ‘role model’ for young girls hopeful of breaking into the motorsport industry when historic representation has led us to believe we had no place in it. 

“I’ve seen motorsport change enormously over the last few years and there are some amazing female drivers coming through. 

“I also feel like we’re only at the starting point of something really great. We’ve got a long road ahead of us and there’s a lot to be improved on in the years ahead, but motorsport is turning into something really beautiful.”

“Everyone in motorsport at some point feels like they don’t belong here”, Bustamante continued. “But we’re ditching the age-old view of women day-by-day not just in motorsport but around the world and it’s incredible to be a part of. I feel so proud to be a woman in motorsport and I want to continue being a role model for young girls across the world hoping to chase their dreams.”

Bustamante is not oblivious to the importance of her visibility, calling on her own experiences growing up as a vital part of why seeing more women in the world of motorsport is essential for the advancement of the industry. 

It’s said so frequently but remains a continuing issue: ‘representation is key’. And the Filipina driver even detailed that she believed driving could not be a viable career path for her as, from F1 to Disney movies, there was no female representation in racing. 

“The minute you see something is the minute you begin to believe it, and that’s why I didn’t really believe growing up because I had nobody to look up to across F1, F2 or F3”, Bustamante revealed. “Not just in racing, but everywhere - every movie was about a male racing driver, even Disney’s Cars was about a male car.

“I want people to go on social media and see us girls pursuing our dreams in the sport, representing teams like McLaren, racing in countries all around the world, and realise that it is very much something they should strive for. I want to remind people that they shouldn't just try and fit the mould that other people have made for them. 

“Growing up in the Philippines, I was often told to take another career path, something more realistic, but you have to believe in your dreams and help others believe in theirs too.” 

Bustamante’s next race takes place this weekend, Sunday 23 June, in Barcelona and will be available to watch on F1 Academy’s YouTube and X Channels as well as via F1 TV.

Bianca Bustamante was speaking on behalf of Optimum Nutrition, the Official Sports Nutrition Partner of McLaren Racing.