The road to becoming a professional racer did not come easy by any means for Bianca Bustamante.
But at just 18 years old, Bustamante has already capped her first F1 Academy season with two top finishes and four total on the podium.
Come next year, the Filipina racer will don the papaya colors as she races for McLaren in the 2024 racing season.
She became the first female racer to join McLaren and the first Filipino, regardless of gender, to make it this big in the motorsports scene.
Many don’t actually understand how difficult the journey is to become a racer. But more importantly, how difficult it is to reach this sort of level as a Filipino.
“I think I chose the most unsafe career path ever. I was fortunate enough to have my dad and mum [who] are very passionate about motorsports so they understood why I was like this and why I wanted this. But relatives and friends didn’t always see the whole picture,” Bustamante told Australian racing website Drive.
“They would often tell me to dream less so you’ll achieve something in life, [which is] a common mentality that often Filipinos and [other] Asians still give to their friends, to their families, because in the end, they mean well. They want what’s best for you, and sometimes they don’t often support something that’s out of the box and uncommon,” she added.
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Asians, not just Filipinos, can understand what it feels like to be told to go for a more stable or common job, rather than following one’s dream.
That’s why when Bustamante was able to reach hers, all her sacrifices were worth it in the end.
“It was all worth the risk in the end,” Bustamante said in her Instagram story which reposted Drive’s article.
As she gears up for the 2024 racing season, Bustamante will look to continue breaking stereotypes and barriers in the motorsports scene.
Indeed, the future is female!
(CF)