Bianca Bustamante showed resilience and strong starts amid challenging weather and in the final round of the Italian Formula 4 Championship at Monza, though her efforts were hindered by collisions beyond her control.
F1 Academy race winner and McLaren junior Bianca Bustamante contested the final round of the fiercely competitive Italian Formula 4 Championship at Monza. Despite a challenging weekend marked by adverse weather and multiple disrupted races, she demonstrated strong recovery drives in the early stages of races 1 and 2, before being taken out through no fault of her own in the final two contests.
Bustamante returned to the Temple of Speed following her participation in the final Euro4 Championship round three weeks prior, where she also faced a chaotic race meeting with frequent safety car interruptions that limited her driving time.
Nevertheless, the Filipina continued challenging herself in exceptionally competitive fields, furthering her development as a racing driver alongside her main F1 Academy program, where she currently holds seventh in the standings, with one podium and three top-5 finishes to her name.
To build on her progress, Bustamante entered her second career Italian F4 weekend, having debuted last year at Spa with two top-20 finishes. This time, she competed with her F1 Academy team, ART Grand Prix, aiming to carry the season's progress forward.
"We came into Monza bright eyed and obviously with every intention to learn and using all those knowledges to compete in F1 Academy in an even better position", Bustamante told us. "But unfortunately we had conditions and variables that we can't really control. It made it really difficult to move up positions and show speed and potential."
This Italian F4 season finale featured nearly 40 cars, including some of the world’s best junior drivers, facing treacherous weather conditions that tested the drivers' skills.
In heavy rain, Bustamante showed solid pace, ending just outside the top 20 in the opening practice. In the second session, amid changing conditions, she clocked a 1:57.951, gaining valuable experience despite the difficult circumstances, and prepared for qualifying with promising wet-weather potential.
Friday afternoon saw two wet qualifying sessions. Bustamante posted a 2:02.399 in Q1, securing P32 on the grid, and climbed to P27 in Q2 with a 2:00.986, a session disrupted by red flags. She positioned herself for a recovery drive in the upcoming races, with the speed to challenge for the top 20.
Saturday morning brought heavy rain for Race 1, with Bustamante starting P34 as Jack Beeton lined up on pole. The start was under a safety car due to low visibility, and once green-flag racing resumed, Bustamante quickly climbed up to P31, overtaking Berreby.
Stolcermanis spun at the second chicane, but the race stayed green; Bustamante continued her charge, passing Marchiante and Larini, and then overtaking teammate Lia Block on lap 4 to reach P29.
Bustamante and Larini traded positions, with Larini fighting back on lap 5. In the extremely tricky conditions, a crash between Popov and Robinson at the first chicane brought out the safety car with 11 minutes left.
On the restart with 4 minutes remaining, Bustamante executed a strong move, gaining more spots and reaching P27. However, a final incident brought out another safety car, and the race concluded under caution. Bustamante completed a solid first race with a gain of nine positions, but a post-race 10-second penalty unfortunately dropped her back to P33.
With rain easing in the early afternoon, Bustamante started from P27 for Race 2. This time, the race began with a standing start on mostly slick tyres. She had a strong start, gaining five spots to reach P23.
A multi-car accident at the first chicane took out Koller, Duna, and Daryanani, followed by further accidents at La Roggia, bringing out the safety car. By the time of the restart, Bustamante had climbed to P19 in a remarkable first lap.
As green-flag racing resumed, a thrilling battle ensued for the lead, with Slater and Nakamura-Berta engaging in a three-wide duel at Parabolica. Bustamante held her ground around the top 20, but a collision under braking at Parabolica sent her into the gravel, ending her race. Despite the setback, her early pace and overtakes again highlighted her potential.
Sunday morning’s Race 3 presented damp track conditions after rain overnight, adding another variable to the mix. Starting from P25, Bustamante faced a fresh opportunity to break into the top 20.
Pradel made a leap from third to first at the start, sparking a duel with Slater into the first chicane. However, a collision between Bondarev and Robinson at La Roggia halted their fight as more incidents unfolded: Block lost control, slid through the wet grass and collided with Bustamante, eliminating both from the race. The unfortunate accident ended Bustamante’s weekend, an innocent victim of the chaotic first lap.
"Even though we knew that there were chances that we could be running on top in the wet condition, we show quite decent pace running up to the top 20 within the sessions", she commented. "But unfortunately, every single time there's just a bit of that unlucky side where I get contact with a driver."
"I got hit from behind in both races two and three, just instances like this where we can't really control or avoid", she recalled. "So it does put me in a slump, mentally, it's a bit hard to deal with it knowing that there's nothing I could have done and all I just wanted to do, to be honest, was finish the race."
"But it is what it is. We came here to learn, work with the team, continue working together and growing, working on the car setup-wise. We found very valuable insights that we can use in F1 Academy and obviously to try to get as much track time as possible to stay in the car to keep momentum going."
"Barely did any driving, but it is what it is. Regardless, I had a great fun. Monza is my favourite track, so it's always lovely to be here."
Next, Bustamante heads to the sixth round of F1 Academy, as the all-female championship will travel to Lusail International Circuit in Qatar for the penultimate meeting on November 30 - December 1. The event will be preceded by three days of testing on this new circuit, a first-time venue for most of the field.
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