McLaren is charging up the Formula 1 Constructor's Championship this season, and now it has also made a major move that could change the entire sport.
The legacy automaker has signed 18-year-old female driver Bianca Bustamante to join the McLaren Driver Development programme in 2024, the team announced on Oct. 18. She is the first female driver to ever join McLaren's development pipeline.
BREAKING: Bustamante back for more in 2024!
— F1 Academy (@f1academy) October 18, 2023
Bianca Bustamante signs with McLaren to join their Driver Development programme and will run the team’s livery in F1 Academy for the 2024 season.#F1Academy pic.twitter.com/7pZ771D7Yy
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Bustamante, who is from Laguna, Philippines, will drive for ART Grand Prix in the 2024 F1 Academy season, her second season with the league. Her inclusion marks another step closer to a female driver getting a spot on the Formula 1 grid, which Bustamante calls her "dream."
McLaren's developmental program provides an avenue to drive for the automaker's different teams, including its Formula 1 team, Arrow McLaren Indycar, and NEOM McLaren Formula E.
There has been a push for female representation in Formula 1 as of late, especially after New Zealand's Rodin Cars attempted to join the motorsport league and promised to add a female driver.
The Formula 1 Academy — and league that only has female drivers — held its inaugural season this year. Prior to that, the W Series was a female drivers series that existed for three seasons from 2019 to 2022.
There have only been five women who have officially participated in a Formula 1 race, the last one Giovanna Amati in 1992. The other four participants came before 1980.
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