Bianca Bustamante says she is “elated” to earn her maiden podium in 2024 in Race 2 after a disastrous Race 1 hindered her prospects at the Miami International Autodrome.
After stalling the Race 1 start Bustamante climbed from the back of the pack on a brilliant recovery drive to P9 despite a penalty, before she returned in full force for Race 2 where she earned her first podium of the season.
Bustamante told Motorsport Week: “I’m elated, obviously. We’ve been working really, really hard towards the season to get this podium.
“We did everything we could to prepare for Miami, on the sim, on track, testing, working with the team. I was at MTC quite a lot prior to the race week, trying to make sure that I left Miami with no regrets. I’ve prepared, and I’ve done my work so no regrets here.
“I feel like I’ve gotten my groove back, I had a really good start, I had a good launch. I nearly went for the lead, but I was too late and too deep, and I didn’t want to risk everything into T1.”
Ahead of Round 3 in Barcelona from the 21st to the 23rd of June, the Filipina driver hopes to continue this streak of podium finishes.
Having experience racing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Bustamante aims to challenge the Championship leader Abbi Pulling.
“It’s a track that I know very well,” Bustamante said.
“Last year I was very quick but I made a mistake and stalled, unfortunately. But that’s something I want to rewrite. We want to keep working with this momentum and hopefully be higher up in the standings in Barcelona.”
Now sitting fifth in the 2024 F1 Academy Drivers’ Standings, the Filipina’s next target is the Haas-nominated driver Chloe Chambers who finished Race 1 on the third step.
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