From 31 January to 4 February 2022, Bustamante competed in a W Series test in Arizona, United States, along with 14 other prospective drivers.[1] She then participated in a second pre-season test in Barcelona on 2–4 March along with 11 other potential drivers and 9 automatic qualifiers from the previous W Series season.[2] On 22 March, Bustamante was confirmed to compete in the 2022 W Series season.[3] She finished the season in 15th place scoring 2 points across 7 races.
Formula 4 UAE Championship
On 9 January 2023, Bustamante was announced to race under Italian team Prema Powerteam for the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship.[4] She finished the season in 27th place scoring 3 points across 15 races.
F1 Academy
2023 season
On 3 February 2023, Bustamante was confirmed as the second driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing.[5]
Bustamante finished 3rd in the series' first race at the Red Bull Ring, but was promoted to P2 following the disqualification of Nerea Martí.[6] Having finished ninth in the second race, her car suffered a technical failure on the formation lap for the third race at and did not start.[7]
Bustamante initially qualified 2nd for the second round at Circuit Ricardo Tormo, but was demoted to 8th for a track limits infringement.[8] Having recovered to fifth in the first race, Bustamante then won her first race in the reverse-grid second heat – earning personal congratulations from President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, Jr.[9][10][11]
Bustamante did not finish the first race of the weekend at Monza, before grabbing her third podium of the season in the following reverse-grid race and winning the third and final race of the weekend.[12]
Bustamante scored a total of 116 points, finishing 7th in the championship standings; one point behind MP Motorsport's Amna Al Qubaisi.[13]
In Round 1 at Jeddah, Bustamante finished fifth in Race 1 and was promoted to sixth (from eighth) in Race 2 due to penalties for other competitors.[16][17][18] Bustamante qualified in fourth for the second round at Miami and finished the first race in ninth after stalling at the start, but set the fastest lap in consolation; in Race 2, she scored her first podium of the season with a second-place finish.[19][20] In Round 4 at Zandvoort, Bustamante crashed during qualifying and finished outside the points in both races – a pointless streak which continued in Singapore after she received a stop/go penalty in Race 1 for being out of position on the grid, before colliding with Tina Hausmann in Race 2 whilst recovering from a spin.[21][22]
Bustamante returned to Italian F4 for the final round in Monza, driving for ART Grand Prix, the French team making their debut in the series.[24]
Personal life
Born in Manila, Bustamante resides between Laguna, Philippines, and San Jose, California. She is the daughter of Raymund and Janice Bustamante.[25]
Bustamante has a combined 2.2 million followers across Instagram and TikTok, making her the third most influential female driver in the world according to vehicle rental company Avis.[26][27] In December 2023, upon joining McLaren, she received backlash on social media after it emerged that she had liked several tweets critical of Formula One driver Lance Stroll, one of which used ableist language.[28]