She was named in a Forbes category this week

MOTORSPORT’S most glamorous driver has opened up on the “scary” nature of her incredible dual career.

Bianca Bustamante is hoping to become one of the biggest names in racing alongside Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

McLaren development driver Bianca Bustamante has three-million social media followers combinedCredit: Instagram @racerbia

Bustamante has made history by becoming McLaren’s first female driverCredit: Instagram @racerbia

Bustamante earned two podium finishes in the debut F1 Academy seasonCredit: Getty

Her first podium coincided with Lando Norris’ maiden race win in DecemberCredit: Getty

The 20-year-old beauty will start a mixed 𝓈ℯ𝓍 race at the GB3 Championship at Silverstone next weekendCredit: McLaren

Bustamante splits her time between racing podiums for McLaren in an all-female category AND professional modelling.

And the 20-year-old beauty will start a mixed 𝓈ℯ𝓍 race at the GB3 Championship at Silverstone next weekend.

The race is a feeder event for young drivers hoping to progress to elite motorsport and even Formula One.

Bustamante was the first woman to be accepted into the prestigious McLaren Driver Development Programme in 2024.

But it hasn’t come easy for the Filipino driver, who is the poster girl of Netflix’s new docuseries F1 Academy alongside 14 other female drivers.

The self-starter – who was on the cover of Vogue – has been able to fund her passion for F1 and buy her dream London flat through brand deals.

As well as modelling for Storm Management, Bustamante has more than three million followers on Instagram.

She told Mail Sport: “It’s petrifying to be an open book for everyone on social media.

“I have used it as a platform to fund my career and to help me progress on the motorsport ladder.

“I grew up in front of three million people across all my social media platforms and I find it very scary sometimes.

“It can be worrying to lose myself along the way. Lose my sights and morals and who I really am.”

Bustamante was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 and raised in the Philippines, a country with no recognisable history or heritage of motorsport.

She was introduced to her first go-kart at age three by her racing-mad dad Raymund and it was love at first sight.

On Monday, she was named by Forbes as one of the 30-under-30 record-breaking athletes for her achievements in F1.

While F1 is predominantly a male-dominated sport, there have been a few female drivers who have entered Grand Prix races.

The Filipino driver lifts heavy weights as part of a gruelling training regimeCredit: Instagram @racerbia

She has starred in Vogue Philippines

She was named by Forbes as one of the 30-under-30 record-breaking athletes for her achievements in F1Credit: CBR Media

She boasts three million followers on InstagramCredit: Instagram @racerbia

Maria Teresa de Filippis was the first, followed by Lella Lombardi, Divina Galica, Desire Wilson and Giovanna Amati.

But De Filippis and Lombardi are the only women to have started an F1 race, with the latter the only one to score points in her 12 starts.

I find it very scary sometimes.

BustamanteThe Mail

Bustamante told The Mail: “This new step up still feels so new to me.

“I get in the car and I still feel like I know nothing. I feel like a rookie every single time, which I am I guess.

“That step from junior driver to being professional now as we go into the GB3 season… people talk to me like I’m no longer a kid, I’m an adult.

“Working with the new team is amazing. It’s my first time working with a British team.

“I’ve got teammates that are like brothers to me now.”

Lella Lombardi is the only female driver to score points in F1Credit: Getty Images – Getty

A picture of Lando Norris and Bustamante grinning ear to ear at the Miami Grand Prix in May summarises the family feel at McLaren.

She sealed her first-ever F1 Academy podium on the same weekend that Norris secured his maiden race win,

Before McLaren announced her signing, she became only the second ever driver to compete in the newly launched all-female F1 Academy series with Prema Racing.

She made the podium, finishing third in her first race and seventh in the final championship standings.