BIANCA Bustamante didn’t let a time penalty impede her scoring run in the ongoing 2024 F1 Academy season, as she once again finished with points in Race 2, Round 3 in Barcelona on Sunday afternoon.
The Filipina racer was handed a five-second time penalty early on after a false start as she attempted to move up from her starting position in P8.
Bustamante actually got away nicely at lights out, as she zoomed past three cars on track to climb to P5. Shortly after, however, race stewards noted the McLaren driver’s false start and was quick to slap her with the penalty.
Still, Bustamante continued to push as she crossed the finish line in P6 before the time penalty bumped her down to P7. Fortunately that was still good enough for six points that helped her move one spot up in the driver’s standings now at P5.
A change atop the F1 Academy leaderboard
In Race 2, Chloe Chambers of Haas and Campos Racing nabbed her first win in F1 Academy to leap to P2 behind leader Abbi Pulling.
Pulling, meanwhile, finished behind the American in Race 2, as Red Bull Racing’s Hamda Al Qubaisi took P3 to complete the podium.
Bustamante resumes her hunt for her first win of the season when Round 4 unfurls in August at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.
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