BIANCA BUSTAMANTE & ABBI PULLING Show Real Lives Behind F1 Academy Fame

May 28, 2025

by Georgina DiNardo // from www.today.com

• BIANCA BUSTAMANTE’s massive social media following (1.6M Instagram, 1.4M TikTok) became both her biggest asset and biggest challenge. The 20-year-old McLaren F1 Academy driver admits her online presence funded her GB3 racing career, but also brought intense scrutiny when she faced controversies at 17-18 years old. She’s learned that mistakes are inevitable but growth comes from how you bounce back.
• ABBI PULLING offers crucial perspective on the pressures facing young women drivers in the spotlight, defending BUSTAMANTE against online critics who “sit behind a screen and judge.” She emphasizes how difficult it is to navigate early career stages with “so many eyes on us,” advocating for more kindness toward young drivers just trying to bring fans along on their journey.
• Netflix’s “F1: The Academy” docuseries premiering May 28 goes beyond SUSIE WOLFF’s equality mission to show the real lives of women chasing F1 dreams. The seven-episode series reveals how these drivers handle personal struggles, social media controversies, and the intense emotions of being young adults under global scrutiny while still in the “first 10 percent of their journey.”

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