McLaren’s F1 Academy driver, Bianca Bustamante, was recently heard singing Max Verstappen’s fan-made song during a practice session at the 2024 F1 Dutch GP.
As the F1 circus flies to different destinations to race, feeder series like F2 and F1 Academy also sometimes travel alongside it for their championships. For the upcoming Dutch GP, which is the first race after the sport’s summer break, both F1 and F1 Academy arrived at Zandvoort.
On Friday, F1 Academy drivers also had their first and second practice sessions. While driving her ART GP car around the circuit, Bustamente started singing the famous song dedicated to the three-time F1 world champion.
In the first practice session, Bustamante finished third, behind Doriane Pin and Abbi Pulling. In the second practice session, however, she finished last in P16 as she only drove five laps. Currently, the Filipina driver stands in fifth position in the 2024 F1 Academy championship table with 57 points. Pulling leads the table with 147 points.
The 2024 F1 Dutch GP will be Verstappen’s 200th race. The Red Bull star has won all three races at Zandvoort ever since was re-introduced to the calendar in 2021. He is already one of the top five drivers to win the most home races.
Max Verstappen expects that he will face the toughest competition at the Dutch GP since Zandvoort’s re-introduction to F1, in 2021.
In previous years, the Red Bull driver dominated at his home race, taking pole position and winning all three races. In 2024, however, he expects other drivers to pose a stronger challenge. Verstappen said he aims to have a “clean” weekend and learn more about the car. Speaking in the press conference before the Dutch GP, he said:
With 277 points heading into the Dutch GP, Verstappen is presently leading the 2024 F1 drivers’ championship table. After dominating the grid in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, he is facing fierce opposition in 2024.
In the first half of the 2024 F1 season, seven drivers from the top four teams have won races.
