McLaren driver apologises after liking offensive Stroll tweet

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McLaren driver apologises after liking offensive Stroll tweet

Took to social media to display regret

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Thursday 28 December 2023 08:27

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A young McLaren driver has delivered a public apology after liking a Tweet that negatively targeted Aston Martin's Lance Stroll.

Bianca Bustamante caused a storm on social media before her apology which was also followed with a short video alongside her brother.

Bustamante was the first female driver for an F1 team to be signed up for the 2024 F1 Academy season, having joined McLaren's development programme only two months ago.

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Having previously raced in the now defunct W Series, the 18-year-old finished seventh in the first season of the F1 Academy this term.

Bustamante was caught liking a post with a screenshot of her being called overrated and captioned with an offensive ableist remark against Stroll.

Bianca Bustamante is part of McLaren's young driver development programme

Bianca Bustamante has been competing in the F1 Academy series

Bianca Bustamante has apologised after liking an offensive social media post against Lance Stroll

Bustamante apology

After the post was removed a few hours later following a social media backlash, the Filipina driver issued her apology.

"I truly deeply apologise. I own up to mistakes having liked an inappropriate tweet, I can't believe all the people whom I have hurt," she wrote.

"I was scrolling and accidentally liked the tweet, once I discovered that later on, I immediately unliked it.

As someone who grew up with my only brother having Autism, I completely understand the challenges faced by anyone with Autism.

"I would never in a million years support Ableism at any level, let alone support an Ableist tweet against a fellow driver.

"I take the topic of Autism very seriously and very personal.

"To Lance Stroll and anyone that this has offended, I sincerely apologize as these types of comments is something I do not support.

"I hope the racing community understands this is 100% an accident, my sincerest apologies for this big mistake."

The McLaren driver then shared a video of her alongside her brother.

I rarely share so much about my personal life. But if there’s one thing that kept me going, it was my brother...

And truly I’m sorry to the whole Autism community. pic.twitter.com/s3gwnnTgym
— Bianca Bustamante (@racerbia) December 27, 2023