McLaren driver deeply hurt after 'autism' tweet about Stroll

F1 News

mclaren driver bianca bustamante tweet lance stroll autism
28 December 2023 at 09:00
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  • GPblog.com

McLaren driver Bianca Bustamante has apologised to Lance Stroll. The Filipino racing driver 'liked' a post on X that was unkind to Stroll. A day later, she apologised for that.

It all started with a TikTok video about Bustamante. In it, the 18-year-old woman who works for McLaren was labelled 'overrated'. Responding to the TikTok video, an unidentified person on X (formerly Twitter) said the following.

"How can you say she is overrated when you have people who buy their way into the sport like 'autism Stroll' who have talent but if they didn't have Daddy's money would be replaced instantly, like don't say overrated until she gets her shot."

Stroll was accused of being autistic

What followers later noticed was the fact that Bustamante had 'liked' the post in question. With this, she expressed support not only for herself but also for the snide remark towards Stroll. This was quickly shared online and so not much later, Bustamante came out with an extensive statement on X.

"I truly deeply apologise. I own up to my mistakes having liked an inappropriate tweet, I can't believe all the people whom I have hurt. I was scrolling and I accidently liked the 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 who is autistic."

"I would never in a million years condone albeism, let alone support an albelist tweet against a fellow driver. I take the topic of autism very seriously and very personal. To Lance Stroll and anyone this has offended, I sincerely apologise as these types of comments is something I do not support. I hope the racing community understands this is 100% an incident; my sincere apologies for this big mistake."

Bustamante was offered a deal from McLaren this year and has since been seen frequently on the paddock in the brand's colours. She will also participate in the F1 Academy on behalf of McLaren in 2024.