McLaren F1 junior apologises for liking anti-Stroll ableist tweet

McLaren Formula 1 junior driver Bianca Bustamante has apologisedfor liking an ableist post on social media, directed at AstonMartin driver Lance Stroll. The post in question was posted to X -formerly known as Twitter - and called F1 Academy racer Bustamante'over-rated' with a caption that aimed an ableist slur againstStroll. It has since been deleted after the like was discovered,leading to a social media backlash against the 18-year-old, whojoined McLaren's academy earlier this year. Bustamante has sinceoffered an apology for her actions on her X account. "I trulydeeply apologise," she wrote. "I own up to my mistakes having likedan inappropriate tweet. I can't believe all the people whom I havehurt. I was scrolling and I accidentally liked the tweet, once Idiscovered that later on, I immediately unliked it. "As someone whogrew up with my only brother having Autism, I completely understandthe challenges faced by anyone with autism. "I would never in amillion years support ableism at any level, let alone support anAbleist tweet against a fellow driver. "I take the topic of Autismvery seriously and very personal [sic]. "To Lance Stroll, anyanyone that this has offended, I sincerely apologise as these typesof comments is something I do not support. "I hope the racingcommunity understands this is 100% an accident, my sincerestapologies for this big mistake." Bustamante then uploaded a videoof her and her brother to her 57,000 X and 1.1 million Instagramfollowers. 1740054801675886724 I rarely share so much about mypersonal life. But if there’s one thing that kept me going, it wasmy brother... And truly I’m sorry to the whole Autism community.pic.twitter.com/s3gwnnTgym — Bianca Bustamante (@racerbia) December27, 2023