Bianca Bustamante has had an astonishing rise in the field of motorsports. After starting karting at the age of five, she has already become associated with one of F1’s top Constructors, McLaren. She competed in the F1 Academy this season and finished seventh in the standings with 116 points. While she has undoubtedly made a name for herself in a short period of time, fans have also involved her in one recent controversy involving Lance Stroll.
The controversy began after Bustamante liked several fans’ posts that took a jibe at how Stroll made it to F1 because of “daddy’s money“. Lance’s father, Lawrence, has indeed played a crucial role in helping his son make it to F1 as he has invested a whopping $79 million. On reading what Bustamante thought about Stroll, one fan took to social media and referred to her as “overrated“.
Yes because being ableist and just generally shit towards a driver in the position you want to be in really will help your career! Keep going like that @racerbia !! ☺️ pic.twitter.com/aRw5Nz7eaN
— Maura (@Str18ll) December 27, 2023
— emi (@SARG81NT) December 26, 2023
The 18-year-old from the Philippines was quick to reply to the fan’s post by writing, “Haters gon hate. But at least I am watching this as a McLaren driver“.
Irrespective of what some fans think of her, Bustamante is indeed an inspiration to many young women. She is one of the very few women who has made it this far in the world of motorsports. And her hard work seems to have paid off as she also became only the first woman who McLaren has signed in their racing driver development programme.
Oh … that’s not – pic.twitter.com/FEMoUnWHl4
— Lan (@gaslycentral) December 27, 2023
While several fans love Bustamante for her on-track exploits, some are unhappy with the 18-year-old’s social media activity. She created quite the stir when she liked some fans posting about how an “autistic” Stroll reached F1 because of “daddy’s money“.
Fans slam Bianca Bustamante for liking controversial posts about Lance Stroll
Prior to Bianca Bustamante’s recent response to a fan, several wondered why she seemingly had a dislike towards Lance Stroll. A fan named Rara, for example, wondered “What did Lance ever do” to her?
what did lance ever do to you? @racerbia pic.twitter.com/ZUyqA5rsm8
— rara (@lcllerc) December 27, 2023
Meanwhile, some other fans such as Mia referred to Bustamante’s social media activity as blatantly “disgusting“.
disgusting behaviour imo pic.twitter.com/A6SpT25Z5J
— Mia (@ricciardosbabe) December 27, 2023
Then, there were some fans such as Can who referred to Bustamante involving herself in this controversy as both “nasty” and “unnecessary“.
just nasty and unnecessary pic.twitter.com/guqkd8EXX3
— can (@rosbergcore) December 27, 2023