Following the return of Lance Stroll at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has revealed that he raced with broken bones “until August” last season, following his crash during Q3 at the Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso has, of course, moved to Aston Martin for 2023, making Stroll is his new team-mate, meaning he can perhaps give some advice to the Canadian on what it’s like to race with broken bones.
Stroll was a huge doubt for this weekend’s season opener, with the Canadian having missed pre-season testing after breaking one wrist and spraining the other during a cycling crash in Spain.
When being asked about how Stroll will cope this weekend, Alonso broke the news that he raced for the bulk of 2022 with a few broken bones in his hand, but that his “love” for driving helped overcome “some pain”.
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“In my case, I broke a few bones in both hands last year,” Alonso told Autosport.
“So, until August, I was not fully recovered. I had some pain, but we love driving!”
When asked specifically about the physical condition of his team-mate, Alonso refused to delve into the Canadian’s “private” life, but that his “desire to win” was easy to see given that he’s going to try and race this weekend.
“I don’t know exactly what Lance has. It’s a private thing… he will check on the car, obviously.
“It’s already very good news that he’s here and he will try. That shows his desire to win and his motivation to win with this team.
“This is even fighting for whatever position we can this weekend. He’s here ready to try. That’s a very good sign.”
Stroll doesn’t appear to be too concerned about his wrists, with him having undergone surgery to have some pins fitted.
He was spotted in the paddock with just a small plaster on his recently broken wrist, suggesting that he has in fact healed incredibly quickly.
Whilst Free Practice 1 was his first time driving the AMR23, Alonso revealed that he’s been “in contact” with Stroll since “day one”, in a bid to keep him up to speed.
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“We’ve been in contact from day one,” said Alonso.
“So, Lance was updated on everything during the test. We spoke with him during lunch and also in the evening sessions.
“He was at the simulator the last few days as well giving us feedback, so we were on the same page basically on real time.”