Aston Martin’s pre-season preparations took a hit this week after it was confirmed that Lance Stroll would take no part in their three days of testing in Bahrain.
The Canadian confirmed that he has picked up an injury while training for the upcoming season on his bicycle, with some media outlets claiming that the 24-year-old left a hospital in Spain with a cast on his arm.
Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich has been drafted in to replace Stroll in Bahrain’s testing sessions, with Aston Martin suggesting that they are confident of having Stroll back from injury for the first Grand Prix of the season.
Drugovich may have to make the most of his runs in the AMR23 to get race ready however, as fresh reports have claimed that Stroll’s injury is a lot worse than initially feared.
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Mariana Becker has reported that Stroll has broken both of his wrists while Aston Martin continue to stay quiet about the nature of the injury.
The team have said that due to “privacy reasons” they will not reveal the details of Stroll’s injury, leaving fans in the dark about his recovery.
If the reports are to be believed and Stroll has actually broken both of his wrists, this would almost certainly rule the Canadian out of the Bahrain Grand Prix.
The expected recovery time for a broken wrist is six weeks, leaving Aston Martin in a difficult situation ahead of the 2023 season opener.
Aston Martin would ideally have liked to of drafted in Stoffel Vandoorne to replace the Canadian due to his F1 experience, but the Belgian’s Formula E commitments in Cape Town left him unavailable.
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Should Stroll be unable to take part in the first Grand Prix of the season, Drugovich will most likely stand in for him, with Vandoorne admitting having driven the AMR23 in testing, it would make sense for the Brazilian to continue standing in for Stroll.
Sebastian Vettel missed the first two races of last season for Aston Martin with COVID, meaning that the team could be set for a second hindered start to a season in a row.
Drugovich’s first run in the AMR23 was relatively successful, however he did bring out the red flag partway through his run as the team experiences some minor technical issues.