Lance Stroll will race in the Bahrain GP, ‘wrist damage was not significant’
Lance Stroll will take his place on the Bahrain grid, the Aston Martin driver cleared to race despite having recently undergone an operation on the wrist he injured in a cycling crash.
Stroll was ruled out of pre-season testing, the Canadian missing all three days after suffering “minor” injuries when he crashed while out on a training ride.
Aston Martin opted to put reserve driver Felipe Drugovich in the car, giving the Brazilian track time with suggestions he could be in the car come the season-opening race.
Both drivers were back in Bahrain on Thursday for the curtain-opener while Aston Martin waited to see if their race driver would be declared fit.
He was with the team confirming Stroll’s participation on Thursday morning.
“It was frustrating not to be out in Bahrain for the pre-season test and I was disappointed to miss the three days of running,” said Stroll.
“However, given the injury to my wrist, the team and I felt it was best to focus on recovery so that I would be ready for this weekend and the long season ahead.”
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Explaining his cycling accident the 24-year-old called it an “unfortunate” incident, and revealed he did have to undergo a “minor” operation on it.
“It was an unfortunate accident – I fell from my bike when my tyre caught a hole in the ground – but thankfully the damage was not significant and a successful minor surgery on my right wrist fixed the problem very quickly,” he said.
“Since then, I’ve been working hard with my team to ensure that I am fully fit to compete this weekend.”
He added: “I would like to thank the F1 community for their support and privacy, as well as the team who have helped my recovery.
“Now I’m ready to get my head down and concentrate on racing this weekend – something I’m really looking forward to.”
Drugovich and Aston Martin’s second reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne are both in Bahrain this weekend.
