Aston Martin gives an update on Lance Stroll’s injury

Aston Martin announced a few hours after the qualifying session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya that Lance Stroll would not participate in the race and would undergo a medical procedure, after experiencing pain in his hand and wrist.

An old wound

This pain is believed to be related to the fractures he sustained during a cycling accident in the 2023 preseason, after which he underwent surgery, yet still managed to participate in the first Grand Prix of the season.

Speaking after Sunday’s race, Mike Krack stated: « As has already been mentioned, it all started in 2023. If you remember, there were injuries, and over the past few weeks, people started talking about pain. We don’t ask the driver every five minutes if he’s in pain or not. We discuss a bit with the physiotherapist, exchange views here and there, and we understand that there are a few minor issues. »

We saw it with Lance in 2023, when he fought to come back: drivers want to drive, they don’t want to stay out. Very often, I think they race with more pain than they admit, just to be able to ride, because that’s what they love to do.

« In recent weeks, there were a few signs, but we never really knew how serious it was, and over the weekend, I think it just became too much. At the end of the day, on Saturday after qualifying, Lance and his team decided it was better to get checked out, have a new assessment, and the recommendation was not to race », he says.

A home service package?

Asked about the procedure planned and the expected recovery time, Mike Krack added: « You are not speaking to a doctor here, which makes things a bit difficult to predict or comment on. I am not involved in that. We will have to wait to see what the next few days will reveal. I understand there will be further examinations, more checks in the coming days, and we will know more soon. »

« For now, it is really difficult to say how it will evolve and what will happen, but we will find out. »

Mike Krack also specified that Aston Martin’s Plan A is for Lance Stroll to be back in the car for his home Grand Prix in Canada next weekend, but that a Plan B is in place just in case, with reserve drivers Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne on standby.

That said, Drugovich and Vandoorne, former GP2 and F2 champions, are scheduled to participate in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which will take place the same weekend as the Montreal Grand Prix.

Moreover, Jak Crawford, a member of the Aston Martin development program and current F2 driver, is not an option because he does not yet have the necessary points for a Super License.

« It’s quite simple: ‘Plan A’ is to have Lance in the car, that’s our ‘Plan A’, and that’s what we’re working towards, » stated the manager. « If ‘Plan A’ doesn’t work out, then we’ll have to activate ‘Plan B’. Of course, we’ve known for a long time that Le Mans would take place, so we also planned that if we had to call on a driver participating in Le Mans, we would bring them. But for now, it’s not the only issue. »

« We’ll wait to see what the next few days have in store for us, then we’ll make a decision », he concluded.