Fernando Alonso will be delighted as Aston Martin confirm Lance Stroll fit for Bahrain GP

Lance Stroll has confirmed he will return to F1 at this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix despite undergoing surgery after a bike accident ahead of pre-season testing. The Canadian missed out on the action in Sakhir last week after picking up the injury days before the start of the new campaign.

The Aston Martin star has been “working hard” with the team to ensure he is fully fit to race in Sakhir. It’s set to be a massive boost to Fernando Alonso who revealed he missed working with his team-mate over the three-day test last week. 

In a statement released on Thursday, Stroll said he was sad to have missed getting behind the wheel but suggested he took the decision on the advice of his team.

He explained: “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. 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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“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. Since then, I’ve been working hard with my team to ensure that I am fully fit to compete this weekend.  

“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.” 

Alonso outlined the difficulties of Stroll missing last week’s test as Aston Martin made considerable strides towards the frontrunners. The team look to have a strong package with many touting the squad to challenge Mercedes as the third-fastest car on the grid. 

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Alonso commented on Stroll’s absence: “It hurt a lot. I think we miss him because some of my comments and feelings with the car, we never know if it’s just me in a new team and a new car or was [it] just maybe an Aston Martin thing that Lance could spot: brake pedal feeling, power steering?

“I don’t know if these are a legacy thing with the team or new in this car, so we cannot do it without him. So I hope he can come [back] very soon.” Stroll was replaced by F2 champion Felipe Drugovich who is one of the team’s two reserve drivers this season. 

Aston Martin confirmed that both Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne will be in attendance in Bahrain as backup reserve drivers just in case. Reports had claimed the team was considering bringing Sebastian Vettel out of retirement but this was ditched after pushback from fans. 

The British marque announced Drugovich would get a chance to race on Sunday if Stroll had not fully recovered in time.

source: express.co.uk