The Aston Martin Formula 1 team has confirmed that Lance Stroll will participate in the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix this weekend after he missed pre-season testing.
Stroll was forced to skip testing following a biking accident in Spain, which resulted in a wrist injury.
Felipe Drugovich, who is signed as a reserve driver for the 2023 season, took part in pre-season running in place of the Canadian.
Aston Martin confirmed that should Stroll be unavailable for the race weekend, Drugovich would be handed his F1 debut.
However, a statement released by the team on Friday morning confirmed that Stroll would be back in the car for the upcoming race weekend.
“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,” Stroll said.
“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.
“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.”
Aston Martin has confirmed that Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne, its other reserve driver, will both be on standby in Bahrain.
The team enters the 2023 campaign with a slightly revised driver line-up, with Stroll now partnered with two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso.
It enjoyed a successful pre-season test, with some tipping the Silverstone-based squad to be a prominent player at the higher end of the grid for the start of the new campaign.
