Stroll feared early races unlikely after multiple fractures

Lance Stroll has opened up on the extent of the injuries he sustained in a pre-season cycling accident that had doctors fearing he would miss several Formula 1 races.

Stroll crashed while training on his bike in Spain on February 18 and was immediately ruled out of pre-season testing, with Aston Martin only confirming his Bahrain Grand Prix presence on Thursday.

Stroll went on to qualify in eighth place and raced to sixth, splitting the Mercedes drivers, with Aston Martin team-mate Fernando Alonso scoring a podium.

Taking to social media on Tuesday Stroll revealed that he sustained a fracture and displacement in his right wrist, a fracture in his left wrist, a partial fracture in his left hand, along with a fracture in his big toe on his right foot.

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“I believed I was not only going to miss testing but realistically the first few races,” Stroll wrote.

Dr. Xavier Mir, who has worked with MotoGP riders recuperating from injuries, operated on Stroll’s wrist 48 hours after the accident and said a Jeddah return was likely for Stroll “if I worked hard – and he was optimistic with a bit of luck I could race in Bahrain, though that was a faint possibility.”

Stroll was informed that the fractures in his left wrist and hand, along with his toe, needed a more conservative approach.

“My medical team ensured we were doing anything and everything that showed some evidence for bone healing,” Stroll wrote.

“It became my full-time job, trying to combine everything that could help, even if it was by 0.5 per cent. Initially progress was slow – I needed a lot of help even with daily tasks at home.

“Each day got better and once the cast came off on the fourth day it became possible that we had a chance of racing in Bahrain.

“Rehab required hard work and persistence but with an incredible medical team and my friends and family supporting me I was able to push through the pain and get back on track in Bahrain.”