Aston Martin will go complete! Despite speculation, Lance Stroll will make an appearance in Bahrain

In the last few days, the Formula 1 world has not only focused on the incredible speed of Aston Martin’s new monopost, but also on its driver line-up. A few days before the start of pre-season testing, news of Lance Stroll’s injury surfaced. Despite speculation of fractures in both wrists after falling off a bike, we will see the Canadian at the start of the Bahrain VC.

How much truth was there in the earlier speculation? That remains a question, but the fact remains that broken wrists normally require a minimum six-week lay-off, which would rule Stroll out for at least the first two grand prix. But now the North American rider is ready to take the cockpit.

His seat and car were warmed up in testing by current F2 champion and reserve driver Felipe Drugovich. Aston Martin itself had the Brazilian as a back-up if the Canadian driver failed to recover.

Fernando Alonso joined the team over the winter break. Despite his age, he is still able to perform well and would like to return to the podium. This year’s monocoque could help him very much.

the 41-year-old double world champion has spoken a lot about the loss of Stroll in testing in recent days. He mainly pointed to the fact that the team couldn’t compare the comments of the two main drivers, who would have been able to spot the mistakes.

In addition, Alonso added that his comments may have been influenced by his transfer to a new team and thus a new car.

The Montreal native has bad memories of the classic circuit configuration in Bahrain. He scored only once in six attempts and even had to retire from the race twice. The return to the monocoque may not be a pleasant one.

But the Canadian has one pleasant memory of the Middle Eastern country. In 2020, he finished third on a shortened track at the VC Sakhir. The legendary race was won by his then teammate Sergio Pérez, still under the Racing Point stable name.

The first practice sessions, which start on Friday, will give a clue as to how Stroll will fare after the first kilometres on the simulator only. We can also look forward to the first comparison of a driver with a reputation as a pay-per-view racer with the great legend of the queen of motorsport.

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