Lance Stroll injury explanation disputed: 'I don’t buy it'

Doubt has been cast over the extent of Lance Stroll's wrist injury that forced him out of the Spanish Grand Prix.

Stroll competed in Saturday's qualifying at Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya but was knocked out in Q2 and was due to line up 14th on the grid.

Stroll was then summoned to see the stewards after failing to attend the post-qualifying weigh-in procedure promptly, and for also taking the wrong route.

Later that evening, Aston Martin confirmed Stroll would be withdrawing from the race due to Stroll "experiencing pain in his [right] hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023."

That was regarding the fact that Stroll required surgery after breaking his left and right wrists in a cycling accident six days before the Bahrain Grand Prix, a race in which he ultimately competed.

The team also confirmed that the Canadian driver would "undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery", making him doubtful for his home race in Montréal next weekend.

The likely replacement is reserve Felipe Drugovich, although the Brazilian is due to compete in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Addressing the situation, Sky Sports F1 commentator David Croft has cast aspersions on the situation.

"I don’t buy the ‘We’ve been monitoring this for six weeks’ [claim]," Croft told The F1 Show on Sky.

"If they’ve been monitoring it for six weeks, then surely, for the good of the team, they wouldn’t have put Lance in the car in qualifying if it’s got to a point whereby he might not be fit enough to do the race. They’d bring in Drugovich."

Referring to Stroll's performance in the first part of qualifying, Croft added: "Lance puts in a lap that takes him P7 in Q1. He’s obviously fit enough to drive well at some stage during that qualifying session."

Stroll 'threw helmet' claim

There has been speculation that after Stroll's Q2 exit, and finishing just over half a second adrift of team-mate Fernando Alonso, he expressed his anger in the garage.

As to how Stroll expressed that anger is unclear, with suggestions he shouted, swore and threw objects. Via an Instagram post, Harry Rush, one of Stroll's mechanics, said: "Swore at team members? Absolutely not true."

Offering his view, Croft said: "I understand that a helmet was thrown, to the extent that the helmet might have been damaged, such was the force that it hit the wall," Croft said. "There was a lot of shouting and swearing going on as well.

"Lance has got form for punching walls before, albeit partition walls that wouldn’t necessarily hurt him. I’ve heard that before in his time at Aston Martin."