Lance Stroll has made sufficient recovery from his pre-season training accident to compete in the opening race of the new F1 season. There were doubts about the Aston Martin driver being able to recover in time for the Bahrain race, after it was believed that he required surgery after the incident . The team had confirmed that reserve driver Felipe Drugovich would compete in Bahrain if Stroll could not recover, but the Canadian has now been cleared to drive after "minor surgery" on his hand. The team confirmed that Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne will be present in Bahrain as the team's reserve drivers.
Speaking about the incident, Stroll confirmed that his absence was related to a cycling accident, and the damage sustained was "not significant". “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," commented Stroll. "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.”
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