When Lance Stroll broke his wrists ahead of the 2023 Formula One season, he said that his “whole world was just crumbling.” The Canadian driver finished in sixth place in the season opener the following weekend in Bahrain despite missing all of the pre-season testing.
Aston Martin disclosed that Stroll suffered injuries during a training ride in Malaga the previous weekend, three days prior to Bahrain’s pre-season test. He was therefore unable to take part in the examination.
It was later discovered that the injuries included a broken toe and wrist fractures. The Aston Martin driver was told by doctors that he wouldn’t be able to race until round three in Australia, but he put his recovery first and made it to the first race in Bahrain.
To the F1 Nation podcast, Lance Stroll described the mental anguish he went through during this time:
“I felt off down really hard when I fell off my bike. Also, I knew right away that both of my wrists were broken. Because I was so focused on my wrists, I only noticed my toe at night. Because I had already begun to consider the possibility of missing a few races, my entire world was crumbling before my eyes. You’re going through all of those thoughts at the worst possible time, four days before the test.
During the season opener in Bahrain, Lance Stroll broke down in tears.
After making contact with his teammate Fernando Alonso during the first few laps of the Bahrain Grand Prix, Lance Stroll revealed that he started to get dizzy. Due to his injuries, the Canadian driver had to countersteer after colliding with his teammate and was in a lot of pain.
F1 host Naomi Schiff mentioned on a recent Sky Sports YouTube video that Stroll told her and other hosts that he “shed a tear” after touching Alonso.
“regardless of the condition in which he was, I believe he occasionally does not run over extremely roused. He even shed a tear after that touch with Alonso, according to what he told us; He wept because it was obvious that he had a lot of lock on the steering wheel; that shows how badly he was hurting.”
Lance Stroll finished sixth in Bahrain despite his injuries, demonstrating that the Canadian can overcome terrible injuries if he puts his mind to it. Given the competent vehicle offered by Aston Martin, following his campaign this year will be interesting.