Felipe Drugovich might replace Lance Stroll at Aston Martin
Aston Martin have confirmed that if Lance Stroll is unfit to race at next weekends Bahrain Grand Prix then F2 champion and reserve driver Felipe Drugovich will replace him.
Felipe Drugovich will race for Aston Martin at next weekends Bahrain Grand Prix if Lance Stroll is unfit to compete after being involved in a cycling accident during winter training. There is no update on the Canadians injuries as the team agreed to disclose them but rumours around the paddock suggest that Stroll has broken both wrists.
If the rumours are true then Stroll could be out of action for a while. Aston Martin's team principal Mike Krack did hint at a return of recently retired 4 times world champion Sebastian Vettel kickstarting talks of a return. However that has now been put to bed since the announcement. It makes sense that Drugovich is put in the car after he took part in pre-season testing at the end of the week having knowledge of the car. Felipe Drugovich is no stranger to the F1 paddock as he won the Formula 2 championship last year.
Mike Krack was full of praise for the Brazilian rookie when talking to the media saying "Felipe did a very good job, I mean, we must not forget the whole thing here is also new for him. He never drove the car before. He's a very, very reflective and calm person. And his approach is also like that. So it's very, very easy."
Teams up and down the grid also have high hopes for Aston Martin as they think that they are the most improved team over the season. The British team are projected to be the fourth best team going into 2022 season and not far off the top 3 teams of Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.
The announcement of Drugovich potentially replacing Stroll is only for the season opener in Bahrain but it could be longer. Although it has been reported that Lance Stroll has gone to see aspecialist in Spain who also works with multiple MotoGP riders after suffering from severe arm and wrist injuries too. The Aston Martin team has said that Stroll will have time on the simulate to test if he is fit enough to race at the first round of the championship next weekend.
Only time will tell and we will keep you fully up to date on the situation and any other news over the coming days.