Aston Martin's Lance Stroll will miss pre-season testing this week in Bahrain due to an injury sustained in a "minor" cycling crash while training in Spain.
The Silverstone-based outfit offered no insight into the circumstances of the crash or the extent of Stroll's injuries, but they are apparently sufficient to prevent the Canadian from driving.
"Whilst pre-season training on a bicycle in Spain, Lance Stroll was involved in a minor accident and sustained injuries which will result in him sitting out the pre-season test in Bahrain," Aston stated in a brief press release on Monday.
"Lance is however expecting a quick recovery and return to driving duties. His fitness to return to the cockpit will be assessed daily and the team will issue an update ahead of the Bahrain Grand Prix."
"I’ve had an unfortunate accident whilst training on my bike in preparation for the season," added Stroll.
"I am determined to get back in the car and I am excited about the season ahead with the team. I am motivated to bounce back from this setback as quickly as possible."
The mishap is reminiscent of Fernando Alonso's bicycle accident two years ago ahead of the start of 2021 F1 season, when the Spaniard suffered a fractured jaw and a few broken teeth when he was hit by a car while training near his home in Lugano, Switzerland.
However, in the case of the two-time world champion, Alonso was up and running with Alpine when pre-season testing kicked off a few weeks later in Bahrain.
©AstonMartin
It's unclear if Aston Martin will devote its three days of testing at Sakhir entirely to Alonso, or also entrust its new AMR23 car to reserve driver Felipe Deuganovic.
The team's other substitute Stoffel Vandoorne is unavailable due to his participation in a round of the Formula E championship in Cape Town, South Africa.
Last year, Daniel Ricciardo was forced to pull out of pre-season testing with McLaren, which led to Lando Norris assuming the three-day workload on his own.
F1's pre-season testing will kick off on Thursday at 7:00 am GMT and conclude at 04:30 pm GMT, with teams enjoying a one hour lunch break between 11:00 am and 12:00 GMT.
All three days of testing at Sakhir will follow the same schedule.
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