Stroll fit to race for Aston Martin in Bahrain GP

Lance Stroll will be back behind the wheel this weekend with Aston Martin and will take part in the opening round in Bahrain of the 2023 F1 world championship.

The Canadian was forced to sit out pre-season testing with his team due to a wrist injury sustained in a cycling crash while training in Spain.

While it was but a minor fall, Stroll's right wrist required surgery for him to be operational for this weekend's curtain-raiser.

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"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 the Aston charger in a statement released by the team on Thursday.

"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."

There was initially little information about Stroll's accident, but the Canadian opened up on the circumstances of the crash.

"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," he explained.

"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."

Aston Martin says that both its reserve drivers – Felipe Drugovich and Stoffel Vandoorne – remain on site in Bahrain, just in case.

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