Aston Martin testing incident sparks fresh injury worry for Lance Stroll

Sky Sports F1 commentators have suggested that an incident for Lance Stroll during pre-season testing in Bahrain could have caused a flare up of a previous injury.

Stroll veered off into the gravel at Turn 11 of the Bahrain International Circuit during day one of the second pre-season testing event at the circuit.

The incident was confirmed by the Sky commentary team not to have been a driver error from Stroll, but instead potentially an issue with Aston Martin's car as the team's struggles continue.

But beyond the concern that the team will have had for their AMR26, Stroll appeared to shake out his right hand after leaving the cockpit, leading to fears from inside the commentary box that he could have aggravated a previous injury.

Stroll almost missed the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix, after a cycling accident which saw him break both of his wrists. He did manage to race in the event, but expressed to his team just how much pain he was in behind the wheel after making a swift comeback.

A flare up of the surgery that he had on those wrists then occurred at the Spanish Grand Prix last year, when he missed the race having been able to compete in qualifying, and had more minor surgery on his right hand.

Speaking after Stroll’s trip into the gravel during Wednesday’s afternoon testing session in Bahrain in which his AMR26 spun around, David Croft said on the Sky Sports F1 broadcast: "I hope Lance hasn’t hurt his hand as well in that [incident].

"It was such a dramatic lock-in, go back to [last season] he’s had hand issues. He was just shaking his hand a little bit there as he was walking back to the paddock," Croft noted.

Anthony Davidson then chimed in to point out: "Obviously this was the race [Bahrain] he almost missed back in the day when he injured his hand."

Croft continued, reflecting on 2023’s off-track incident for Stroll, adding: "He was cycling and he had a crash, broke both wrists wasn’t it, drove through the pain barrier and one of his best drives, if not his best drive I think given the circumstances, in F1."

Davidson then continued: "I still can’t believe he did that, your Dad owns the team, there’s no pressure really to come back, and he forced himself back into the car. Those painful rehab sessions he had to do.

"It was one of those moments where for whatever people think of Lance Stroll, I think it made them think again that race weekend and how he brought himself back from such an injury."

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Where will Aston Martin be in the F1 pecking order in 2026?

Aston Martin have had their fair share of testing struggles in 2026, but they are still hoping the new regulation changes will mean they can challenge nearer to the front in 2026.

Team principal Adrian Newey has been hugely influential in their 2026 car design, and he has claimed 25 world championships with his car designs across spells with Williams, McLaren and Red Bull in his illustrious career.

But at last week's test, Stroll suggested Aston Martin were as far as four seconds behind the top of the order, something that could prove to be disastrous for the team at next month's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

The team are beginning a new power unit partnership with Honda this year, who previously claimed two constructors' championships and four drivers' titles as Red Bull's power unit partner between 2019 and 2025, and so there is real hope that they can become a championship challenging outfit in the future.

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