Canadian GP: stroll keeps tight-lipped on wrist injury ahead of home race

Lance Stroll Returns for Home Canadian Grand Prix After Mysterious Wrist Injury

MONTREAL — Canadian driver Lance Stroll is back on track for his home Grand Prix in Montreal this weekend, but the Aston Martin driver remained tight-lipped about the details of a wrist injury that forced him to withdraw from the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago.

Stroll, who had surgery to address the injury linked to his crash during preseason testing in 2023, abruptly pulled out of the Barcelona event following his Q2 elimination in qualifying. This left Aston Martin scrambling to compete with just one car, as teammate Fernando Alonso managed to secure a solitary point by finishing tenth.

Downplaying Concerns About His Wrist

Addressing the media during the pre-race press conference on Thursday, Stroll offered little insight into the latest flare-up of his wrist troubles but revealed his confidence in returning to form this weekend.

"It's just the old injury that I had with it a couple years ago," Stroll said. "Just started to bug me again and... yeah... got it sorted."

Pressed further on whether he anticipated any lingering issues, he briefly added:

"Pretty confident. Should be good."

Stroll appeared disengaged throughout the media session, slouched in his seat and concealing his right hand while answering questions with the microphone held in his left hand. When asked about the procedure he underwent, Stroll kept his answers vague.

"It was bothering me for a few weeks over Imola, Monaco, and then Barcelona was just really brutal throughout the weekend," he admitted. "I got the procedure done and drove [at a recent test in France], and I was feeling pretty good, so I'm confident."

Though insisting he is now "not in pain," Stroll acknowledged his wrist remains "a little sore" but declined to elaborate further.

"I don’t really want to get into detail about what I had to do and how I had to do it, because it's just my medical privacy and I like to keep that confidential," he said.

The Timeline and Aston Martin’s Reaction

The timing of Stroll’s withdrawal from Barcelona caught Aston Martin off guard. Announced after qualifying had already concluded, the team could not summon a replacement, leaving them to compete with just Alonso's car. Despite Alonso scoring a point, Aston Martin remained ninth in the Constructors' standings, trailing rivals who capitalized on the weekend.

However, when asked whether he could have communicated his condition earlier to his team, Stroll was unapologetic, defending the challenges athletes face in pushing through injuries.

"As an athlete in any sport, you're always trying to push through pain and discomfort as much as you can to try and get a good result at the end of the weekend," Stroll explained. "In that situation, I was struggling and trying to push through, but I just didn’t feel it was sensible anymore. The damage felt like it was getting worse, and I needed to do something more serious about it."

Frustrations and Emotional Reactions

Stroll’s withdrawal wasn’t the only subject of intrigue that weekend, with reports surfacing about emotionally charged moments in the Aston Martin garage. Sources indicated that Stroll had lashed out after being eliminated in Q2, allegedly throwing objects and swearing at team members. When asked about the reports, Stroll admitted he had been frustrated but stopped short of confirming specifics.

"Yeah, I was frustrated for sure. Frustrated about my wrist and the last three races from Imola," he said. "It was just inhibiting my driving. So I knew Sunday was going to be tricky—probably impossible—and at that point, I was pretty frustrated about it."

Looking Ahead to the Canadian Grand Prix

With unanswered questions lingering around the timeline of Stroll's injury and Aston Martin's handling of his withdrawal, the situation has added an extra layer of intrigue heading into the Canadian GP. Fans, meanwhile, will be watching closely to see if Stroll can put his wrist troubles behind him and deliver a strong result on home soil.

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