What will Aston Martin if Stroll doens't turn up in Canada
Aston Martin did not really have a great weekend in Spain. They were able to utilise only one car during the Spanish Grand Prix. On the positive side, their star driver finally claimed his first points. Fernando Alonso was overtaking cars like a madman to finish his race on a high note.
Aston Martin was in shock after Lance Stroll withdrew just before the race. Stroll is facing medical complications in his left hand. His injuries from 2023 have come back to cause troubles for him and the team. There is no confirmation about Lance Stroll’s progress or return to racing. His teammight just be left with one driver for the upcoming races. The team was bound by rules and thus they couldn’t sport their second car.
During the Spanish GP, the team had a free roster of drivers. Although, since Lance Stroll made his decision after the qualifying session was complete. They could not use any of their reserve drivers. FIA mandates that a reserve driver must complete at least one practice session during a weekend to be eligible to race.
While Aston Martin F1 had drivers in reserve for Spanish GP, they will be facing a huge issue next weekend. According to current situation, Stroll’s presence in his home race is not confirmed.
In such conditions, Aston Martin relies on on it’s reserve drivers. Lawrence Stroll’s team has the likes of Stoffel Van Doorne and Felipe Drugovich to call upon. However as it turns out, during the Canadian GP weekend, both drivers will be busy in their own endeavours. Both Van Doorne and Drugovich are participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and they won’t be able to join the team on a short notice.
Aston Martin also has a junior driver in Formula 2- Jak Crawford. But young Jak doesn’t have enough points in his FIA super license. This makes him ineligible to race for the team in Formula 1.
Aston Martin will need to rely on loaning a reserve driver from ither teams. Since they are a Mercedes power unit customer- they can vouch for Valtteri Bottas.
A race winner and top team driver previously, Valtteri Bottas will be a more than positive addition to the team. Bottas can effectively nullify Stroll’s absence in the team and bring in points for the team.
