Fears ease in Lance Stroll injury saga as home F1 grand prix looms

Lance Stroll is on course to return to the F1 grid for his home race at the Canadian Grand Prix next weekend.

Crash.net understands Stroll will be fit again in time to be behind the wheel of an Aston Martin F1 car for his home grand prix.

An official announcement is expected from the team sometime next week ahead of the race weekend in Montreal.

Stroll was forced to withdraw from the Spanish Grand Prix weekend following qualifying.

Aston Martin revealed that Stroll’s wrist injury had worsened, and thus, he couldn’t take part in Sunday’s race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Aston Martin said that Stroll was “experiencing pain in his hand and wrist”, with his injuries linked to his 2023 pre-season cycling accident.

Since then, there has been speculation about whether Stroll’s absence was due to his injury or a rumoured garage bust-up.

A report by the BBC claimed that Stroll had damaged equipment in the Aston Martin garage in Barcelona and swore at some of his Aston Martin colleagues following a disappointing qualifying session.

This story was dismissed by Aston Martin mechanic Harry Rush, who responded to the claim on Instagram.

Rush wrote: “Swore at team members? Absolutely not true.”

In a podcast for Sky Sports F1, commentator David Croft suggested Stroll threw his helmet in the garage, backing up the BBC’s story.

Croft said: “I understand that a helmet was thrown, to the extent that the helmet might have been damaged, such was the force that it hit the wall. There was a lot of shouting and swearing going on as well.

“Lance has got form for punching walls before, albeit partition walls that wouldn’t necessarily hurt him. I’ve heard that before in his time at Aston Martin.”

Aston Martin’s other options

If Stroll isn't going to be fit for next weekend, Felipe Drugovich would be in line to make his F1 debut. 

Drugovich has been part of the Aston Martin stable over the last few years, having won the 2022 Formula 2 title.

The Brazilian has tested regularly for the Silverstone-based outfit and has driven for Aston Martin in various FP1 sessions.

Drugovich confirmed that he would skip the Le Mans 24 Hours to race in F1.

He’s set to drive Action Express Racing’s factory Cadillac LMDh prototype with Frederik Vesti and Jack Aitken at Le Mans - but would be willing to miss the iconic race to step in for Stroll.

However, with Stroll set to return to Canada, Drugovich can focus on Le Mans.

Should Stroll feel he cannot race in Montreal after driving in practice, Aston Martin could turn to Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas is Mercedes’ test and reserve driver for 2025 after failing to secure a full-time seat.

The Finn is available to Mercedes-powered teams, having tested McLaren machinery earlier this year.

Bottas has been present at every F1 race so far in 2025.