Gutsy start for injured Stroll

THERE were equal amounts of pleasure and pain for Aston Martin’s Jewish-Canadian driver Lance Stroll, in the opening race of the 2023 F1 season in Bahrain last weekend. With newly improved racing cars, the team enjoyed its best season start under the Aston Martin brand. Their experienced new recruit, Spaniard Fernando Alonso, earned 15 points for coming third, while an injured Stroll dug deep to place sixth, and earn eight points. Stroll suffered wrist fractures and a broken toe in a cycling accident only two weeks prior. He revealed after the race that he had thought he would have to miss the first two races, but successful surgery and his “incredible medical team” enabled him to take his place behind the wheel. Starting in eighth spot, Stroll had a hairy moment in the first lap when he accidentally clipped a braking Alonso in turn 4, but luckily no damage was done, and both drivers worked their way up the field with some impressive overtaking moves. Alonso described Stroll as, “a hero today, for driving so well so soon after his injury”. Stroll said, “It was not the most comfortable race for me, because of the injuries I’ve been dealing with, but to finish sixth made it worth enduring all that pain. “Fernando put in a great drive, and this is an amazing result for the team.” Still in F1, 23-year-old Israeli driver Robert Schwartzman has been recruited by Ferrari as a test and reserve driver. And in F2, Israeli Roy Nissany, who switched from team DAMS to PHM Racing, came 11th in the feature race in Bahrain, and 18th in the sprint.

Credit AJN