Motor Sports

Stroll: Doctors feared I would miss several races

LONDON: Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll, who detailed on Tuesday his successful battle to get fit for the start of the Formula One season after breaking his wrists in a motorcycle accident, said his doctors initially feared he would miss the opening races.

The Canadian finished sixth in Sunday's Bahrain opener despite his injuries, which also included a broken right big toe he suffered from a training fall in Spain on Feb 18.

"My medical team, at first, believed I was not only going to miss testing, but realistically the first few races," Stroll told followers on Instagram.

The 24-year-old added that he had surgery on his right wrist 48 hours after the accident and 12 days before the first race, with the operation carried out by MotoGP traumatology specialist Javier Mir in Barcelona.

"Following the surgery, Dr Mir told me I'd be back for Jeddah if I worked hard. With a bit of luck, he was optimistic I could race in Bahrain, but that was a faint possibility.

"To this day, I am convinced the urgency Dr Mir showed to me helped get me to Bahrain."

Stroll said Mir also explained that fractures in his left wrist and hand could not be fixed and needed "a more conservative approach".

"My medical team ensured me they were doing anything and everything that showed some evidence for bone healing. It became my full time job, trying to combine everything that could help, even if it was by 0.5 per cent."

"Once the cast came off on day four, it became possible that we had a chance of racing in Bahrain. My medical team then devised a programme that would help me restore mobility and strength in my wrists."

Stroll's Spanish team mate Fernando Alonso finished third in the opening race, with the Canadian's points lifting the team to second overall.

The next race is in Saudi Arabia on March 19. — Reuters

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