Aston Martin F1 Boss Breaks Silence on Lance Stroll's Form After Injury
Aston Martin Racing CEO and Team Principal Andy Cowell has offered his verdict on the situation that unfolded before the Spanish Grand Prix, when pain in Lance Stroll's wrist caused him to miss out on the race.
The event led many to speculate on the cause of the injury, and whether Stroll's alleged bad temper had caused it. While the Canadian driver took part in qualifying in Barcelona, securing a P14 starting position, he withdrew from Sunday's Grand Prix.
Now, Stroll is all set to participate in his home race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, leading Cowell to talk about Stroll's enthusiasm to get back in his car. Speaking to the media in Canada, he said:
Lance Stroll of Canada and Aston Martin F1 Team walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 30, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain.
Lance Stroll of Canada and Aston Martin F1 Team walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Spain at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on May 30, 2025 in Barcelona, Spain."I think we have to respect the fact that all the drivers are ultra competitive and elite athletes. And the competitive nature means that they want to drive, they want to be in the race, they want to see the 5 red lights go out and have the experience of the 310 km race, and I've got a huge admiration for all the drivers and that competitive spirit and you see that across the whole team.
"Nobody wants to miss a race. But when, for medical reasons, things get too much and you've got to stop, and that was the situation on Saturday in Barcelona.
"But let's think positively and look forward to the determination to get back in the car. The steps that have been taken, and these are steps that Lance has wanted to do, to quickly get into the factory and work with the engineers, work on '26.
"Get in the simulator, take priority in the simulator over the tests that were going on, and then get to Paul Ricard and drive the car hard there and then come for this race weekend. Hats off to that journey."
Stroll had suffered from broken wrists ahead of the 2023 F1 season in a cycling incident, for which he underwent surgery. However, he continued to feel the pain until the race weekend in Barcelona. When Cowell was asked for further details on why the problem wasn't addressed much earlier, he said:
"We have to respect everybody's medical privacy in situations like that.
"I think you know Lance is a determined racer. He was the most upset that he wasn't driving Sunday in Barcelona, and he has been the most determined person in the whole team to make sure that he's here this weekend."
Revealing Stroll's recent days that saw him test at Circuit Paul Ricard, Cowell said:
"I've been super impressed with the Lance has got stuck into the journey.
"He's been in the factory a couple of times, working with people both on this year's championship and next year's championship, having lunch with Adrian, catching up with him on his thoughts on where we are as a team and where we're moving forwards. And then going to Paul Ricard like you say before and having run in the simulator in the factory beforehand. It's been a busy few days, but everything's gone exceptionally well."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Ollie Bearman handed severe penalty for British GP after crash in pit-lane
Ollie Bearman has been handed a 10-place grid penalty for Sunday's British Grand Prix after crashing in red flag conditions in practice. The 20-year-old, competing in his first F1 home race, lost control of his Haas car upon entering the pit-lane in the final practice session on Saturday. Bearman's car spun into the wall, though he did manage to drive it back to his garage. However, given the incident took place in red flag conditions where car control is paramount, the stewards have dished out a severe penalty for Bearman's race on Sunday. The Haas driver also received four penalty points, taking his total up to eight. Twelve in one year triggers a race ban. More to follow…
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
George Russell Frustrated With Unusual Trait of Mercedes F1 Car
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Mercedes driver George Russell has voiced his frustration about an unusual trait of Mercedes' W16 F1 car that makes it temperature-sensitive. Russell pointed out that the car tends to lose performance at hot Grand Prix venues, but remains dominant under cold weather conditions. This phenomenon was even highlighted last year by Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who pointed out that he was unaware of its root cause. With the probability of rain at the British Grand Prix, Russell voiced his frustration because his car's performance was dependent on the weather. The Briton was fifth-fastest in the first practice session, but the second session saw him drop to eighth place. When asked how close he expected to be to the cars at the front, Russell said: George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 4, 2025 in Northampton, United Kingdom. George Russell of Great Britain and Mercedes walks in the paddock during practice ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain at Silverstone Circuit on July 4, 2025 in Northampton, United Kingdom. Kym Illman "Well, after today, not very close, but it's been a bit warmer today. The track was 40 degrees [Celsius], and I hope the rest of the weekend it cools down. "So it's a little bit frustrating for us that every single week we are at the mercy of the weather, and we need to improve that, especially now we're entering the summer months. We're doing everything we can to improve it. "I think our fortunes will turn slightly for the rest of the weekend, and it will come towards us. But as I said, we can't be at the mercy of the weather, and we are right now." Despite the car performing well in cold weather, Russell is hoping that the British GP doesn't turn out to be a wet race. He said: "Coldness, definitely [is what we want]. If it's wet in qualifying, definitely excited for that. "It's a bit of a unique one, because the wet tyres actually deg [Degrade] more than dry tyres. "I don't want to get too bogged up in the details here, but actually, a wet race probably wouldn't be ideal. But we just want it nice and... cold and dry would be ideal." Ferrari's SF25 has been showcasing great progress after a new floor was introduced last weekend. Though not at par with the dominant pace of the McLaren MCL39, Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton were second and third fastest in the second practice session, below Lando Norris. Pointing out Ferrari's improvement, Russell added: "Yeah, for sure. Ferrari have really turned it up for the last couple of races. "They've been strong in race pace all season, really, but they've been having bad qualifying. "But I think now that we're entering summer, everyone's overheating a little bit more, and we've probably taken a step backwards, and they've taken a step forward purely because of the temperature. "That's probably not great for them for some reasons, but it's definitely not great for us for other reasons too."
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
Unremarkable places at the British GP. Plus, on Lewis Hamilton watch
Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic's twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday. Welcome back to Prime Tire, where we refuse to call it 'Prime Tyre' even though I'm currently in England. You can't spell 'Founding Fathers' without the letter 'I' — but you can without the letter 'Y.' Much to think about. (Happy belated Fourth!) Anyway, genuinely happy to be here — lovely track, lovely people, lovely time. And it's shaping up to be an interesting Silverstone weekend. Let's dive in. England has been lovely so far. Just the right mix of good weather and doors that you pull to open. I've joined my colleagues putting one ear to the ground ahead of the British GP. Here are the three big storylines that have emerged: It's Lando Norris' time to win at Silverstone. Right? By the 2023 British GP, Max Verstappen had won seven of the first 10 races. He'd eventually finish with 19 wins. Advertisement So when Norris swung through Abbey with the lead as the British fans roared, it felt like a breath of fresh air in a season that, thanks to Verstappen's dominance, had started to feel a little suffocating. Of course, it lasted just four minutes before Verstappen retook the narrative, the lead and the win. Looking back, Norris' brief sprint to glory in 2023 here felt like the start of a sentence he's poised to finish this weekend. Coming off a strong Austrian GP win, Norris is the clear favorite to win here at Silverstone. Well, was … … but Lewis Hamilton has logged on Look, both Ferrari drivers have been pretty honest about the fact that actually competing for a championship will have to wait until 2026 at this point. (McLaren is up more than 200 points on the Italian team.) Ferrari's race pace has eclipsed its raw, lap-to-lap speed for much of the season. So, uh, Hamilton topping FP1 was not on my bingo card. And it wasn't a one-off. In FP2, Hamilton led much of the session again. More on this in a second from Luke. The latest on George Russell's contract … is whatever you make of it. To recap: Russell is out of a contract after 2025. He and Mercedes both say they're loyal t0 each other and are working toward a new deal. At the same time, Russell has admitted his contract isn't done yet in part because Mercedes is talking to Verstappen. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff hasn't denied this. Verstappen refuses to talk much about it. Russell has been chill about it. I think that's it. I think I got all of it. So, the tsunami of stunning updates on this storyline Thursday: OK, so this whole storyline is spinning tires in the mud. It happens. In the meantime, you can always read our take on why Mercedes should just sign Russell already. Anyway. Catch up with our live coverage here. On to Luke in the paddock with more on the growing Hamilton hype … After making my way trackside at the start of FP1 for the British Grand Prix yesterday, I was struck by the swathes of fluorescent yellow on the horizon from Norris' grandstand, set in his trademark colors for this weekend. But as the cheers went up from the grandstand behind me and a car came into view, it wasn't the papaya McLaren of Norris that passed me by — but Hamilton's red Ferrari. Advertisement Hamilton has won at Silverstone nine times, including his emotional, drought-breaking victory for Mercedes last year. Yet going into this weekend, it's Norris, not Hamilton — the seven-time world champion — who has drawn most of the spotlight. Hamilton commented on Thursday how racing at Silverstone brought the best out of it, and we saw flickers of that through practice on Friday. He topped FP1 and was third in FP2, marking one of his best Fridays of the season. With teammate Charles Leclerc also up the order in second place in the afternoon, it was a promising sign for the potential in the recent Ferrari upgrades. If Hamilton were to score his first Sunday podium for Ferrari anywhere, then doing so at Silverstone would be fitting. So many fans have swapped silver for red this year in his honor — and if yesterday is anything to go by, he might be able to reward that with a memorable result. One of my favorite YouTubers, Any Austin, occasionally does videos like 'The Most Boring Place in GTA 5' or 'Unremarkable and Odd Places in Skyrim.' As someone who will waste too much time on random new obsessions, I love these videos. I especially love what he said in a recent one: 'Today we made a choice to find (something) interesting — and by making that choice, we found things that made them interesting. That's a real thing you can do in your life. You can take a minute, pay close attention and just listen to what interesting things your brain starts to observe about the places you are.' In that spirit, I set out yesterday to find some unremarkable places around the British GP paddock. For instance: Before practice on Friday, fans and media got to walk pit lane and look at the cars. I took this photo. Behind me was a giant throng of fans gathered for a glimpse at Hamilton's car. Very exciting. Lots of interest. Thirty-ish feet away at the Ferrari pit wall? Very boring. Nothing of note. Unoccupied space. Perfect. We're off to a good start. Here's some other boring spots I found around the paddock: I'm sure it was lovely inside. Anyway. Thank you for subscribing to this exclusive content. On the eve of the British GP, we took a deep dive into the history of Williams — and found a hard-scrabble legacy willing its way back into contention. There's a new challenger for the FIA presidency: American Tim Mayer. We have the full rundown here. Advertisement Hamilton has warned against making an F1 movie sequel too soon. I agree. The first one only just came out. Keanu Reeves is making a documentary about the formation of Cadillac F1 ahead of it joining the grid in 2026. And, finally, we had a neat profile on Ollie Bearman this week, who has been his delightful best all weekend, except when he almost cut Alex and I off as we entered the track on Thursday. Actually, even then it was only because he was busy smiling and waving to fans. He's so Ollie. 📫 Love Prime Tire? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters. Top photo: Andrea Diodato/NurPhoto via Getty Images
