Petulant F1 billionaire Lance Stroll injured in secret garage tirade
Lance Stroll was reportedly injured in a team garage tirade — forcing him to miss Sunday night's Spanish Grand Prix.
The Canadian, whose father is billionaire Lawrence Stroll, missed the race, despite competing in qualifying at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.
Just a few hours after Aussie Oscar Piastri took pole position, Aston Martin announced Stroll would not compete in Sunday's race. Stroll has finished the day in P14 after failing to progress to the third qualifying session.
The team released a statement to announce medical staff had advised he needed to undergo an operation as a result of ongoing pain in his hand and wrist.
However, the BBC on Sunday reported the 26-year-old launched into a tirade inside the team's garage after he was eliminated in Q2.
Leading F1 reporter Andrew Benson wrote Stroll's tirade turned physical with suggestions from anonymous sources Stroll had injured himself during the incident.
The BBC reports Stroll damaged equipment in the garage and swore at members of the team.
A team spokesperson has denied Stroll's tirade turned physical and also denied he had sworn at staff members.
However, the team has confirmed 'Lance was upset' following the session.
Stroll had finished Saturday's qualifying session more than 0.5 seconds behind teammate Fernando Alonso.
The team said in a statement: 'Over the course of the past six weeks Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023.
'As a result his medical team have confirmed that he will not race tomorrow and he will undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery.'
The team has not confirmed if Stroll will compete at his home race, the Canadian Grand Prix, beginning June 13.
Because Stroll pulled out after qualifying, the team was unable to replace him, leaving Alonso as the only Aston Martin on the starting grid.
Stroll has now been with the team for seven seasons with his father Lawrence remaining the team's major shareholder.
He has three career podium finishes, but his last one came back in 2020.
His contract with the team reportedly extends through to the end of the 2026 season.
However, all bets could be off if his father is tempted to sell his share in the team.
Bonkers rumours erupted in April with suggestions Stroll Snr. was preparing to walk away from the team.
The team is rumoured to be the target of Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, through his close ally Yasir Al-Rumayyan, who manages the Gulf nation's $940 billion Public Investment Fund (PIF).
If the sale does eventuate, it has been reported the team would attempt to recruit Max Verstappen on a ridiculous $470 million ($USD300m) contract offer.
That would leave Lance as the obvious weak link likely to be cut by the team, which has shown support for veteran legend Fernando Alonso.
Stroll Snr — who has a net worth recently valued at $3.7 billion — paid $80 million to Williams to first get his son behind the wheel of Formula 1 car and then moved to Aston Martin on the back of his father buying a majority share of the Racing Point team.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
15 hours ago
- News.com.au
Cheeky 12pm habit Aussies need to stop
A recent study has shown that napping during certain hours of the day could be associated with an increased risk of death. According to the research published in the journal Sleep, data from wearable activity trackers showed that nap duration and timing were related to increased all-cause mortality among middle-aged and older adults. Specifically, naps taken around the middle of the day were linked to a higher risk of death. This development brings scientists closer to understanding whether certain napping habits should raise concerns about a person's health. 'Our study fills a gap in knowledge by showing that not just whether someone naps, but how long, how variable, and when they nap during the day may be meaningful indicators of future health risk,' said lead study author Chenlu Gao, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, told Health. 'Past studies have relied on self-reported nap habits, which are subject to recall bias.' Study links naps with mortality According to Mrs Gao, numerous studies have explored the link between night-time sleep and mortality. However, she and her colleagues have 'long been interested in understanding daytime napping and its impact on health'. 'We saw a critical need to investigate whether objectively assessed napping behaviours are associated with longevity,' she explained. The team analysed data from 86,565 non-shift working adults, aged 43 to 79 (with an average of 63), who were part of the UK Biobank, a comprehensive biomedical database. Fifty-seven per cent of these participants were women. They wore a device that tracked their rest and activity levels for seven days, with napping defined as any sleep occurring between 9am and 7pm. During the 11-year follow-up period, 5819 of the study participants had died. Researchers identified a higher risk of death associated with three factors: longer naps, greater day-to-day variability in nap length, and more naps around noon and early afternoon. These associations remained true even after adjusting for factors such as body mass index, alcohol consumption, smoking habits, and overnight sleep duration. While the study established a correlation between different napping habits and mortality, it is crucial to note that it did not prove that napping causes an increased risk of death. It is also uncertain whether these findings apply to the general population. Why might napping be linked to mortality? Currently, as there is no definitive evidence that naps directly cause increased mortality, sleep experts are examining the research for clues — and some suggest that the underlying reasons for napping may be more relevant. Sleep disorders such as sleep apnoea or medical conditions that drain energy, like heart disease, could actually be the underlying cause of the nap-mortality connection. The study did attempt to account for lifestyle factors, but it remains difficult to control for undiagnosed medical conditions. Other experts propose that long, irregular midday naps could influence health by disrupting circadian rhythms, which are the body's internal sleep-wake cycles. This disruption could affect various factors that influence mortality, such as inflammation, metabolism, and cardiovascular health. Should we nap? If you feel the need to nap, experts recommend aiming for less than 30 minutes, as this allows you to feel refreshed and energised without experiencing grogginess. Napping earlier in the day can also help prevent your nap from interfering with your ability to sleep at night. If you find yourself napping more frequently or for longer periods, you should consult your doctor.
News.com.au
19 hours ago
- News.com.au
Lando Norris pips Oscar Piastri in Austria F1 practice as pair renew rivalry after Canadian GP clash
Lando Norris bounced back from his Canadian catastrophe with his customary smile on Friday after topping the times ahead of teammate and championship leader Oscar Piastri as McLaren reeled off a solid 1-2 in practice at the Austrian Grand Prix. As the paddock digested news that Mercedes had held talks about possibly signing Max Verstappen from Red Bull alongside George Russell in 2026 Norris clocked a best lap in one minute and 4.580 seconds to beat Piastri by 0.157 seconds. Four-time champion Max Verstappen was third fastest for Red Bull, adrift by 0.318 seconds. For Norris, who sat out the first session at the Red Bull Ring, it was a relief to move on from his collision with teammate Piastri in Montreal where he retired pointless, admitting he had 'made a fool of myself'. 'I didn't mind sitting on the pit wall,' he said, with a grin, referring to missing the morning session. 'I actually felt a lot more relaxed there than in the car, especially here. 'I've always enjoyed this track. The car felt good right from the start. Alex (Dunne, reserve driver) gave solid feedback this morning after FP1 and was on pace straight away, which was encouraging to see.' Norris added that he was pleased with the development of the car with McLaren's latest upgrades. 'They definitely moved the car in the right direction for FP2,' he said. 'Now, we just need to figure out if we want more of that tomorrow, less, or somewhere in between. 'So, it's a good step forward, but hopefully there's still a bit more to come.' McLaren came to the Styrian Alps with three performance-based updates including aerodynamic revisions of the front and rear of the car and suspension. Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points in the title race, said he was satisfied with his first day in the car. 'It looked pretty good,' he said. 'Max is still close, so I think he'll definitely be a threat this weekend, but the car's feeling good. I think the pace is quite good, so a positive first day.' He added that both he and Norris had 'all the parts that we think will make the car faster' on their cars. Verstappen, who took his time to improve through the sessions, said: 'We didn't have any big issues. 'We lack a bit of pace and had too much understeer, both on the short and the long run. So that is something we have to try to get rid of.' Lance Stroll was fourth for Aston Martin ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc, George Russell of Mercedes, who won last year and two weeks ago in Canada, and Yuki Tsunoda in the second Red Bull. Gabriel Bortoleto was eighth for Sauber ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton, struggling in his updated Ferrari. Norris added: 'We've shown a bit more pace than some others, so I certainly think they're going to catch up. Max is not far behind and they normally improve a lot on Saturday. 'So I expect a good day tomorrow (Saturday) and I'm sure we'll improve on some things, but it's not as easy as maybe it looked. 'I think it's still going to be tight tomorrow – it always is. There's no reason for it not to be, but we'll work hard to make it as big of a gap as possible.' Hamilton struggles again Lewis Hamilton's difficult start to life at Ferrari continued on Friday as he was handed a warning by the race stewards after winding up 10th in second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix. The seven-time champion was alleged to have impeded his successor at Mercedes, Italian teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli, at turn four of the fast and technical Red Bull Ring circuit in the Styrian Alps. Hamilton apologised immediately and explained that he had not seen Antonelli approaching behind him as he descended over the crest of a hill on a slow lap and drifted into the racing line. Hamilton raised his hand to signal his apology to Antonelli as he passed him. After speaking to Hamilton, the stewards decided to give the Briton a formal warning – the usual sanction for such a misdemeanour in practice. It is the third time this season that Hamilton has been warned. 'The driver of car 44 (Hamilton), although constantly checking his mirrors after being informed by the team about car 12 (Antonelli) closing in, slowly moved on to the racing line on the approach to turn four and thereby unnecessarily impeded car 12 which had to take evasive action,' said the stewards in a statement.
News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Red Bull's four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen tipped for explosive switch to Mercedes
Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff on Friday suggested he was interested in signing Max Verstappen to partner George Russell in a potentially explosive driver line-up for the 2026 season. During a series of interviews, it emerged that he had made contract with the four-time world champion and that this had affected contract talks with Russell who has been in outstanding form this year. Russell told Sky Sports F1 that it was entirely 'normal that conversations with the likes of Verstappen are ongoing', adding that a team that aims to win the championship has to go for the best drivers, engineers and pit-crews to succeed. 'But from my side, if I'm performing as I'm doing, what have I got to be concerned about? There are two seats in every Formula 1 team.' Wolff has flirted with the idea of recruiting Verstappen for some time, but also expressed satisfaction with the current partnership of Russell and teenage rookie Kimi Antonelli – a precocious talent, but not yet an experienced or metronomic points-scorer. It may be, as many seasoned observers believe, that Wolff feels he can manage the testy rivalry between Russell and Verstappen, who have clashed several times in the last year both on and off the track. But, he conceded, it remains much more likely that Russell will stay at Mercedes next year – his contract ends this season – than that Verstappen, who is contracted to Red Bull until 2028, will arrive. 'He has been part of our program for 10 years,' Wolff said. 'He's always performed to the expectations and he's continuing to do so. These are normal business contract discussions as I have been doing for 30 years... And contract discussions are not held in Town Halls.' He added in a separate interview: 'At the moment, clearly you need to explore what's happening in the future, but it doesn't change anything of what I said before about George, about Kimi, about the line-up that I'm extremely happy having'. Verstappen declined to comment on the speculation when asked in a news conference on Thursday, but he is known to be frustrated with his Red Bull car this year. 'I don't think we need to talk about that,' the 27-year-old said. 'It's not really on my mind. Just driving well, trying to push the performance and then we focus on next year.' Much may depend on events at Red Bull where long-serving team consultant Helmut Marko is a key part of Verstappen's inner circle, but may be considering his own future amid reports that four-time champion Sebastian Vettel has been approached to replace him. In the wake of the departures of F1's most successful designer Adrian Newey to Aston Martin and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley to Sauber-Audi, it could be that Verstappen is also ready to leave. Next year will see F1 move into a new era with major rule changes requiring new engines and new cars – an opportunity that may favour a Mercedes revival.
