(Singapore) Following the violent and spectacular accident from which he emerged unscathed, Quebec driver Lance Stroll will not participate in the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix on Sunday.
The leaders of the Aston Martin team announced the news in a press release which fell in the middle of the night, Quebec time, on Sunday.
The press release specifies that the decision was taken by mutual agreement with Stroll.
According to the release, the team had to deal with a huge repair job on the car on Sunday, and Stroll is still sore from the impact.
“The whole team is relieved that Lance was able to get out of the car after yesterday’s accident, but he is still feeling the aftereffects of such a collision,” said Mike Krack, chief executive of Aston Martin, in the communicated.
“Our priority now is for him to make a speedy and full recovery. Together we have decided that he will not participate in tonight’s race and will focus on getting back into the cockpit for the Japanese Grand Prix next weekend,” added Krack.
While participating in his final fast lap to secure a place in the second of three qualifying sessions on Saturday, Stroll crashed violently into a barrier on the final corner before his car came to rest in the middle of the track, the left front wing torn off.
Stroll a été en mesure de sortir de son véhicule par ses propres moyens. Il a tout de même dû se rendre au centre médical pour y subir les examens d’usage, mais a ensuite obtenu son congé.
Son accident l’avait laissé au 20e et dernier rang de la séance de qualification.
« Je suis correct. Je suis frustré parce que nous avons beaucoup de travail – dans le garage et sur la piste de course – devant nous », avait déclaré Stroll dans un communiqué d’Aston Martin, samedi.
« J’ai eu du mal à trouver de l’adhérence pendant toute la séance de qualification. Nous avons eu un mauvais tour avec le trafic avant ma dernière poussée et nous avons été arrêtés pour le pont-bascule. Je suis parti avec quelques secondes de retard sur Pierre [Gasly], and so it didn’t go as we planned. When I saw that my lap wasn’t improving, I pushed really hard in the last corner to try to gain time, and that’s when it went wrong. We will see what we can save tomorrow in the race,” added the Quebec driver.
According to Krack, the fact that Stroll was able to get out of his car on his own is a demonstration of the International Automobile Federation’s continued efforts to improve safety.
Stroll’s Aston Martin teammate Fernando Alonso is scheduled to start from seventh place on Sunday.