Aston Martin’s 2022 season wasn’t good in a lot of aspects. Everything that could go wrong went wrong for the British constructors. They had an uncompetitive car that they couldn’t really develop over the season. This further led them to finish P7 on the table with 55 points. Meanwhile, their star driver and legend of the sport, Sebastian Vettel, also decides to leave the sport at the end of the year. However, if they thought things couldn’t get any worse for them, they were most certainly wrong.
On Monday, we got to know that Lance Stroll will miss out on the pre-season testing following injuries sustained during a cycling incident while training in Spain, as reported by Motorsport. But it doesn’t just stop here; it gets worse as the Canadian can also miss out on the opening race in Bahrain. Stroll updated his fans, as quoted by Motorsport, saying, “I’ve had an unfortunate accident whilst training on my bike in preparation for the season. I am determined to get back in the car and I am excited about the season ahead with the team.”
So what are the options that the team has on its hands? For the testing, many people believe that the team might have an approach similar to that of McLaren’s 2022 pre-season testing where they had only let Lando Norris behind the wheel for them.
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Aston Martin might opt to have only Fernando Alonso test for them, as a driver with his experience can only help the team get better. The more time he gets behind the wheel, the more likely he is to find out about any major hurdle for the team and help them overcome it.
Who will be Lance Stroll’s potential replacement for the Bahrain GP?
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While he might carry the team single-handedly during the testing, Fernando Alonso would need a partner beside him for the opening round of the 2023 season, i.e., the Bahrain GP. The team’s potential option? Well, there aren’t many.
The team has listed 2022 Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich and Formula E driver Stoffel Vandoorne as its reserve drivers.
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The fans wished for Sebastian Vettel’s return to Formula 1 and pleaded with Aston Martin to bring him back and partner him alongside Fernando. But alas, not all good things come true, and this will only be a dream for the fans. Until then, we can only expect Alonso to rule the track for Aston Martin during testing while he awaits a new partner.