Stroll: Aston Martin turned up F1 simulator to test broken wrist
Aston Martin Formula 1's Lance Stroll says he is confident he can race in Bahrain with a broken wrist after turning up the steering force during a successful simulator test.
Last week Stroll suffered a bike accident while training in Spain, injuring both of his wrists.
While his left wrist was just "banged up", his right wrist suffered a fracture and had a pin inserted by famed MotoGP doctor Xavier Mir in Barcelona.
Reserve driver Felipe Drugovich deputised during last week's winter test, but Stroll will be back in the car this weekend despite his wrist fracture.
The Canadian says he completed a successful simulator session at Aston, with the steering turned up to stress test his hands.
"I fell off my bike and broke my wrist," he said on Thursday. "I had a surgery on my right wrist, it was just a small procedure and it was just physiotherapy and rehab to get me here.
"I was in the sim yesterday, the day before, I'm feeling pretty strong.
"We turned up the steering strength and I felt good winding on the lock and going over bumps and all those things."
Stroll said the first couple of days after his crash were "rough" but rapid improvements made him confident that he will be able to take part in the Bahrain season opener this weekend alongside team-mate Fernando Alonso.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR23
"With these injuries it's always hard to tell, but the first few days were rough," he explained.
"It looked like it was going to be tough but then the last four or five days, it's really been improving a lot every day.
"I got cleared by the doctors and they're confident I can go racing and that the bones are looking good."
Stroll is expecting "a little bit more discomfort" behind the wheel of the AMR23 but says he will be able to drive as normal.
"It hurts a bit, but it feels good," he added. "It feels solid and nothing that I haven't had before.
"I really felt like I could drive normally with a little bit more discomfort, but nothing that's stopping me from driving, like any excruciating pain or anything like that."
"If I felt like it was not smart, if I felt like it was a risk of injuring myself more, or if I felt like my bones weren't ready, I wouldn't do it.
"Formula 1 is a long season, there's 23 races. It's not all about being here in Bahrain, but I do feel confident, the doctors feel confident, so here I am."
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