F1: Aston's Injured Stroll Out Of Spanish GP, Tsunoda Reacts To Qualifying Last
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Lance Stroll will miss the Spanish Grand Prix due to a hand injury as Yuki Tsunoda was left baffled after qualifying 20th and last.
Aston Martin announced late on Saturday that Lance Stroll would miss the Spanish Grand Prix due to a hand injury.
The Canadian, who qualified 14th, was scheduled to start on the seventh row of Sunday's grid, behind McLaren's pole-sitter Oscar Piastri.
'For the past six weeks, Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is related to the procedure he underwent in 2023," Aston Martin stated.
'As a result, his medical team has confirmed that he will not race tomorrow (Sunday) and will undergo a procedure to address these issues before focusing on his recovery."
Stroll sustained fractures and a broken toe in a cycling accident during the 2023 pre-season, requiring surgery and rehabilitation.
The 26-year-old, whose father Lawrence Stroll owns the team, is in his seventh season with Aston Martin.
He has accumulated 14 points this year.
His esteemed teammate, two-time former world champion Fernando Alonso, will start from the fifth row in front of his home fans, hoping to secure his first points of a disappointing season.
Tsunoda Baffled After Qualifying Llast
Yuki Tsunoda was left perplexed on Saturday after qualifying 20th and last for the Spanish Grand Prix in his Red Bull car, while teammate Max Verstappen qualified third.
The Japanese driver had received support from team boss Christian Horner on Friday, but Saturday's performance confirmed the car's challenges for anyone other than the four-time world champion.
Last season, Sergio Perez experienced a series of problems and poor results leading to his exit. This year began with Liam Lawson in the second car, but only for two races.
Tsunoda was promoted from Red Bull's junior team but has struggled, with his best result being ninth in Bahrain.
He finished 17th in Monaco last Sunday.
Apart from being significantly outperformed by Verstappen, the team's second drivers all seem to find the car very difficult to drive.
In the first qualifying session, Tsunoda was eliminated after lapping more than half a second slower than Verstappen.
'It's pretty tough," he said.
'Throughout the weekend, I tried to solve the issue as much as possible. From FP1 (first practice), I mentioned that I had a strange issue and that it was just not gripping at all."
He added that he had no feeling with the car.
'So far, it seems the car is consuming its tyres a lot, and every lap, no matter what I do, I experience degradation," he added.
Horner commented, 'We need to have a good look at it because I don't really understand it. Let's see if he's picked up some damage or something because it's unusual to be that far off."
Tsunoda could be under pressure to keep his seat from Red Bull rookie Isack Hadjar, who has been in impressive form and finished sixth in Monaco.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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