F1 driver forced to pull out of pre-season testing in last-minute change

Aston Martin faced a disruption during day three of Formula 1 pre-season testing as Lance Stroll pulled out through illness.

The Canadian-owned British squad announced the news shortly before the flag dropped in Bahrain for the final day of practice.

Stroll was due to race in the afternoon session with teammate Fernando Alonso taking the morning slot, but the team put out a statement, saying: "Overnight Lance wasn’t feeling 100%. 

“Fernando will now drive the car this morning and we’ll confirm our lineup for this afternoon in due course.”

Aston have a pair of highly-qualified reserve drivers, two former Formula 2 champions in Felipe Drugovich and ex-McLaren driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

Although it is not unheard of for one driver to stage both sessions, which 43-year-old Alonso could still do.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Stroll has missed a pre-season session, having dropped out of the entirety of the 2023 practice after fracturing both wrists in a cycling accident.

On that occasion, Brazilian Drugovich subbed in, but Stroll would go on to stage an epic comeback for the season opener despite being bandaged up.

However, one driver has already made a case for his back-up, with Red Bull’s new No.2 driver Liam Lawson incredibly impressed by 24-year-old Drugovich.

Speaking at the start of the year, the New Zealander said: “If anybody is deserving a seat right now, it’s Drugovich.

“He’s jumped in and done… his FP [in 2023] in Abu Dhabi was quicker than [Lance] Stroll. 

“He was [second] quickest in FP1, and then this year [in 2024] I think he was quicker than Fernando [Alonso].

“I don’t know what the run plans were, maybe there was some other stuff, but I think he was quicker than Fernando this year in FP1. He deserves a seat.”

Reflecting on Drugovich’s F2 career, Lawson added: “The problem is it’s just a lottery when you go into it, honestly. 

“It’s so changeable in terms of one year one team’s good, but the next year they’re not good anymore. The car’s the same, the tyres are the same, everything’s the same and somehow they’re just slow the next year.

“MP with Drugovich [in F2], that was the year that he just dominated it in a car that wasn’t meant to be a race-winning car. He crushed it.”

Once day three of testing comes to an end, F1 moves over to Australia for the traditional season opener in Melbourne from March 14 to 16.

There’s much anticipation that this could be one of the most competitive seasons in recent memory, and the main takeaway from testing so far has been Lando Norris’ incredible long-run pace.