Lance Stroll has been given the all-clear to race in Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix, despite his staggering 110mph qualifying crash.
The Canadian driver lost control of his Aston Martin through the final left-hander at the Marina Bay Circuit before he slammed into the barrier.
The force of the high-speed impact sent Stroll’s head rocking from side-to-side. He catapulted back across the track, with British driver Lando Norris forced to take evasive action, dodging a flying wheel and Stroll’s out-of-control machine.
A huge impact ended Lance Stroll's qualifying session early#SingaporeGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/xnpOGSsgsZ
— Formula 1 (@F1) September 16, 2023
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“Is the driver all right?” asked a concerned Norris on the radio. “That must have been quite a big one.”
Stroll pirouetted to a standstill in the middle of the track before his race engineer Ben Michell came on the radio.
“Lance, car is safe,” said Michell. “Are you OK?” Stroll (24) replied: “Yeah, I am OK.”
The Aston Martin driver emerged from his wrecked vehicle unaided before being taken off in a medical car.
But there is some doubt if Stroll, the son of the team’s fashion billionaire father Lawrence Stroll, will be able to take part in the race given the significant damage sustained by his machine.
A statement from Aston Martin read: “Lance was taken to the medical centre for a precautionary assessment. He was cleared by the on-site medical team and returned to the team at track.
“Aston Martin pay tribute to the ongoing work of the FIA and the safety measures of current Formula One cars.”
Stroll’s accident brought a premature end to Q1. A 34-minute delay followed as the mangled tyre barrier was repaired.
Lance crashed during qualifying of the Singapore GP.
He got out of the car unaided and was taken to the medical centre for a precautionary assessment. Lance was cleared by the on-site medical team and returned to the team at track.
The AMF1 Team pay tribute to the ongoing…— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) September 16, 2023
Stroll was 20th and last at the time of his crash. Fernando Alonso qualified seventh in the other Aston Martin.
“I’m frustrated as we have a big job – in the garage and on the racetrack – ahead of us,” said Stroll.
“I was struggling for grip throughout the qualifying session. When I saw my lap wasn’t improving, I pushed really hard in the last corner to try and make up that extra time and that’s when it went wrong. Let’s see what we can salvage tomorrow in the race.”
