F1: Drugovich remains cautious against the Bahrain GP

F1: Drugovich remains cautious against the Bahrain GP | Formula 1

Posted On: February 24, 2023

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– I don’t know. It depends on the situation (Stroll’s state of health). I think he’s better, that’s the only good news I have. He will try to be in the race, that’s for sure, but we have to wait and see – commented the native of Paraná.

Felipe Drugovich drove for Aston Martin in the 2023 F1 pre-season – Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

The team initially said they were looking forward to the Canadian’s return for the first race of the year at the Sakhir circuit, but boss Mike Krack detailed during the first day of testing on Thursday that the driver had suffered broken wrists and hand – however , did not say if he would be at the first race of the year, also in Bahrain, next weekend.

“Obviously I have to wish him a good recovery, but while he’s here I’ll try to help the team,” added the F2 champion.

Lance Stroll speaks during a press conference for the 2022 Austrian F1 GP – Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images

“He was training, riding. He had a little accident, he got injured and as a precaution we decided it was better to wait a bit longer and prepare for next week. It’s a business personal (the extent of Stroll’s injuries), he suffered injuries to his hand and wrist, but I don’t want to go into details. We haven’t made the final decision yet, we will in the next few hours “, said Krack.

Drugovich, the team’s second reserve alongside Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne and first driver from the Aston Martin Development Academy, represented the team alongside Fernando Alonso on this first day of pre-season.

The F2 champion raised the only red flag of the day after suffering an electronics failure in the car, but managed to get back on track and complete 40 laps. The young man from Maringá, seventh fastest in the morning and in the final classification of the day, evaluated his pre-season experience:

– We had a few power outages, in fact only one. It took a while to resolve, but after that (the car accident) everything was fine. Obviously the problem made the schedule a little tight, but things have improved. I thank the team for the trust it places in me.

Felipe Drugovich was seventh fastest on the morning of Day 1 of the 2023 F1 pre-season – Photo: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP via Getty Images

Along with Pietro Fittipaldi, Haas’ third driver, Drugovich will serve as reserve driver throughout the 2023 F1 season.

– There are a lot of novelties, 95% of the car is new. Everyone pushes so hard to move forward, you can feel everyone’s energy. This morning all the tests were done, I did my best to get to know the car better, test the tyres, see if there were any bumps left (porpoising effect). I feel like we’ve taken a step forward. Everything was fine. I suffered from the traffic on the track, I couldn’t do a good lap, but it was good – concluded the Brazilian.