Lance Stroll may not be taking part in the Spanish Grand Prix, but Aston Martin has still been given a warning before the race.

Aston Martin confirmed Lance Stroll’s withdrawal from the race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Saturday night, with the Canadian driver suffering from wrist pain linked to the injuries he picked up two and a half years ago.

FIA gives Lance Stroll a warning for missing weigh-in

Stroll took part in qualifying as normal for the Spanish GP, setting the 14th-fastest time as he was eliminated in Q2.

But, instead of going straight to the weighbridge for the standard weigh-in procedure as required by the regulations, Stroll made his way to his team due to his suffering from pain in his wrists.

The transgression resulted in the stewards issuing a summons and, despite Stroll’s withdrawal from the race, a full investigation was carried out with a verdict reached on Sunday morning following a hearing – which Stroll was not in attendance at.

According to the stewards, regardless of circumstances, Stroll didn’t comply with the necessary regulations by not proceeding straight to the weigh-in.

The rules state that drivers must immediately visit the FIA weighing scales after returning to the pits, and are not permitted to drink or do anything which may increase their weight.

Video footage showed Stroll exiting the car and leaving the garage out the back – a clear breach of the regulations, which was not disputed by Aston Martin.

Following the summons, Stroll was unable to attend the original hearing due to him seeking medical advice and the hearing was postponed until Sunday morning to give Stroll a chance to recover and attend – in the end, he wasn’t able to.

“The weighing procedures are a fundamental element of the regulations designed to ensure sporting fairness and equity,” the stewards said.

“They need to be complied with strictly. Failure to do so could result in serious consequences including a disqualification.”

However, with Stroll being withdrawn, the imposition of more serious penalties were rendered “unnecessary”, with the stewards accepting the reason for the failure to comply as being down to Stroll’s unexpected and intervening medical condition.

“Having said that, given the importance of the weighing procedure, the team ought to have immediately informed the relevant FIA delegates of the situation so that the appropriate assistance could have been rendered and any required observation of the driver could have been carried out with the benefit of the FIA team,” the stewards said.

“We accordingly administer a warning to the team for the future to ensure that the FIA delegate(s) are promptly informed of any unforeseen circumstances which might delay/prevent the driver from complying with the regulations.”

What is wrong with Lance Stroll’s wrist?

The stewards confirmed that they had received two documents pertaining to Stroll’s condition, with a medical report and a letter from Stroll himself.

“In the letter, the driver explained that the reason for failing to immediately attend the weighing was because he was in pain and sought urgent medical attention for the pain,” the stewards said.

“He attended the weigh-in and the media pen as soon as he was able to, before heading to the medical centre for further evaluation.

“The medical report confirmed that there was a medical condition with the driver’s right hand and wrist, requiring treatment. We were informed that subsequent medical tests confirmed this diagnosis and that the driver was advised not to drive and to rest.”

A statement from Aston Martin on Saturday evening confirmed Stroll has been struggling with some wrist pain over recent weeks, following on from his suffering injuries in a cycling accident in early 2023.

“Over the course of the past six weeks, Lance has been experiencing pain in his hand and wrist, which his medical consultant believes is in relation to the procedure he underwent in 2023,” Aston Martin said.

“As a result, his medical team has confirmed that he will not race tomorrow and he will undergo a procedure to rectify these issues before focusing on his recovery.”

Just how long Stroll may be out remains speculation for now, with the team opting against hazarding a guess. Should Stroll be unable to take part in any upcoming races, such as his home Canadian Grand Prix in two weeks, the logical stand-ins are Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich as the team’s reserves – however, both are set to take part in the Le Mans 24 Hours that same weekend.

Another option for Aston Martin could be to call on Mercedes reserve driver Valtteri Bottas, with the Brackley-based team historically making their reserve drivers available to their customer teams, though there is no such arrangement currently in place.

Following his cycling accident in early 2023, Stroll was operated on by famed MotoGP physician Xavier Mir, who is Barcelona-based. It’s not clear whether Stroll has headed to visit Mir again for his fresh procedure – PlanetF1.com has approached Aston Martin for comment.

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