Valtteri Bottas delivered three-word response when asked about racing for Aston Martin after Lance Stroll’s injury

Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll is in a race against time to return to the grid for his upcoming home race.

The Canadian Grand Prix represents the 10th race of the 2025 F1 season and a return to North America after the first European leg of the campaign.

Lance Stroll is Canada’s only representative in the paddock after Nicholas Latifi lost his seat at Williams in 2022.

However, at the previous race in Spain, Stroll was absent from the grid after withdrawing from the race after qualifying due to a recurrence of a wrist injury picked up during pre-season two years ago.

It left Aston Martin relying solely on Fernando Alonso, who duly delivered by scoring his first points of the campaign.

Everyone’s attention is now turning to who team principal Andy Cowell could turn to if Stroll isn’t fit to race in Montreal.

Felipe Drugovich would be available to race for Aston Martin despite his Le Mans commitments, as would fellow reserve driver Stoffel Vandoorne.

However, Valtteri Bottas has also emerged as an option for Aston Martin and responded when asked by photographer and paddock insider Kym Illman about the prospect of a return to the grid.

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Valtteri Bottas responds when asked about replacing Lance Stroll at Aston Martin

Illman was speaking on his YouTube channel about Stroll’s absence and said: “The pain he experienced in qualifying meant that he couldn’t race.

“You can’t put a reserve driver into a race day car if they haven’t qualified.

“Now, today I asked a couple of people early on in the day if he was going to be at the track.

“I got a lot of people very cagey, dancing around, saying nothing really, but it’s my understanding he wasn’t at the track, although it was a little strange to see his trainer, his manager, and his mentor there.

“I think he’s gone and had a medical procedure straight away to see if he can get back to racing in Montreal.

“Now, if he can’t, there are two reserve drivers for Aston Martin, Stoffel Vandoorne and Felipe Drugovich.

“Both of those drivers though are racing in Le Mans, so who would step in if they can’t then break their Le Mans contract?

“Valtteri Bottas said he is ready, I chatted to him today, he’s not officially a reserve driver, but that’s not to stop the team saying, ‘Valtteri, can you step in and race in Montreal?’”

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There appear to be two ways for Bottas to return to the F1 grid permanently in 2026.

His first option would be for Bottas to deputise for Stroll in Canada, and any future races if the Canadian is still recovering from surgery, and drive at such a high level that Cowell decides to bring him in on a permanent basis.

The alternative option is for Bottas to catch the attention of another team in the paddock.

Most teams have already cemented their driver line-ups for 2026, but one team stands out as an option for Bottas and that’s Cadillac.

Cadillac have shown an interest in Bottas, but plenty of drivers are currently on their radar.

Oliver Bearman showed what a strong F1 cameo could do last season as he secured his seat at Haas after starring at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

Bottas has a much larger CV of achievements than the British rookie, but after struggling at the back of the grid with Sauber last year, he will want to remind team bosses that he still has what it takes to race at the very highest level.