Aston Martin has announced that reserve driver Felipe Drugovich will stand in for Lance Stroll at the upcoming Formula 1 pre-season test in Bahrain on Thursday.
Canadian Stroll was involved in a cycling accident while getting in shape for pre-season and suffered minor injuries as a result, ruling him out of the test.
Drugovich is the reigning Formula 2 champion following a dominant 2022 campaign where he finished 100 points clear of Theo Pourchaire. The Brazilian’s achievement, however, was insufficient to secure a full-time F1 seat for 2023.
The 22-year-old will get to drive for Aston Martin on Thursday morning with Fernando Alonso taking over in the afternoon.
UPDATE: @FelipeDrugovich will attend the Bahrain test to share driving duties with Fernando Alonso. Felipe is scheduled to drive AMR23 on Thursday morning with Fernando taking over in the afternoon.
Schedule for Friday and Saturday to be confirmed. pic.twitter.com/RQK1sREbuo
— Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 21, 2023
Three other teams have confirmed their driver line ups for the Bahrain test. Current world champion Max Verstappen will drive for Red Bull on the opening day of running in Bahrain while Alex Albon will drive in the opening session for Williams before Logan Sargeant takes over the afternoon.
Former Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg will also debut the Haas on Thursday.
