Lance Stroll reveals how he scored F1 points with two broken wrists

Lance Stroll has revealed just how tough it was to regain his fitness in time for the Bahrain Grand Prix, only two weeks on from the ‘minor’ cycling accident in which he, er, broke both wrists and a toe. Not so minor, then…

In a lengthy post on Twitter documenting his time in hospital and recovery thereafter, the 24 year-old explained exactly what the diagnosis was five days out from pre-season testing.

“The scans showed I had a fracture and displacement in my right wrist, a fracture in my left wrist, a partial fracture in my left hand and finally another fracture in the big toe on my right foot,” he wrote, adding that his medical team thought he would “realistically miss the first few races."

Following surgery conducted by Dr Javier Mir, Stroll was told that he should be back in the car for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on 19 March, but that making the grid in Bahrain wasn’t out of the question if he worked hard. So that’s exactly what he did.

“My medical team ensured we were doing anything and everything that showed some evidence for bone healing,” said Stroll. “It became my full time job, trying to combine everything that could help, even if it was by 0.5%.”

Cue several days of intense, painful-looking exercises and ice baths to get from barely being able to move his fingers to finishing an actual grand prix in sixth place, only 16 seconds behind teammate and podium finisher Fernando Alonso. Consider our cap thoroughly doffed.

“To this day I’m convinced the urgency Dr. Mir showed to me helped get me to Bahrain,” Stroll concluded. “I am thankful for everyone who supported me, sent kind notes and wishes!”

High fives all round! Actually, maybe not yet…