SAKHIR, Bahrain – Formula 2 champion Felipe Drugovich looks increasingly likely to race in place of the injured Lance Stroll at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.
Drugovich, one of the team’s reserve drivers, opened Aston Martin’s preseason test schedule on Thursday following the news that Stroll had injured himself in a bicycle crash.
On Friday, Aston Martin confirmed Drugovich will split time with Fernando Alonso on Saturday, the third and final day of preseason testing.
The severity of Stroll’s injury is unclear, with Aston Martin only willing to comment that they are monitoring his progress on a day-by-day basis.
“This is his personal thing,” Aston boss Mike Krack said on Thursday. “So he is injured on the hand, on the wrist. But I don’t want to go into detail, because this is also privacy.”
New signing Alonso did an entire day behind the wheel on Friday but the decision to split the Spaniard’s running with Drugovich suggests Aston Martin are trying to prepare the Brazilian driver as best as they can for what would be his F1 debut.
The team has not indicated when it will need to make a decision on Stroll’s participation in the first race.