Stroll felt like his final flying lap in Q1 was badly disrupted by poor tire preparation, traffic and dirty air. This prompted the Canadian to “send it” into the final turns at Marina Bay.
But after crossing the exit curb, the rear of his AMR23 came out and he slammed into the outside wall before the wreck slid across the circuit to trigger a red flag stop.
While Stroll was injury-free after a preventive evaluation at the medical center, on Sunday morning he and the team made the decision “together” to withdraw from the race.
Asked by Autosport whether Stroll’s gamble to make up time in the final corner to risk a crash was the right approach, team boss Krack said it dispelled the notion that Stroll was not committed to F1.
Krack said: “It’s proof that he’s all in. So for all the guys who think that’s not the case, to get into that corner at that speed you have to have some commitment.
“I think this is further proof that he has it fully.”
Stroll was praised for his determination to compete in the 2023 season opener in Bahrain after a cycling accident, in which he broke his wrists, forced him to miss pre-season testing .
But at the Dutch GP in late August, Stroll – whose father Lawrence owns Aston Martin – was forced to deny rumors he was prepared to leave F1 to pursue a career as a tennis player.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
It is understood that Aston Martin Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh has probed the interest of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris in joining Fernando Alonso as a teammate.
Krack added: “Lance is very strong. He is much, much stronger than people think.
“You saw him [carry out media duties after his crash]. I’m not worried at all…he’ll be fine.”
Stroll passed all FIA primary and secondary tests and was cleared to race, but discussions with Aston Martin on Sunday morning led to his withdrawal.
But Krack says there is “zero” chance Stroll will miss this weekend’s Japanese GP.
He continued: “It’s usually sore. If you have an incident like that, you have to think you’re straining your muscles everywhere.
“It’s like if you have a really hard day in the gym, you don’t feel good. I think it’s the right decision to be ready for Japan.
“The most important thing is that he is fine. Everything else is secondary.
The AMR23 chassis was salvageable and Aston Martin says it has factored a major accident repair operation into its cost cap.
Stroll felt like his final flying lap in Q1 was badly disrupted by poor tire preparation, traffic and dirty air. This prompted the Canadian to “send it” into the final turns at Marina Bay.
But after crossing the exit curb, the rear of his AMR23 came out and he slammed into the outside wall before the wreck slid across the circuit to trigger a red flag stop.
While Stroll was injury-free after a preventive evaluation at the medical center, on Sunday morning he and the team made the decision “together” to withdraw from the race.
Asked by Autosport whether Stroll’s gamble to make up time in the final corner to risk a crash was the right approach, team boss Krack said it dispelled the notion that Stroll was not committed to F1.
Krack said: “It’s proof that he’s all in. So for all the guys who think that’s not the case, to get into that corner at that speed you have to have some commitment.
“I think this is further proof that he has it fully.”
Stroll was praised for his determination to compete in the 2023 season opener in Bahrain after a cycling accident, in which he broke his wrists, forced him to miss pre-season testing .
But at the Dutch GP in late August, Stroll – whose father Lawrence owns Aston Martin – was forced to deny rumors he was prepared to leave F1 to pursue a career as a tennis player.
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin F1 Team
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
It is understood that Aston Martin Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh has probed the interest of Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris in joining Fernando Alonso as a teammate.
Krack added: “Lance is very strong. He is much, much stronger than people think.
“You saw him [carry out media duties after his crash]. I’m not worried at all…he’ll be fine.”
Stroll passed all FIA primary and secondary tests and was cleared to race, but discussions with Aston Martin on Sunday morning led to his withdrawal.
But Krack says there is “zero” chance Stroll will miss this weekend’s Japanese GP.
He continued: “It’s usually sore. If you have an incident like that, you have to think you’re straining your muscles everywhere.
“It’s like if you have a really hard day in the gym, you don’t feel good. I think it’s the right decision to be ready for Japan.
“The most important thing is that he is fine. Everything else is secondary.
The AMR23 chassis was salvageable and Aston Martin says it has factored a major accident repair operation into its cost cap.
