Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso Cleared To Race After Missing Session With A Back Injury
Alonso just turned 44 this week
Fortunately, these days, Formula 1 cars are safe enough that even big crashes end with drivers climbing out of cars unscathed. That means it's unusual to see a team get bit by the injury bug, but that has (kind of) happened to Aston Martin this season.
Earlier this season, Lance Stroll dropped out of the Spanish Grand Prix due to an issue with his hand and wrist that dated back to a cycling accident he had a couple of years ago.
The problem was that Stroll withdrew after qualifying, which meant that Aston Martin wasn't allowed to put a reserve driver in his car.
On Friday, ahead of the first practice session at the Hungaroring, it looked like Aston Martin was about to find themselves in another driver jam when it was announced that 44-year-old Fernando Alonso (his birthday was just this week) had been ruled out of FP1 due to a muscular back issue.
"It’s the same as yesterday. It’s going to be like this the whole weekend," said Alonso when asked about the pain," Alonso said, per Formula 1.com. "I have a small injury on my muscle on the back in the lumbar area and I needed some rest, but the summer break is coming, so it’s another two days of managing the comfort in the seat.
This means that Felipe Drugovich, one of Aston Martin's reserve drivers and the 2022 Formula 2 champion, jumped in the car for the session.
He's a talented driver, and I think a lot of people would like to see what he can do in a Grand Prix, but he won't be getting that chance this weekend.
That's because, between the sessions, Alonso's back problem was under control enough that he could take part in FP2.
"Yesterday, we found different solutions with pads and other things that are working fine, so today, I had no pain in FP2, so that is positive, he said after the session in which he posted the fifth-fastest time, just behind his teammate Stroll.
So, it looks like Alonso will be good to go on a track he's known to do well at, but luckily, he has one more practice session on Saturday before qualifying to make sure he's ready for action.