Aston Martin has officially announced that Lance Stroll will return to racing at his home Grand Prix in Montreal this weekend. The Canadian driver is feeling better after undergoing a successful medical procedure to fix ongoing pain in his right hand.

Two weeks ago, Stroll withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix after qualifying. He had been experiencing pain in his right hand for several weeks, and it worsened significantly during the weekend in Spain. After receiving medical advice, he decided not to race and instead focused on treatment and recovery.

The pain was related to an old injury. Stroll had fractured his wrist in a cycling accident in early 2023. While he returned to racing quickly at the time, the discomfort resurfaced recently and became too severe to ignore. Doctors recommended a new procedure, which was successful, and he is now fit to return to racing.

To ensure he was physically ready, Stroll tested an older-generation Formula 1 car earlier this week at the Paul Ricard circuit in France. After completing several laps without issues, the team confirmed he is healthy enough to compete in Canada.

In an official team statement released on Wednesday, Aston Martin said: “We are happy to confirm that Lance will be racing in Montreal. He had a successful procedure and completed test laps at Paul Ricard. He feels healthy and is excited to race in front of his home fans.”

Stroll also shared his thoughts in the same release: “I’m really looking forward to driving again, especially at my home Grand Prix. I always planned to do whatever it took to be ready for Montreal. I feel good after the procedure, and the test helped me prepare.”

There were some rumors suggesting Stroll withdrew from the Spanish Grand Prix due to frustration over a poor qualifying performance or missing an official weigh-in. However, Aston Martin’s Head of Trackside Engineering, Mike Krack, denied these claims and clarified the real reason behind the decision.

Speaking to reporters for Motorsport.com, Krack said: “As has been known already, the whole thing started in 2023. Over the last weeks, there was mention of pain, but you do not ask the driver every five minutes if they have pain or not. I think it just became too much. After qualifying, Lance and his team decided it would be better to go and check again. The recommendation was not to race.”

He added: “We have seen this with Lance before — drivers want to drive, they don’t want to sit out. Often they push through more pain than they admit, because this is what they love to do.”

If Stroll had not been able to race, Aston Martin’s reserve driver Felipe Drugovich was ready to step in. However, now that Stroll has been cleared, Drugovich is free to race for Cadillac in this weekend’s famous Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race in France.