Apr.13 (GMM) Lance Stroll’s bid to reset his difficult 2026 season during Formula 1’s enforced April break ended in frustration at Paul Ricard.
With Aston Martin-Honda enduring a disastrous start to the year, the Canadian used the gap in the calendar to make his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe – and arrived with bold expectations.
“In Formula 1, you don’t always have the opportunity to win. Here, the competition is very high, but even if it’s our first time and we lack experience, if everything goes well, winning is possible,” Stroll said ahead of the six-hour race.
“That doesn’t exist in Formula 1. That’s also a great motivation for me to be here.”
Driving an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO for Comtoyou Racing alongside Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya, Stroll also relished the more “pure” nature of GT racing.
“For me, whenever I’m in the car with my helmet on, whether it’s here, in Formula 1, or even in karting, the mentality is the same,” he said.
“But it’s better here – fewer media commitments, more time in the garage working with the team, and just driving and enjoying it.”
However, the reality proved far tougher.
After qualifying only P15, the race quickly unravelled with penalties and incidents. When Stroll took over for the final stint, the problems mounted.
He was penalised for ignoring blue flags and repeatedly exceeding track limits, contributing to more than seven minutes of total penalties.
The result was a lowly P48 out of 49 classified cars.
The contrast with Aston Martin’s Formula 1 struggles was stark – with the team already the slowest on the grid and battling reliability and performance issues.
Also present at Paul Ricard was Max Verstappen, not as a driver but as team boss, overseeing his Red Bull-backed GT entry, which finished P10.
MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, also racing in the event, welcomed Verstappen’s growing interest in GT competition.
“It’s a great pleasure to see Verstappen driving these cars. I really hope I can drive with him soon, do a couple of laps together,” he said.
“GT is a growing category, the cars are very enjoyable to drive, it’s a category where the essence of motorsport is still present.”
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