The Canadian hoped to restart his momentum at Paul Ricard, but his GT escapade turned into a fiasco.
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Struggling at the start of this 2026 F1 season with Aston Martin, Lance Stroll chose to take advantage of the break in the F1 calendar for a change of scenery. Heading to the GT World Challenge Europe, with the ambition of finding pleasure behind the wheel again.
Before the race, the Canadian even showed some confidence: “In Formula 1, you don’t always have the opportunity to win. Here, even if the competition is strong, if everything goes well, it’s possible,” he explained, attracted by an environment he considered “purer”.
He also highlighted a simpler setting more focused on pure driving: “It’s better here, there are fewer media obligations and more time to work with the team and simply drive.”
A race that quickly turns into a nightmare
But the reality on the ground quickly caught up with Stroll. Qualifying only in the middle of the pack, he started from 15th position, far from his initial ambitions.
The race then turned into a disaster, between on-track incidents and an accumulation of penalties. During his final stint, the Aston Martin driver made a series of mistakes, notably ignoring blue flags and repeatedly exceeding track limits.
Result: more than seven minutes of cumulative penalties, a crippling handicap in such a competitive endurance race. At the finish, the crew could do no better than an anonymous 48th place out of 49 classified cars.
This result is all the more frustrating as it contrasts radically with the hopes shown before the start. Stroll hoped to find a second wind away from F1, but this experience ultimately highlighted other difficulties.
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At the same time, the situation remains complicated in Formula 1 for Aston Martin, which is struggling at the back of the grid, between a lack of performance and reliability issues. This GT outing therefore did not allow the momentum to be reversed.
Verstappen observing, Rossi enthusiastic
Present at Le Castellet, Max Verstappen followed the race in a different role, as head of his own GT project. His team finished in the top 10, contrasting with Stroll’s difficulties.
For his part, MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi was delighted to see Verstappen taking more and more interest in the discipline.
“It’s a pleasure to see him here, I hope to be able to ride with him soon,” he says.
He concludes by highlighting the very essence of GT: “It’s a booming category, with cars that are very pleasant to drive, where the spirit of motorsport is always present.”
A weekend to forget for Stroll, who hoped to restart the machine… but leaves with even more doubts.
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