Lance Stroll’s weekend away from the F1 grind didn’t exactly end with a trophy shot, but it did leave him wanting more.
Fresh off a one-off GT3 appearance at Paul Ricard, the Aston Martin driver says he’s keen to get back in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 when the calendar gives him a gap. And given how 2026 has already started reshaping itself around cancellations and compressed schedules, those gaps are suddenly a little more interesting than they were meant to be.
Stroll shared the #18 Comtoyou Racing entry with Roberto Merhi and Aston Martin Academy prospect Mari Boya, and the trio’s race unravelled long before the final stint. The car was eventually retired with a gear selection issue, but the bigger damage to the result had already been done: a night dominated by mistakes and penalties.
By the time Stroll climbed in for the final two hours, Comtoyou had racked up eight minutes and 25 seconds’ worth of penalties, including blue flag infringements and track limits violations. It’s the sort of tally that turns endurance racing into a long, slightly grim exercise in damage limitation.
Yet Stroll sounded anything but miserable about the experience.
“I enjoyed my debut in the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 and even with limited preparation I felt good in the car, and the pace was very encouraging,” he said. “I was one of the fastest during my stint and every lap, I was getting more comfortable with the car and improving my lap times.
“Of course, the race was basically over when I started my stint due to several issues we’d had, but nevertheless it was great to drive, run in the race conditions at night, and gain experience in a highly competitive championship.”
That line about limited preparation matters. Modern GT3 is professional, busy, and ruthless on details — tyre management, traffic reading, stint rhythm, working the ABS and traction control rather than fighting it. Drivers can jump in and look fine, but being properly quick without miles in your legs is a different thing. Stroll’s takeaway wasn’t about salvaging a result; it was about feeling the car come to him in real time.
Comtoyou’s #18 had qualified 15th, but Boya slipped outside the top 30 in the early phase, and once the penalties began stacking up the race was effectively gone. Stroll’s stint, then, became a pure sample: two hours of night running in a GT3 field where the pace is dense and mistakes get punished instantly.
He wants another go.
“I had a lot of fun, and I look forward to doing more GT racing soon,” Stroll said. “Let’s see when the calendar allows, but I look forward to driving the Vantage GT3 again soon.”
And this is where it gets interesting for F1 watchers. 2026 was originally slated as a 24-race Formula 1 season, but it’s already down to 22 after Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were cancelled due to world events. That kind of reshuffle doesn’t just change travel plans; it changes what drivers can realistically do away from the championship.
F1’s next proper breather comes after the Hungarian Grand Prix, with the GT World Challenge round at Magny-Cours landing during that mid-season pause. In other years, you’d assume “nice idea” and move on. In this year, with the calendar already altered and teams managing momentum in a long campaign, the possibility feels a little more real — not a promise, but not fantasy either.
Whether Aston Martin would encourage further GT3 outings is another question. There’s marketing value in seeing one of its F1 drivers in a Vantage GT3, sure, but there’s also the obvious risk calculus: fatigue, travel, the potential for injury in a category where contact is part of the landscape. Still, the appeal is obvious from the driver’s side — low-pressure racing in a car that rewards feel, and a different kind of competitive reset when the F1 weekend loop becomes repetitive.
Paul Ricard didn’t flatter Stroll on paper, ending in retirement after a penalty-heavy slog. But his comments made it clear he didn’t go there for a tidy headline result. He went to drive. He did. He liked it. And with 2026 already throwing curveballs at everyone, he may well get another chance sooner than expected.
