Lance Stroll ventured into GT3 racing at Paul Ricard, finishing 15th overall and 11th in class. His time was just a shade behind teammate Roberto Merhi, with Mari Boya leading their trio.
Lance Stroll, typically seen behind the wheel in Formula 1, took a detour into the world of GT3 racing at Paul Ricard. In his first GT3 race weekend, Stroll qualified 15th overall and 11th in the Pro class. He clocked a fastest lap of 1:54.472, narrowly trailing his teammate and former F1 driver Roberto Merhi by five thousandths of a second. Leading the charge for their team was Aston Martin junior Mari Boya, who set an impressive lap time of 1:53.676.
With Formula 1 taking a breather in April, Stroll seized the chance to dip his toes into GT3 racing. He has some history in sports car racing, having participated in the 24 Hours of Daytona in both 2016 and 2018. However, this marked his first foray into GT3 competition.
Stroll joined forces with Merhi and Boya in the #18 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo for the opening round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe season. Qualifying at Paul Ricard is divided into three segments, one for each driver in the team. Stroll took to the track in the second segment, achieving his best lap at the historic circuit, once home to the French Grand Prix.
Boya, who competes in Formula 2 with Prema, is part of Aston Martin's driver development program. Despite it being his first taste of sports car racing, he outpaced his teammates considerably. The combined average time for the team was 1:54.205, securing them a 15th place in the overall classification.
Meanwhile, the Mercedes-AMG Team Mann-Filter clinched pole for the forthcoming six-hour night race, featuring Lucas Auer alongside four-time World Champion Max Verstappen in the upcoming 24 Hours of Nurburgring qualifiers. The Verstappen Racing team, including Jules Gounon, Daniel Juncadella, and Chris Lulham, also competed in the Pro class at Paul Ricard, qualifying 8th, roughly four-tenths ahead of Stroll's team.
Ahead of the weekend, Stroll shared that he had discussed his GT3 debut with Verstappen. He also mentioned that Aston Martin's challenging start to the 2026 F1 season influenced his decision to step into GT3. Stroll has yet to finish a grand prix this year, and Aston Martin is still chasing its first point of the season.