Aston Martin F1 struggles a factor in surprise GT outing

Lance Stroll says Aston Martin’s ongoing woes in Formula 1 played a role in his decision to enter this weekend’s GT World Challenge Europe event at Paul Ricard.

The Canadian will take advantage of an unexpected gap on the F1 calendar to contest the opening GTWCE Endurance Cup event of 2026, driving Comtoyou Racing’s Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo with Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya. It will mark just his third major sportscar outing, following two previous appearances at the Daytona 24 Hours in prototype machinery in the mid-to-late 2010s.

Stroll’s Aston Martin team has struggled for both performance and reliability at the start of F1’s new era this year, despite significant investment in infrastructure and the high-profile signing of Adrian Newey. Its works partnership with Honda has also been strained by an uncompetitive power unit that suffers heavily from vibrations.

Across the opening three rounds, Stroll is yet to register a classified finish, while his team-mate Fernando Alonso has also not scored a point.

Amid a five-week break following the cancellation of Bahrain and Saudi rounds, Stroll said he wanted to “change things up a bit” and enjoy a more relaxed weekend in France.

“I really enjoyed racing the 24 Hours of Daytona. It’s a race I truly loved,” he said on Thursday.

“Since then, I’ve been very focused on Formula 1, but this year we don’t have a very competitive car, and we now have some time without races.

“So, it was an idea to change things up a bit — a different mindset during the break.

“Jean-Michel [Baert, Comtoyou team owner] was very accommodating, and we organised everything in about a week.

“So, a big thank you to Jean-Michel. That’s why I’m here racing this weekend.”

The Comtoyou Aston is registered in the Pro class, which features 18 entries as part of a larger 59-car grid.

Stroll believes sportscar racing offers a more open competitive landscape, giving him and his team a realistic shot at victory if “everything comes together”.

Asked what his goal was for the weekend, Stroll said: “Enjoyment — and it’s also a race.

“In Formula 1, you don’t always have the opportunity to win. Here, it’s very competitive, but even if it’s our first time and we lack experience, if everything comes together — good setup, good feeling — winning is possible. That doesn’t really exist in Formula 1. That’s also a big motivation for me to be here.”

The idea of racing at Paul Ricard was conceived over the Japanese GP on 27-29 March, where Stroll met some of his friends, including ex-grand prix driver Merhi, over dinner.

There has been renewed interest among F1 drivers in sportscar racing, with Max Verstappen in particular generating headlines for his recent endeavours at the Nordschleife-based NLS series.

Stroll revealed he spoke to Verstappen about his GT plans during the Suzuka weekend.
“We talked about whom to contact, and since he’s already involved in GT racing, we discussed it a bit. Everyone enjoys driving GT3 cars — they’re fun,” he said.

Asked whether he would be open to further outings in this discipline, Stroll added: “If I feel good physically and mentally, yes — I’d like to do more races during the year.”

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— The Motorsport.com Team