Lance Stroll follows Verstappen footsteps to make GT3 racing debut

Lance Stroll is set to follow in the footsteps of Max Verstappen by racing a GT3 car, with the Canadian driver to take on the GT World Challenge Europe series during the enforced April gap for Formula 1.

Set to contest the opening round of GT World Challenge Europe on April 11-12, which would have been the same weekend as the Bahrain Grand Prix, Stroll will share an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo entry being run by Comtoyou Racing.  

Stroll’s teammates will be Roberto Mehri; former Manor F1 driver and Aston Martin’s Academy driver in Mari Boya who currently competes in F2.

F1 is set for an unprecedented five-week gap, due to the cancellation of the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East region. The next time Stroll will steer his AMR26 will be the Miami Grand Prix on May 2-4.

Racing at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, the first round of GT World Challenge Europe will mark the 27-year old Canadian’s maiden competitive outing in a GT3 car. Having previously contested the Daytona 24 Hours race twice in the Prototype category and even finishing fifth outright in 2016.

A welcome distraction for Stroll too, amidst the struggles for the Aston Martin F1 Team at the start of 2026. The Canadian is yet to be classified as a race finisher so far, with poor power-unit reliability hampering the team’s start to F1’s new regulations era.

Following four-time world champion Verstappen in foraying into the GT3 scene, with the Dutchman due to race at the Nürburgring 24 Hours in May. Round 3 of NLS also takes place on the weekend of the Bahrain Grand Prix, however due to Verstappen’s teammates Dani Juncadella and Jules Gounon racing at Paul Ricard – they’ve opted to skip that.

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade. Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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