Lance Stroll GT3 Results: Qualifying times and grid order at Paul Ricard

Qualifying for the first round of the 2026 GT World Challenge Europe took place today (Saturday, April 11) with F1 star Lance Stroll taking to the track with Aston Martin ahead of the main night race.

The Canadian driver made his GT3 debut at Paul Ricard, piloting the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 for Comtoyou Racing on Saturday, alongside team-mates Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya.

The F1 2026 campaign is currently undergoing an enforced break after the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix were both cancelled due to ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with Stroll taking advantage of his newfound free time by making a series switch.

Qualifying at Paul Ricard was split into three sessions (Qualifying 1, Qualifying 2 and Qualifying 3), with Merhi, Stroll and Boya splitting driving duties across the sessions in the PRO class.

The Canadian F1 star revealed lofty ambitions ahead of qualifying in the South of France, stating his belief that he and his Comtoyou Racing squad could even compete for the win, something his Aston Martin F1 team have been far from doing so far after a disastrous start to the 2026 campaign.

But after the 27-year-old's qualifying stint, the *No.18 Aston Martin sat down in P19, with the trio only able to improve up to P15, where they will start Saturday's six-hour event from.

Though four-time F1 champion Max Verstappen will not be competing at Paul Ricard or at the Nurburgring for the NLS3 race this weekend, his Verstappen Racing team qualified P8 thanks to Dani Juncadella, Chris Lulham and Jules Gounon in the **No.3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi was also in play on Saturday, with his Team WRT qualifying in P11 after taking to the track in a BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

See the top 20 combined qualifying classification below.

READ MORE: McLaren announce official signing of Gianpiero Lambiase

GT World Challenge Europe Qualifying Results: Paul Ricard 2026

How to watch Stroll's GT3 race

You can watch Stroll's GT racing exploits right here on GPFans, with the below stream set to go live at around 17:30 (CEST) 16:30 (BST) on Saturday, April 11 for the main event.

Alternatively, you can catch all the action on the GTWorld YouTube channel or on the GT World Challenge website.

READ MORE: FIA reveals deadline for F1 2026 regulation 'tweaks'

Written by

Kerry Violet - F1 News Editor

Having graduated from the University of Sheffield with a 2:1 in Journalism in 2022, Kerry continued her pursuit of finding a full-time position in motorsport through work with the F1 Arcade in London, where she got to meet true fans of the sport and make a live grand prix watch party memorable for them. It was here that she confirmed her dream of combining her background in journalism and love of motorsport, going on to volunteer with the female-led platform Empoword Journalism. Having completed stints as a screen editor and sports editor, Kerry landed her first F1-specific editorial role with GPFans and has thoroughly enjoyed continuing to work closely with the sport ever since. The access GPFans offers Kerry has allowed her to interview big names such as Naomi Schiff and David Coulthard and given her experiences she could only have dreamt of as a young F1 fan.

View full biography

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Adrian Newey's wife takes down Aston Martin critic with savage one-word response

• Yesterday 12:27

Adrian Newey celebrates Aston Martin turnaround with heartfelt team radio message

• Yesterday 09:45

Lance Stroll issues bleak Honda statement after Aston Martin upgrade: 'It's a lottery'

• August 23, 2026 21:30

McLaren boss says Monaco Grand Prix result appeal is about the 'integrity' of F1

• Yesterday 22:00

Toto Wolff reacts to Max Verstappen signing with huge F1 silly season claim

• Yesterday 21:00

Ferrari F1 boss explains controversial Lewis Hamilton strategy decisions

• Yesterday 19:45