F1 star Lance Stroll breaks silence after Aston Martin outing saw his team hit with 12 penalties

Aston Martin

Lance Stroll breaks silence after Aston Martin outing saw his team hit with 12 penalties

Lance Stroll competed in GT3 last weekend

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 16 April 2026 21:59

Aston Martin F1 star Lance Stroll has suggested he would like to race in an alternative racing series again, despite the fact his team were handed 12 penalties during a recent outing.

With the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix both cancelled in April due to the war in the Middle East, Stroll opted to race in GT3 last weekend, making his debut in the series at the Circuit Paul Ricard six-hour endurance race.

Stroll raced for the Comtoyou Racing team, driving the No.18 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO alongside Mari Boya and former F1 star Roberto Merhi.

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The team finished 13 laps behind the leaders, however, and although Stroll's pace matched the top-10 runners during his two-hour stint, the No.18 car finished way down in 48th place, out of 49 cars who finished.

Part of the reason for this was Stroll's team picking up 12 penalties, including three earned by the Canadian racer himself.

Stroll was given two blue flag infringements - a consequence of just how far behind the leaders they were when he jumped in the car - as well as a 1 minute 55 second-time penalty for exceeding track limits.

That was after Boya had picked up a stop-and-go penalty for spinning round the No.50 AF Corse Ferrari of Sean Gelael, and Merhi had racked up a shocking eight penalties for various infringements during his stint in the car.

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Despite this nightmare weekend, Stroll has admitted that he had fun, and that he might want to make his return to the series in the future.

Stroll would likely have been grateful not to have been driving his Aston Martin AMR26, which has provided him with all kinds of problems in the early weeks of the 2026 F1 season.

"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," Stroll told Motorsport.com.

"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.

"I’d like to thank the team for bringing the opportunity together really quickly and for giving us a fast car to drive. It was great fun! I had a lot of fun and I look forward to doing more GT racing soon.

"Let’s see when the calendar allows, but I look forward to driving the Vantage GT3 again soon."

F1 Aston Martin Lance Stroll Paul Ricard