Lance Stroll made his GT World Challenge Europe debut at Paul Ricard

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin RacingLance Stroll’s debut in the GT World Challenge Europe at Paul Ricard ended in low-key fashion, as his #18 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin squad took 48th place in a late retirement following a series of earlier issues.

In the six-hour race, Stroll’s co-driver Mari Boya started the event and was followed by Roberto Merhi, with the Aston Martin Formula 1 driver only jumping in the car for the final part of the race, after dark and in conditions he was not fully accustomed to, as technical issues had prevented him from getting much night running in prior to the race.

#18 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO - Lance Stroll, Roberto Merhi, Mari Boya

Boya had dropped back in the first part of the race, falling out of the top 30 after starting in 15th, while Merhi was 38th when he handed over to Stroll with just under two hours remaining.

Stroll, who put in the eighth-fastest lap of the race by any driver, was limited in the progress he could make, with the team ultimately retiring the car shortly before the end of the race due to a gearbox issue.

The #18 car had earlier picked up penalties before Stroll joined the action, for both going off-track and failing to respect blue flags, with Boya also receiving a stop-and-go penalty for an earlier collision.

Another Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo from the Comtoyou team, the #7 entry driven by Mattia Drudi, Marco Sorensen, and Nicki Thiim, took the win.

Stroll had taken advantage of the unexpected break in the F1 calendar to contest his maiden GT race, teaming up with former Manor grand prix driver Merhi and Formula 3 race winner Boya – the latter is also part of Aston Martin’s young driver programme.

#18 Comtoyou Racing, Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO - Lance Stroll, Roberto Merhi, Mari Boya

Fellow F1 driver Max Verstappen was also present at Paul Ricard in his capacity as team principal for his own team, with his Mercedes-running squad driven by Daniel Juncadella, Jules Gounon and Chris Lulham taking ninth place overall.

Verstappen himself will be back in action in a Mercedes later this month when he will compete in two four-hour preparatory races for the Nurburgring 24 Hours, teaming up with Lucas Auer, who was part of the Mercedes Mann-Filter crew that finished second in Paul Ricard on Saturday.