Lance Stroll’s GT return marred by heavy penalties at Paul Ricard

Lance Stroll’s return to GT racing proved to be a bruising one, as the Canadian endured a penalty-laden outing in the opening round of the GT World Challenge Series at Circuit Paul Ricard.

A challenging weekend from the start

The trio’s difficulties began in qualifying, where they could manage only P15 on the grid. Any hopes of recovery in the race were ultimately undermined by a series of infractions that accumulated over the course of the event, which concluded under night conditions.

Eight minutes of penalties

In total, the team received eight minutes and 25 seconds of penalties during the race.

Boya’s involvement in causing a collision triggered a stop-and-go penalty, while a further four minutes were added for ignoring blue flags. Track limits also proved costly, with an additional three minutes and 40 seconds handed down for repeated infringements.

Stroll himself was accountable for a portion of the time lost. He received one minute of penalties for failing to respect blue flags, along with 115 seconds for exceeding track limits.

While responsibility for the various rule breaches was shared across all three drivers, the cumulative impact effectively defined the race for the #18 Aston Martin.

Encouraging signs amid the setback

Despite the disappointing classification, there were positives to extract. Stroll delivered promising lap times, running competitively among some of the quickest drivers on the grid.

That underlying speed offered a glimpse of potential, even if the final result did not reflect it.

As the #18 entry struggled, the sister #7 Comtoyou Racing car secured a late victory — underlining the contrast within the team and what might have been possible under cleaner execution.