The Aston Martin driver has been confirmed in the entry list for the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup opener, joining Comtoyou Racing in an additional Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo alongside former F1 racer Roberto Merhi and Aston Martin Academy prospect Mari Boya.

Stroll’s appearance comes as a direct result of the cancellation of April’s Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix, which has left a five-week gap in the Formula 1 calendar.

The 27-year-old will take advantage of the break to gain valuable track time amid a difficult start to his 2026 campaign, having yet to be classified in a grand prix this season.

The outing will mark Stroll’s first race in GT machinery, adding a new discipline to a career that has only occasionally ventured beyond single seaters.

He previously competed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona on two occasions in prototype classes, including a fifth-place finish on debut in 2016, but has not raced a production-based GT car until now.

He will form part of a Pro class line-up in what is expected to be a packed field of nearly 60 cars for the six-hour endurance race, which opens the GT World Challenge Europe season on April 11 following a two-day Prologue earlier in the week.

Stroll’s entry is among the biggest surprises on the Paul Ricard grid and continues a growing trend of F1 drivers exploring GT racing opportunities.

Four-time world champion Max Verstappen has also expanded his involvement in the discipline over the past year, including plans to contest the Nurburgring 24 Hours.

The Paul Ricard round marks the first of the Endurance Cup events in 2026, with a single six-hour race set to kick off the campaign in southern France.