Lance Stroll’s disrupted GT3 debut; Max Verstappen questions own F1 motivation – roundup
Lance Stroll made his GT3 debut at Paul Ricard
Lance Stroll features prominently as we look back at the latest F1 news headlines, following his GT3 debut at Paul Ricard.
Aston Martin took the victory, though not through Stroll’s team, which found penalties getting in the way. Max Verstappen, meanwhile, is running seriously low on F1 2026 motivation. All of this and more, so let’s get to it.
Lance Stroll makes GT3 debut
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Having appeared at Daytona in 2016 and 2018, Stroll made his return to sports car racing this weekend at Paul Ricard.
In what was his GT3 debut, Stroll and Co. were restricted to P15, with more than eight minutes’ worth of time penalties complicating their race.
It was won by the number ‘7’ Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin.
Read more – Lance Stroll endures penalty-hit GT World Challenge debut
Max Verstappen lacking F1 2026 motivation
Verstappen was also in the house at Paul Ricard. He was watching his Verstappen Racing trio of Jules Gounon, Chris Lulham and Daniel Juncadella in action, rather than being behind the wheel himself.
Verstappen is preparing to debut in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring next month, at a time where he is waking up “every day” trying to get motivated for Formula 1, having criticised the new regulations.
Read more – ‘Every day I convince myself’ – Verstappen makes alarming F1 2026 confession
Toto Wolff ‘fired’ Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg: Mercedes teammates who turned into the most bitter of rivals over F1 title glory.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recalled the moment, after Barcelona 2016, where he decided to fire the pair of them.
But, unable to determine on which side the blame laid, a change of plan was required.
Read more – ‘I fired them’ – Wolff reveals initial strong reaction to Hamilton and Rosberg crash
Jean Todt: Michael Schumacher ‘did not know how to cheat’
But, Todt, Schumacher’s Ferrari team boss at the time, did see Schumacher “cheat” twice, and he did it “badly”.
Todt reflected on the infamous collision with Jacques Villeneuve, and the Fernando Alonso-Monaco controversy.
Read more – Michael Schumacher ‘did not know how to cheat’, but did it ‘badly’ – Jean Todt
Cadillac F1 engine timeline update
Formula 1’s newest team, Cadillac, is currently running with a Ferrari engine.
General Motors is working on its own power unit, scheduled to arrive in 2029.
That is regardless of any changes which could be made to the engine regulations for 2031, something which Cadillac is monitoring closely.
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Read more – Cadillac F1 chief issues updated General Motors F1 engine timeline
