Stroll reveals Max Verstappen influence ahead of GT racing debut

On what was supposed to be the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend - cancelled due to the US-Iran war - Stroll is set to take part in the GT World Challenge Europe season-opener for Comtoyou Racing.

The Canadian will be behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 EVO alongside Roberto Merhi and Mari Boya, a junior driver with the Silverstone-based team.

Heading into the weekend, Stroll explained how his decision to take on GT racing came about at the last F1 race in Japan, before revealing conversations he had with four-time world champion Verstappen.

The Aston Martin driver revealed the plan was hatched over dinner on the Saturday evening in Suzuka, with Stroll keen to fill the April break with some other motorsport action.

"The decision came when we were in Suzuka. On Saturday evening, we had dinner with some friends, and we were talking about what we could do during this break, about a month, because some races were cancelled.”

"Jean-Michel [Baert, Comtoyou team owner] was very accommodating, and we organised everything in about a week. Honestly, without Jean-Michel bringing everything together so quickly, it wouldn’t have been possible."

Despite only making his GT debut, Stroll sees victory at the season-opener as not beyond the realms of possibility, surely a welcome contrast to his early season F1 woes at Aston Martin.

"In Formula 1, you don’t always have the opportunity to win. Here, it’s very competitive, but even if it’s our first time and we lack experience, if everything comes together, good setup, good feeling, winning is possible.

When trying to make this weekend a reality, Stroll also revealed that he consulted Verstappen, who himself has been more and more involved with GT racing in the last 12 months or so.

Verstappen recently took on the NLS2 race at the Nurburgring, and is set to take part in the 24 hours race at the 'Green Hell' next month.

"[I spoke with Max] briefly in Suzuka when I had the idea," Stroll said.

Although not competing himself at Paul Ricard, Verstappen will surely keep an eye on the weekend's events, with his Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing team also taking part.