An early end in the Ardennes

Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team driver Lance Stroll did not finish the Belgian Grand Prix following an issue with the AMR26.

Starting off the weekend in Spa

In Free Practice One, Lance was joined by Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team Third Driver Jak Crawford. The two drivers worked across the Medium and Soft compounds, with Lance collecting 19 laps of information.

In FP2, Lance was back alongside teammate Fernando Alonso. Again, Lance began on the Medium tyre before switching to Softs at the midway point.

Lance ran Soft tyres for the whole of FP3, collecting valuable information for the team to process ahead of Qualifying.

WATCH: 2026 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX FREE PRACTICE ONE HIGHLIGHTS

Qualifying Misfortune

Ahead of Qualifying, the team made changes to the AMR26 to improve the car in some areas.

However, unfortunately the team’s tow didn’t work out and several tenths of lap time were lost.

Ultimately, Lance qualified P22 for the Belgian Grand Prix, and after making changes to his car’s components, he was subject to a grid place penalty for Sunday’s race.  

WATCH: 2026 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX QUALIFYING HIGHLIGHTS

Gearbox issues in the Grand Prix

After Lance and several other drivers took penalties for changes to their car, Lance began the race from P20 on the Hard tyre.

Action filled the opening laps and a Safety Car was released. The race resumed on Lap 5, with Lance in P16. Due to the performance of the AMR26, Lance was back down to P21 by the end of Lap 10.

On Lap 18, Lance took advantage of a short Virtual Safety Car period and pitted for Soft tyres.

Lance reported an issue with his gearbox after 25 laps which unfortunately resulted in him retiring from the race.

His season will continue on 24-26 July with the Hungarian Grand Prix, where the team will bring updates to the AMR26.

WATCH: 2026 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX RACE HIGHLIGHTS

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One™ Team, said:

"Our pace was pretty much where we expected it to be today. We knew this track was always going to be difficult for us and it was a tough race from the start. Towards the end, I started to feel something with the gearbox, so we retired the car to investigate it. Hopefully we can be a bit more competitive in Hungary and have a stronger weekend there."