Aston Martin's fuel gamble at Monza falls short by three seconds

Aston Martin lost a podium place at the 2026 World Endurance Championship round in Monza after two penalties dropped the #007 Valkyrie to 12th. The Heart of Racing car, driven by Tom Gamble and Harry Tincknell, had struggled with early strategy calls before Gamble chose to ignore fuel-saving measures, hoping for a late Full Course Yellow or Safety Car.

Gamble climbed from ninth to third in the final stint, but the expected intervention did not come, even after a heavy accident involving Alex Lynn's Cadillac. The car received a 145-second time penalty for exceeding its maximum usable energy per stint and was also hit with a 20-second penalty for low tyre pressures. Gamble said the team was about three seconds short of finishing on fuel and that its decision left no margin unless the race had been one lap shorter.