The official Formula One Instagram follows all of the drivers set to compete in the upcoming 2026 season, except for one.
In less than two weeks, the 2026 Formula One season will be officially underway following the opening race at Melbourne's Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit.
Following three weeks of testing across Barcelona and Bahrain, it appears that Mercedes and Ferrari are the strongest teams so far, followed by Red Bull and McLaren.
Ahead of the season opener, drivers and teams have been active on social media hyping up a season which promises to be radically different thanks to the introduction of new regulations.
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But while in doing so, fans have noticed that there is one driver that the official F1 Instagram account doesn't follow, despite the fact they've been a part of the grid for several years.
With the introduction of 11th team to the grid this season, there is a record 22 drivers taking part in the 2026 Formula One season.
Arvid Lindblad has joined Racing Bulls as the only rookie this season, while the introduction of Cadillac as the sport's 11th team saw the return of veteran drivers Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas.
Of course, you'd expect all official Formula One social accounts to make sure that they follow the 22 drivers, but this isn't the case as Lance Stroll is bizarrely missing from their following list.
The Canadian driver has been a part of the Formula One grid since 2017, when he drove for the Williams alongside Felipe Massa.
It has widely been reported that ahead of him securing the street, Stoll's father, Lawrence, heavily invested in Williams.
In 2019, Stroll joined the newly renamed Racing Point after the team was bought by a consortium of investors led by his father.
Racing Point rebranded to Aston Martin in 2021, and Stroll has remained at the time since then.
It is worth noting that Stroll also doesn't follow the official F1 account and therefore it is possible that he could have removed it as one of his followers or even blocked it.
Ahead of the 2026 season, it was widely believed that Stroll and teammate Fernando Alonso would be the ones to watch thanks to legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey's arrival at Aston Martin.
However, after a dismal week of testing in the final sessions in Bahrain, there are now massive concerns both about the speed and the reliability of the 2026 car.
When asked if the issues are just a short-term problem or deeply-rooted in the car, Stroll said: “Car for sure.
“We have a lot of ideas. Will all of our problems be fixed for Melbourne? Probably not.
“But it’s a long season, 24 races. So, we keep chipping away. We try and bring as much performance as we can every weekend."
Topics: Motorsport, Formula 1
Ben McCrum