The new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team marked their return to Formula 1 by revealing its 2021 FIA Formula 1 World Championship contender yesterday with the fabulous looking new AMR21 which heralds the beginning of a new chapter in Aston Martin’s 108-year history ahead of its debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix at the end of this month when the new 2021 season gets under way.
It has been over 60 years since Aston Martin competed in Formula 1 and the launch was described by Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll as an ‘important event in automotive history’, with the new entry being the first works Formula 1 car to carry the famous wings since Maurice Trintignant’s DBR5 crossed the finish line at Silverstone in 1960.
It was confirmed last January that the Racing Point Formula One™ Team would become the Aston Martin F1 Works team this year, following Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll buying a 20 per cent stake in Aston Martin.
The new team will be building on the foundations of Team Silverstone, which in its various guises has won five grands prix, as well as off the back of the Racing Point Formula One™ Team, which has been revitalised under the leadership of Lawrence Stroll and Team Principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer.
The new team’s driver liner up sees World Champion Sebastian Vettel joining Aston Martin from a fraught last couple of seasons with Ferrari along with the young Lance Stroll, who has been at Racing Point for the last two years, having started his Formula 1 career in 2017 at Williams.
The AMR21 is painted in the striking Aston Martin Racing Green livery in recognition of Aston Martin’s traditional racing colours and glorious sporting legacy. The team’s sponsor logos can be clearly seen on the bodywork and are led by American IT giant Cognizant, while the chassis features a magenta stripe down the side in recognition to the team’s longstanding partner BWT.
The new AMR21 is powered by a turbo-charged Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance engine with hybrid energy recovery, and was put through its paces for the very first time at a damp Silverstone today, before it embarks on a full test programme at Bahrain on 12th to 14th March.
The investment in Formula 1 demonstrates a change within Aston Martin as the new team will become the global showcase for the brand’s renowned engineering and performance capabilities. This can clearly be seen in the new 200,000 square-foot facility that will complement the existing Aston Martin F1 factory at Silverstone when it’s completed in the second half of 2022. The team is also well positioned to become an innovation lab to drive forward the brand’s future road car technologies, which will include a range of mid-engined sportscars, inspired by the Aston Martin Valkyrie, and become central to their product portfolio over the next 10 years.
Aston Martin was formed by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in 1913 and next year the company will mark a century since Aston Martin made its grand prix debut in France in 1922. Its motor racing heritage is well documented, with strong success in sportscar racing, including overall victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Last year Aston Martin became a double class winner with the Vantage GTE at La Sarthe and is the reigning GT FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ champion.
The Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, Lawrence Stroll said:
“I’ve dreamed about this day for a very long time. I’ve always been a car guy and I’ve always loved racing, too. My first dream was to own a Formula One™ team. My second dream was to acquire a significant shareholding in Aston Martin Lagonda. Today is about the merging of those two dreams. So, as I say, today is all about dreams, and it shows that dreams really can come true, in the shape of our new AMR21.
“Aston Martin returning to Formula One™ after an absence of 61 years will have a powerful effect on the sport, the media and the fans, commanding global attention.
“The team who designed and built our new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ car – the 500 men and women who conceive, manufacture, build and prepare our cars so that we can go racing at the pinnacle of global motorsport – has always punched above its weight. Now, as the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team, it has the power with which to punch even harder.
“This is just the beginning. The team is pushing forward, and our ambitions are limitless. We now have the pieces in place, the people and the partners, to make real progress.
“The launch of the new AMR21 is also the celebration of a new beginning for Aston Martin. Today’s transformational event has given us the opportunity to communicate the evolution of the iconic Aston Martin Wings logo for only the 12th time in the company’s 108-year history. The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ car is our group’s highest expression of performance, innovation, engineering quality, attention to detail, and teamwork. For that reason, it’s natural that our new logo should make its debut on our new Formula One™ car.”
Chief Executive Officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, Tobias Moers added:
“Today is a truly historic moment for Aston Martin, as we return to the pinnacle of motorsport for the first time in more than 60 years. The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team will have far-reaching positive effects on the Aston Martin brand, our culture, and the design and technology of Aston Martin road cars. Our return to Formula One™ will positively and profoundly affect every employee and foremost our customer journey all over the world; and will help us bring a focused, agile Formula One™ way of thinking to the whole Aston Martin business.
“Indeed, the Formula One™ team will become a dynamic and exciting innovation lab to drive forward future Aston Martin road car technologies and performance, which will truly differentiate our cars in the coming years. Aston Martin has always made beautiful cars. Now, as we begin a new era of Aston Martin in Formula One™, we’ll bring more innovation and more performance.”
For more information on the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team, please visit: www.astonmartin.com
Author Bio:
Simon Burrell is Editor of Our Man Behind The Wheel, a professional photographer and former saloon car racing driver.
Images courtesy of Aston Martin
Be the first to comment