Why Aston Martin's "limitless" F1 ambitions aren't misplaced

Of all the Formula 1 launches that took place in the build-up to the 2021 season, arguably none was as hotly anticipated as Aston Martin’s event last Wednesday. After more than 12 months of planning since its return was announced, and 61 years since one of its cars last entered a world championship grand prix, Aston Martin’s F1 rebirth truly commenced with the unveiling of the AMR21.

Even through a star-studded event that played heavily on the brand’s James Bond affiliation and also wheeled out NFL superstar Tom Brady, nothing could overshadow the significance at the core of the launch. Aston Martin is back in F1, and it means business.

Ever since Lawrence Stroll saved the Force India operation from collapse in the summer of 2018, rebranding it as Racing Point, the Silverstone-based squad has been bold, even brash, with its ambitions.

It took time to get the puzzle pieces in place. First was the ousting of Esteban Ocon, who made room for Stroll’s son, Lance, to take over the seat. Then came a hiring spree, plugging the gaps that began to emerge towards the end of the Force India era. Plans were formed to build a new factory at Silverstone, and push for closer technical ties with engine supplier Mercedes (something Stroll had wanted for Williams when it fielded his son).

Force India had always been regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound teams, but that was precisely the problem: pounds. There weren’t enough of them. No matter how good the personnel were, how efficient they may have been, the resources simply weren’t plentiful enough to allow the team to take on F1’s big guns.

Stroll’s takeover changed that. The team now had the financial freedom to develop the car as desired, and even take a huge gamble in 2020 by trying to reverse-engineer Mercedes’ 2019 title-winner. The ‘pink Mercedes’ sparked a huge political fight that ended in a points penalty and a rewriting of the rulebook to stop it happening again. But Racing Point ended last year fourth in the constructors’ championship and with a race win (the first since its distant days as Jordan) at the Sakhir Grand Prix through Sergio Perez. The gamble had paid off handsomely.

Sergio Perez 2020 Sakhir GP

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Yet there was always a desire to make the team something far greater off track. Stroll was enamoured by the idea of reviving a famous F1 name, given ‘Racing Point’ was always meant to be a placeholder. Pursuits of bringing back names such as Brabham, March and Lola fell short, only for an even bigger name to emerge as an option in late 2019.

A low stock value was pounced upon by Stroll, who bought an initial stake in Aston Martin worth 16.7% in January 2020. In the same announcement of the deal, it was revealed that his Racing Point F1 team would be rebranding as Aston Martin – it was all part of the plan.

“We’re still that bunch of racers that we’ve always been. We still are driven by efficiency and punching above our weight. We have more weight now, and in the future will have even more weight” Otmar Szafnauer

“My first dream was to own a Formula 1 team,” Stroll said at the team launch. “My second dream was to acquire a majority shareholding in Aston Martin Lagonda. Today is all about the merging of those two dreams. The team has always punched above its weight. Now, as Aston Martin, it has the power with which to punch even harder. It’s just the beginning.”

The whole launch event was a far cry from the days when Force India would wheel out the car in the pitlane just minutes before the start of pre-season testing, and hand the first run-out to a pay driver not even in its main line-up. It was highly polished, befitting a brand carrying the weight of Aston Martin – another sign of how far the team has come.

“We’re growing as a team, and for sure there are differences, but the DNA of the team hasn’t changed,” says team principal Otmar Szafnauer, who played a key role in the transition from Force India to Racing Point. “We’re still that bunch of racers that we’ve always been. We still are driven by efficiency and punching above our weight. We have more weight now, and in the future will have even more weight.”

The 2020 campaign was the first in which the team really flexed its new-found financial muscle. The season was a success, even beyond Perez’s Sakhir win. Stroll took a magnificent pole position in Turkey (and arguably should have won the race) as well as two podium finishes, while Perez was a regular fixture at the front of the midfield en route to fourth place in the drivers’ standings. Had it not been for the points deduction over the brake-duct design, Racing Point would have been third in the constructors’ championship.

The majority carryover of last year’s cars under the development freeze gives Aston Martin a good foundation for this year. Technical director Andrew Green would not be drawn on where the team had spent its two development tokens, although Szafnauer revealed that they had been employed to change the chassis in order to improve the cooling of the car.

Otmar Szafnauer, Team Principal and CEO, Aston Martin F1

Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

The team has also upgraded to the rear end of the 2020 Mercedes thanks to a regulation loophole benefiting customer squads. But Green feels that aerodynamics is still the main battleground heading into the new season.

PLUS: The car Aston Martin begins its new F1 journey with

“The regulation change that came through late last year had a big effect on the aero performance,” he explains, referring to the downforce cut centred on the floor designs. “We spent the winter trying to recover the losses from the changes in the regulations. That’s been a big focus.”

The development of the car also means that the first Aston Martin is hardly a copy of the 2019 Mercedes, even if there are some shared genes.

“We’ve got no idea what Mercedes have done or been doing,” Green says. “The concept on the car is 100% Aston Martin, and the initial direction, which was set almost two years ago now, seems a long way behind us.

“We’ve learned an incredible amount since then. Last year we also made a few mistakes, and we’ve looked to correct them for the 2021 car, which gives us a lot of optimism for the performance going forward. So I think all in all, we’re happy with the decision we made two years ago.”

One of the biggest decisions the team’s bosses had to make ahead of the rebrand concerned the driver line-up. Although Perez had signed a new three-year deal with the team towards the end of 2019, his place came under scrutiny when four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel emerged on the market after Ferrari’s early decision to part ways.

A protracted will-they-won’t-they? saga followed. Vettel dodged questions about his favourite James Bond car (cleverly picking the BMW Z8 cut in half during The World Is Not Enough), and had to explain why he was seen getting into Szafnauer’s car at Silverstone. (Szafnauer still insists it was just to give Vettel a lift to a petrol station.) But after months of back and forth, the deal was finally announced in September: Vettel would be an Aston Martin driver in 2021.

George Russell Lance Stroll Sakhir GP 2020

Photo by: Motorsport Images

It marked another major coup for Stroll Sr, even if it came at the expense of Perez, whose stunning 2020 season was enough to secure him a drive with Red Bull and raise questions over Aston Martin’s decision. But it was a statement, and further proof that the vision Stroll has for the future of the Aston Martin squad is enough to capture the imagination of an F1 great such as Vettel.

“He’s very committed and very enthusiastic, and working really hard,” Vettel says of Stroll Sr. “He’s not just supplying the needs to the team, but is very much engaged and pushing the team in the right direction. Obviously people are hungry to win. I think it’s the first shot with similar money than anybody else on the grid. It won’t be easy to catch up in a breath, but the ambition is definitely there to catch up, not just from Lawrence but the whole team.”

Vettel arrives at Aston Martin crestfallen after a bruising final year with Ferrari, one that he labels a “challenge”. His Turkish GP podium was the only bright spot of a miserable campaign during which he accrued just one-third of team-mate Charles Leclerc’s points total, having been informed before the delayed start to the season that he would not be retained for 2021.

“Seb’s style is a lot less extreme [than Perez]. We have the tools and capability to tune the car to suit him for sure. We’ve already started working on that, and he seems very happy with the direction that we’ve taken” Andrew Green

But Vettel says he is “at peace” with his Ferrari swansong, and isn’t interested in the revisionism of his placing among F1’s greats that followed.

“I know that it hasn’t been to my standards that I mostly hold myself to,” he says. “I’ve never really cared what people think or say or – I’m sorry – write.” (We’ll sort you an Autosport subscription, Seb, just in case you change your mind.)

Aston Martin’s bosses also have no qualms over their star signing, and remain confident that the team can bring out the best in him.

Insight: Has Vettel got his mojo back at Aston Martin?

“At 33 years old, you don’t forget how to drive a Formula 1 car fast,” Szafnauer says. “So it’s got to be other things. We will work tirelessly to make sure that we don’t introduce those things, and actually alleviate them.

“An arm around the shoulder means that everybody’s listening to his wants and his needs. We’ll work hard to make sure the car is to his liking and the set-up is like he wants it.”

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin F1 Team shakedown 2021

Photo by: Aston Martin Racing

Vettel has traditionally excelled with cars that have a stable rear end, the lack of which on the recent Ferraris was considered to be a reason for his frequent spins. Aston Martin said back in 2020 that it would look to give Vettel the car he needed to bring out the best in him, yet the German is dismissive of the theory.

“The whole rear-end thing has got a little bit out of hand,” he says. “I don’t think I’m more vulnerable than the others in this regard. If anything, I don’t like when the car is really just understeery. By the sounds of it, [the Aston Martin] is very different. I hope it’s coming my way.”

Green has no concerns about Vettel’s driving style, believing it to be even more forgiving than Perez’s.

“Seb’s style is a lot less extreme,” he says. “We have the tools and capability to tune the car to suit him for sure. We’ve already started working on that, and he seems very happy with the direction that we’ve taken.”

Off track, Vettel is already adjusting well to life at Aston Martin. He is enjoying the surroundings of a raw racing team, seeming to fire a shot at Ferrari when he notes that his new environs are “not about the fancy looks or the fancy expensive chairs in the office”.

His comfort has also happily been picked up by his bosses.

“He’s gelling with his crew and with the team,” says Green. “He’s obviously a very, very likeable chap, but he’s also incredibly knowledgeable and meticulous about the way he works, and that’s exactly why we wanted him involved. It’s different to the way we worked before. But that’s the reason why we got him in: to impart some of his knowledge and wisdom on us as a four-time world champion. That’s exactly what we need.”

It’s that kind of experience that even a driver of Perez’s standing could not offer Aston Martin, and is also something that could help across the garage. The criticism laid against Lance Stroll throughout his F1 career has hardly been subtle, and is perhaps unavoidable when your father owns the team you are racing for. Although he enjoyed his best season yet in F1 last year, the fact that he only scored 60% of Perez’s points total meant there was still significant room for improvement.

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin F1 Team shakedown 2021

Photo by: Aston Martin F1 Team

Stroll is under no illusions about that, though. He admits that he “underestimated” the impact COVID-19 had on him, contributing to a rough patch of form between a crash at Mugello in September and his pole in Turkey in November that left him “not in the best place mentally”, but was glad to finish the year strongly with a second podium at Sakhir. It has spurred the young Canadian on to target a top-five finish in this year’s drivers’ championship. He is also eager to learn from Vettel.

PLUS: The driver gap Aston Martin must address in F1 2021

“With all team-mates, you pick up on things,” Stroll says. “He’s extremely talented and very experienced, so I’m sure I’ll learn a lot from him. I look forward to working alongside him.”

The feeling is mutual. Vettel is excited to serve in more of a mentor role to Stroll than he did with Leclerc, and offer something he felt he lacked in his formative years.

“I’m happy to help,” he says. “I would have been happy the other way around when I was young, if somebody would have opened up and was just happy to share everything. I only see it as a win-win.”

Clearly 2021 is not going to be a year where championships are on offer, but there is an understanding of the long-term project that is being built. Szafnauer outlines a three-to-five-year period for the team to get all of the pieces in place to become a proper F1 heavyweight

Szafnauer is also encouraged by the progress Stroll has displayed, hailing a “significant step” through 2020, and feels it went a long way to answering his critics.

“Turkey for me just shows his innate ability,” says Szafnauer. “You had seven-time and four-time world champions in faster cars out there, same conditions, and Lance beat them to pole.”

The four-time world champion in question agrees.

“Some of the stuff that he’s been going through is not fair,” Vettel says. “He has proven many times that he’s very quick. If you just take the pole position in Turkey, those were probably one of the most difficult track conditions I ever faced in 15 years of F1. To not just stay on track, but also to nail the lap, and manage to get on pole – there needs to be a lot of talent to be able to do that.”

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin Racing AMR21

Photo by: Aston Martin Racing

Regardless, both Vettel and Stroll enter 2021 with a point to prove and reputations to embolden. The noises from Aston are certainly positive that they can give both drivers all the tools they need to succeed, but what will define success?

Clearly 2021 is not going to be a year where championships are on offer, but there is an understanding of the long-term project that is being built. Szafnauer outlines a three-to-five-year period for the team to get all of the pieces in place to become a proper F1 heavyweight.

“It doesn’t happen overnight,” he says. “It’s got to be meticulously planned and executed. For sure our plans are more ambitious than what we did last year, and what we’re going to do this year. We have to plan and execute for the future. There are a lot of things happening in that regard, including a new factory and hiring like-minded people, and getting the infrastructure correct.

“Those plans are ongoing. Towards the end of 2022, we should be moving into a new factory. Within that factory, we’re going to need state-of-the-art tools that will help us design and develop a car that’s worthy of contending for a world championship, so that’s a few years away. If I have to look into the future, it’ll be in the three-to-five-year time period.”

The prospect of building Aston Martin into a championship-worthy team and adding to his own haul is something that excites Vettel.

“I’m not too old – there are now older drivers joining the grid, rather than younger drivers!” he jokes, referring to Fernando Alonso. “It is a longer-term project if you really want to win. I still have a long time in me.”

He also rejects the idea that only works teams can win championships, saying such thinking is “old school” .

“With somebody like Mercedes, I think we can trust that you get a very fair treatment,” he says. “If you are faster then you are allowed to beat them.”

Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Aston Martin Racing

Just as last year’s car took inspiration from Mercedes, the Aston Martin project as a whole can do so too. Mercedes took years to get all of the right pieces in place, before it eventually developed into the current juggernaut that is proving so difficult to wrestle championships away from.

Aston Martin is right at the start of that same journey, albeit against a different context thanks to the cost cap. The idea is that limiting budgets will place a greater focus on operational strength, which has always been a great quality of the Silverstone squad. With upgraded facilities, cash to spend and world champion input, the stars are aligning.

Lawrence Stroll has never been a man to do things by halves, with the launch being the epitome of that. His vision is that the rebirth of Aston Martin in F1 can mark not only a new era for the team, but for the manufacturer as a whole, making it champion material.

“Our ambitions are limitless,” he says. “We now have the pieces in place, the people and the partners, to make real progress.”

Lance Stroll Aston Martin F1 Team shakedown 2021

Photo by: Aston Martin F1 Team