Opinion | Here’s why Aston Martin’s project is crumbling

For the British racing team and luxury car manufacturer, Aston Martin, things could not be getting worse. Ontrack performances are not matching aims that were set long ago and several employees are abandoning the team over the last few years. Things don't look so bright and we dive into the reasons why.

High pressure

A consortium means that there will be a small group of heavily invested individuals putting forth significant stakes to see a project grow and provide a return. Following the tumultuous administration period in 2018, the team saw their saviours in Lawerence Stroll’s consortium. Through 2019 and 2020, the team operated under the name of “Racing Point” which remained a relatively stable period as the team saw out a majority of the time remaining with the current generation of cars. However, 2020 would remain a breakout year, with podiums and even a win coming in this season.

Those days have been long since gone for the team. The new period as Aston Martin has shown little success so far. 2021 was a far cry from their past successes and 2022 doesn’t look promising either, with the team sitting in ninth place with five points. This would be a cause for major concern for the consortium, who are not seeing the form they require from the team, especially after the radical changes in the 2022 cars. Pressure will undoubtedly be building, as they soon expect results to match the risk given and the promises taken.

Structural changes 

Recently, it was announced that the CEO has stepped away from his position within the company. After only two years in the position, it comes as a concerning update for the British car manufacturer. It comes after an incessant slew of changes, with CEO of Aston Martin Performance Technologies, Martin Whitmarsh being brought in and only a few months later, long-serving team principal Otmar Szafnauer exiting the business.

Undergoing several changes in higher personnel serves no purpose to an organisation. Such instability leads to confusion in strategic direction, company philosophy and overall satisfaction levels within a business. In a sport like F1, there needs to be harmony, with all united to achieve the same goals.

What now?

A reasonable hypothesis is that too much has changed too quickly in the team, and it will not be surprising if things do not improve at all for the Silverstone squad. Long time driver Sergio Perez, who aided the team financially through their administration period, was shown the exit door of the team before his contract had run down. Murmurs of discontent from ex-team principal Otmar Szafnauer were shown to be at least somewhat true, proving the late 2021 rumours right by jumping ship to Alpine. A new state-of-the-art facility is being developed as its headquarters and new personnel are being brought on quickly to meet the expected aims.

This has all been in just the last 2 to 3 years. F1 may be a fast sport, but it’s certainly not this fast. By uprooting old rigidities and rapidly replacing them, there is no sense of continuity. Company identity can be lost, employee comfort can be lost and overall focus can be lost. These early signs signify that all three are occurring at once.