‘Aston Martin has the opportunity to establish ourselves as a top team’

Aston Martin returns as a constructor in Formula 1 this season. With its drivers Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel, the team expects to be able to score high in 2021. Team boss Otmar Szafnauer is confident about that.

All the ingredients

Although Aston Martin is a new team name in Formula 1, the team's fundamentals are based on those of Racing Point. “With a new name, committed shareholders, fresh investment, and an experienced team, we believe we have all the ingredients in place to compete for even more podiums and hopefully victories too", Szafnauer told Motorsport.com. “There’s an exciting opportunity to establish ourselves as a top team.”

There is also a new title sponsor - Cognizant - and it is already known that Aston Martin will not have pink but British Racing Green as its color. "We will officially present the new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team in March, including a first look at our livery and driver duo. The global situation right now makes things a little trickier and the timeline different as well, but it's looking good."

Ideal blend

The final change at the team is the driver duo. Sergio Perez has made way for Sebastian Vettel, a four-time world champion. “He is such an important signing for us. He brings a winning mentality and we will all undoubtedly learn a lot from him on this journey." Szafnauer is therefore very happy with the arrival of Vettel. "It’s the ideal blend of experience, race-winning knowhow, and raw talent.”

Not only the team, but also Lance Stroll will be able to learn a lot from Vettel, Szafnauer thinks. "Lance enjoyed his best campaign to date last year. We know if we give him the tools, he’s more than capable of helping the team reach its goals. We also think Sebastian will bring out the best in Lance, with Lance pushing Sebastian hard in return.”