Aston Martin in Formula One

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Kingdom Aston Martin-Mercedes
Aston Martin F1.svg
Full nameAston Martin Cognizant F1 Team[1]
BaseSilverstone, England, UK
(2021–)
Newport Pagnell, England, UK
(1959–1960)
Team principal(s)Lawrence Stroll
(Chairman)
Otmar Szafnauer
(Team Principal)
Martin Whitmarsh
(Chief Executive Officer)
Technical directorAndrew Green
WebsiteOfficial website
Previous nameRacing Point F1 Team
2021 Formula One World Championship
Race drivers05. Germany Sebastian Vettel
18. Canada Lance Stroll
Test drivers27. Germany Nico Hülkenberg[2]
ChassisAston Martin AMR21
EngineMercedes M12 E Performance
TyresPirelli
2022 Formula One World Championship
Race drivers05. Germany Sebastian Vettel[3]
18. Canada Lance Stroll[3]
Test driversTBA
ChassisTBA
EngineMercedes[3]
TyresPirelli
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Races entered28 (27 starts)
EnginesAston Martin, Mercedes
Constructors'
Championships		0
Drivers'
Championships		0
Race victories0
Podiums1
Points77
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0
2021 position7th (77 pts)
Aston Martin as a Formula One engine manufacturer
Formula One World Championship career
First entry1959 Dutch Grand Prix
Last entry1960 British Grand Prix
Races entered6 (5 starts)
ChassisAston Martin
Constructors' Championships0
Drivers'
Championships		0
Race victories0
Podiums0
Points0
Pole positions0
Fastest laps0

Aston Martin is a British car manufacturer that has participated in Formula One in various forms. The company first participated in Formula One during the 1959 season where they debuted the DBR4 chassis using their own engine but it failed to score any points. They continued to perform poorly through the 1960 season, once again failing to score any points. As a result, Aston Martin decided to leave Formula One after 1960.

A commercial rebranding of Racing Point F1 Team resulted in the team's return as Aston Martin in 2021, although it competes using Mercedes power units. The team, owned by Lawrence Stroll, is headed by Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll as their race drivers.

History[]

David Brown Corporation (1959–1960)[]

See also: David Brown Ltd.
The Aston Martin DBR4 which was driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.

Aston Martin first entered Formula One with the DBR4, their first open-wheel racing car. The DBR4 was first built and tested in 1957 but did not make its Formula One debut until 1959. This delay was caused by the company prioritising the development of the DBR1 sports car, which went on to win the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. By the DBR4's world championship debut at the Dutch Grand Prix, it had become outdated and struggled for pace against its competitors, with Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori qualifying 10th and 13th respectively out of 15.[4][5] Salvadori retired from the race in the early laps with an engine failure, with Shelby's car suffering the same fate later in the race.[6]

The team's next entry came at the British Grand Prix where Salvadori was surprised by qualifying in 2nd place.[7] Early in the race, one of Shelby's ignition magnetos failed, harming his car's pace. The second magneto failed late in the race, causing his retirement. Salvadori could only hold on to 6th place, narrowly missing out on a points finish.[8] At the Portuguese Grand Prix, both cars avoided issues to finish 6th and 8th but still failed to score points.[9] Aston Martin's final entry of the season was the Italian Grand Prix where both cars continued to struggle, qualifying only 17th and 19th.[10] During the race, Salvadori had run as high as 7th before suffering an engine failure whilst Shelby came home to finish 10th.[11] The car was significantly outdated by its rivals and failed to score any points.[4]

Aston Martin built the DBR5 to compete in the 1960 season. The DBR5 was based on its predecessor but was lighter and featured an independent suspension. However, the car had a heavy engine in the front and was regularly outclassed by the more commonplace rear-engined cars.[4][12] The team's first entry of the season came at the Dutch Grand Prix, but the DBR5 was not yet ready to compete. As a result, only Salvadori entered the race, driving the spare DBR4. He could only qualify 18th.[13] Despite being allowed to start the race, Aston Martin were told by the race organisers that they would not be paid. The team, therefore, refused to start the race.[14] The DBR5s were ready for the team's next race in Britain, with Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant taking part. Salvadori retired from the race with steering problems, and Trintignant could only finish 11th, five laps behind the leader.[15]

Following this string of poor results, with the team failing to score a single championship point,[16] Aston Martin abandoned Formula One entirely after the British Grand Prix to focus on sports car racing.

Potential return and sponsorship (2008, 2010, 2016–2020)[]

Main article: Prodrive F1

In 2006, David Richards, who leads the consortium that owns Aston Martin, and his tech firm Prodrive were granted a spot as a potential entrant for the 2008 Formula One World Championship.[17] Upon speculation of an Aston Martin F1 return, Richards made it clear that Aston Martin had a long way to go until it was ready for an F1 team. He believed the route to being competitive was to partner with an existing team, rather than setting up a new team with Aston Martin and Prodrive.[18] In 2009, Richards again announced his intent to return to Formula One in 2010 with the possibility of using the Aston Martin name, however, this did not come to fruition.[19] Between 2016 and 2020 Aston Martin served as a sponsor for Red Bull Racing, and as title sponsor of the team between 2018 and 2020.[20][21]

Aston Martin F1 Team (2021–)[]

See also: Racing Point F1 Team and AMR GP

In January 2020, a funding investment from Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll into Aston Martin saw him take a 16.7 percent stake in the company.[22][23] This resulted in the commercial rebranding of Racing Point UK's Racing Point F1 Team into Aston Martin F1 Team for the 2021 season.[24][25] The team competes with Mercedes power units, which it has done under its various names since 2009.[26] Sergio Pérez was under contract to drive for them until 2022, but he was replaced by four-time World Drivers' Champion Sebastian Vettel, who previously drove at Ferrari, for the 2021 championship.[27][28] As part of the rebrand, the team switched their racing colour of BWT pink to a modern iteration of Aston Martin's British racing green. Cognizant was also announced as the team's title sponsor in January 2021.[29][30] The Aston Martin AMR21 was unveiled in March 2021 and became Aston Martin's first Formula One car after a 61-year absence from the sport.[31][32][33]

The team is headquartered in Silverstone, with a new 37,000 square metres (400,000 sq ft) facility set to be operational by 2023.[34][35] The facility will be based directly opposite the Silverstone circuit on the 29 acres of land at Litchlake Farm.[36][37][38] Aston Martin is the sixth different constructor to operate from the Silverstone base since 1991.[39] Vettel earned Aston Martin's first podium by finishing second in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.[40] Vettel finished second again in the Hungarian Grand Prix, but was disqualified due to a fuel sample issue.[41] In June 2021, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer confirmed that the team will expand its workforce from 535 to 800 employees.[42][43] In September 2021, Aston Martin confirmed they would compete in 2022 with an unchanged driver lineup.[44]

Formula One World Championship results[]

(key)

1959–1960[]

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Points WCC
1959 DBR4 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 A
D 		MON 500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA 0 NC
United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Ret 6 6 Ret
United States Carroll Shelby Ret Ret 8 10
1960 DBR4 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 D ARG MON 500 NED BEL FRA GBR POR ITA USA 0 NC
United Kingdom Roy Salvadori DNS
DBR5 Ret
France Maurice Trintignant 11
Source:[45][46][47]

2021[]

Year Chassis Engine Tyres Driver 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Points WCC
2021 AMR21 Mercedes
M12 E Performance 1.6 V6 t 		P BHR EMI POR ESP MON AZE FRA STY AUT GBR HUN BEL NED ITA RUS TUR USA MXC SAP QAT SAU ABU 77 7th
Canada Lance Stroll 10 8 14 11 8 Ret 10 8 13 8 Ret 20 12 7 11 9 12 14 Ret 6 11 13
Germany Sebastian Vettel 15 15† 13 13 5 2 9 12 17† Ret DSQ 5‡ 13 12 12 18 10 7 11 10 Ret 11
Notes
  • ‡ – Half points awarded as less than 75% of the race distance was completed.

Non-championship Formula One results[]

(key)

Year Chassis Engine Driver 1 2 3 4 5
1959 DBR4 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 GLV AIN INT OUL SIL
United Kingdom Roy Salvadori 2
United States Carroll Shelby 6
1960 DBR4 Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 GLV INT SIL LOM OUL
United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Ret

References[]

  1. ^ "Aston Martin reveal title sponsor for F1 2021 season, tease green car – Entry List". Sky Sports. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
  2. ^ Ehlen, Stefan (26 March 2021). "Hulkenberg takes on dual reserve F1 role with Aston Martin, Mercedes". Autosport. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  3. ^ a b c "2022 FIA Formula One World Championship – Entry List". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Aston Martin DBR4". ultimatecarpage.com. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. ^ "1959 Dutch Grand Prix". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  6. ^ Denis Jenkinson. "1959 Dutch Grand Prix race report: Bonnier makes his mark". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  7. ^ "British GP, 1959". grandprix.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  8. ^ Denis Jenkinson. "1959 British Grand Prix race report - A walk-over for British cars". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  9. ^ Denis Jenkinson. "1959 Portuguese Grand Prix race report: Moss trounces the field". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  10. ^ "1959 Italian Grand Prix". motorsportmagazine. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  11. ^ Denis Jenkinson. "1959 Italian Grand Prix race report: Walker's cunning bests the reds". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  12. ^ Hamilton, Maurice (30 September 2017). "A brief history of Aston Martin and F1". ESPN. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ "1960 Dutch Grand Prix". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  14. ^ Denis Jenkinson. "1960 Dutch Grand Prix race report: Brabham throws kitchen sink (and more) at Moss to win". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  15. ^ "1960 British Grand Prix". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  16. ^ "Aston Martin - Seasons". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Q & A With FIA President Max Mosley". 22 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Aston Martin owner rules out F1". 13 March 2007. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Richards keen on Formula 1 return". 23 April 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  20. ^ "Red Bull announce Aston Martin tie-up". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Aston Martin to become Red Bull title sponsor in 2018". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  22. ^ "Racing Point set to become Aston Martin works team for 2021". formula1.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  23. ^ "Aston Martin F1 team 'will need to be competitive from the outset' says Stroll". formula1.com. 1 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Racing Point F1 team to become Aston Martin in 2021". Reuters. 31 January 2020.
  25. ^ "Racing Point to become Aston Martin team from F1 2021". Sky Sports. 31 January 2020.
  26. ^ "2020 & 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship Entry List". Federation Internationale de l'Automobile. 14 March 2015. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  27. ^ "Sergio Perez reveals he is leaving Racing Point at the end of 2020 in shock announcement". formula1.com. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  28. ^ "Vettel to make sensational Racing Point switch in 2021 as they re-brand as Aston Martin". formula1.com. 10 September 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  29. ^ "Aston Martin reveal title sponsor for F1 2021 season, tease green car". Sky Sports. 7 January 2021.
  30. ^ "Aston Martin reveal new title partners ahead of F1 return". Formula One. 7 January 2021.
  31. ^ "Aston Martin are back: See the first pictures and video of Vettel and Stroll's 2021 F1 car". Formula One. 3 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Aston Martin launches first F1 car in over 60 years". CNBC. 3 March 2021.
  33. ^ "Aston Martin licensed to thrill in Formula 1 return as 2021 car revealed with historic green livery". Sky Sports. 3 March 2021.
  34. ^ Agini, Samuel (14 September 2021). "Aston Martin pumps £200m into new campus for Formula One success". Financial Times. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  35. ^ "Aston Martin start work on new F1 factory and wind tunnel campus at Silverstone base". Formula1. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
  36. ^ "Construction imminent on new Aston Martin base". planetf1.com. April 2021. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  37. ^ "Aston Martin F1 Team Buys 29 Acres Of Land For New Factory". Carscoops. April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  38. ^ "Billionaire Aston Martin F1 owner Lawrence Stroll buys land for new Silverstone factory". Business Live. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  39. ^ Turner, Kevin (17 March 2021). "Jordan 191 to 'Pink Mercedes' - The shifting fortunes of Aston's F1 forebearers". Autosport. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  40. ^ Valantine, Henry (6 June 2021). "Sebastian Vettel 'over the moon' with first Aston Martin podium in Baku". PlanetF1. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  41. ^ "Vettel loses second-place finish in Hungary after disqualification for fuel sample issue". Formula1.com. 1 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Aston Martin target expansion to around 800 staff". planetf1.com. 10 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  43. ^ "Szafnauer says Aston Martin will increase workforce to 800 as they aim to bridge gap to rivals". formula1.com. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  44. ^ Aston Martin. "Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team announces 2022 driver line-up".
  45. ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. pp. 333, 352 and 383. ISBN 0851127029.
  46. ^ "Aston Martin - Grands Prix started". statsf1.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  47. ^ "Aston Martin - Grands Prix not started". statsf1.com. Retrieved 25 March 2020.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""