Aston Martin have unveiled their AMR21 car ahead of the team’s return to Formula One after a 61 year absence.
Having confirmed their return to F1 last January after Lawrence Stroll brought a major stake in Aston Martin, this unveiling marks a new era as Aston Martin returns to F1 for the first time since the 1960 British Grand Prix.
Lance Stroll will remain with the team after their rebrand from Racing Point but the Canadian will be joined by four-time F1 World Champion – Sebastian Vettel, who replaces Sergio Perez who has left the team for Red Bull after being released at end of last season.
‘Exciting Project’
Speaking at an exclusive launch, Vettel hailed the rebrand as a ‘exciting project’ and that he aims to ‘go racing to win’ but joked that if it wasn’t a good project, he would of headed elsewhere, saying: “Yeah otherwise I wouldn’t be here!”
Acknowledging that he is now a F1 “veteran” as he himself said, Vettel feels that experience will help but believes that his and Stroll’s feedback as drivers will be key, saying: “… I think the feedback we give, what the car is doing and what we need to go faster essential for the rest of the team to know what to do and that the key of our role.”
The German however has urged caution on initial expectations, adding: “I think winning is a bit ambitious maybe straight away but it’s definitely everybody’s goal. It’s why we go racing.”
Aston Martin will be the third incarceration of the team since 2008 with Vettel praising their ‘very strong’ form of the past on ‘limited resources’, although he is looking ahead to 2022, commenting: “Now obviously with the regulations of Formula 1 changing a little bit and with the new launch of Aston Martin coming back to F1 and relaunching the team.”
‘Improve the driver’
Stroll meanwhile spoke of this launch marking the start of a new era and hailed the team in both the factory and trackside as ‘incredibly talented’ as he admitted that he is excited for the team as a whole rather than just himself.
On his goal this season, Stroll in particular wants to see Aston Martin finish third in the constructors after a 15 point deduction for alleged cheating cost them last season, saying: “As a team, coming third in the constructor championship is a big goal and we missed out on that last year so close but I truly believe that we can accomplish that this year if not more…”
The young Canadian also spoke of his desire to “improve the driver” in himself after scoring two podiums en route to 11th overall last season, as well as claiming his maiden F1 pole in Turkey in November before front wing damage cost him victory.
‘Punch even harder’
Aston Martin CEO and Team Principal, Otmar Szafnauer spoke of having a ‘great mixture’ in driver characteristics of ‘youth’ and ‘talent’ with Stroll possessing the ability to drive the car fast, whilst Vettel is a four-time F1 champion with race and title winning experience.
Szafnauer therefore hopes that achieving a good blend would bring progress, saying: “… if we mix those skills together then I look forward to a great season.”
The ex Operations Director for British American Racing (BAR) also confirmed that the team won’t be ‘standing still’ after their fourth-placed finish last season under the Racing Point name, with the aim of improving consistency, as he said: “… we want to move forward, so if we can start this year off where we left off last year with a bit more consistency and scoring points, I think we will have every opportunity to do better than we did last year.”
Technical Director, Andrew Green announced that the AMR21 is an all new chassis despite retaining close relations to last season’s Racing Point car, whilst meeting new aerodynamic rules which he described as ‘subtle but visible’ on the floor and rear end of the car.
Green also spoke of the challenge in balancing development of the AMR21 and preparation for next season, saying: “… we’ve still got to maximise our performance in 2021, while making sure we’re fully prepared for 2022. It’s going to be tricky, but that’s the job.”
Aston Martin F1 Chairman, Lawrence Stroll opened the launch by speaking of his passion for cars and excitement at the unveiling of the team, commenting that Aston Martin now ‘has the power to punch even harder’ in their bid to reach the very top of F1.
Lawrence Stroll therefore refused to set any boundaries in potential, adding: “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.”
Aston Martin also confirmed that the team will move into a new factory in late 2022 which is expected to ‘remain true to the DNA and racers’ mentality’ whilst incorporating the current factory into the new facility.
Speaking on the move, Szafnauer however iterated that the new factory won’t be too different, saying: “The new factory will be a massive improvement on what we have now, but it won’t be too opulent because we need to maintain our racer’s ethos and focus on performance. It will be modern and fit-for-purpose.”
Vettel and Stroll will both drive the AMR21 at a filming day at Silverstone on Thursday 4 March 2021.
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