Aston Martin launches its Formula One challenger ahead of welcome return to the grid after six decades away from the sport

ASTON Martin is back at the pinnacle of global motorsport after the luxury car manufacturer revealed its 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship contender last Wednesday.

The stunning new AMR21 marks the beginning of a significant chapter in the 108-year-old history of the Gaydon-based manufacturer, and carries the hopes of racing fans around the globe ahead of its debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix later this month.

The AMR21, to be raced this season by four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll, carries a striking racing green livery in recognition of Aston Martin’s traditional racing colours and glorious sporting legacy.

It is also bedecked by a host of global partners, led by American IT giant Cognizant, while the chassis features a magenta stripe down the side in reference to the team’s long-standing partner BWT.

Last Wednesday’s event also threw the spotlight on an energising shift within Aston Martin as the team is set to become the global showcase for the brand’s engineering and performance capabilities.

A new 200,000 square-foot facility will complement the existing Aston Martin F1 factory at Silverstone when completed in the second half of 2022, and the team is well positioned to become an innovation lab to drive forward the brand’s future road car technologies.

These will include the suite of mid-engined sportscars, inspired by the Aston Martin Valkyrie, which will become central to the product portfolio through the next decade.

It may have been absent from F1 for 61 years, but Aston Martin’s competitive credentials are firmly intact – the company was formed by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in 1913 with motorsport at the heart of its endeavour.

Next year will mark a century since Aston Martin made its grand prix debut (in France 1922), and the brand has enjoyed sustained success in sportscar racing, including overall victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Most recently Aston Martin became a double class winner with the Vantage GTE in last year’s race at La Sarthe and is the reigning GT FIA World Endurance Manufacturers’ champion.

The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team also boasts a strong bloodline, building on the foundations of Team Silverstone, which in its various guises has won five grands prix, and is coming off the back of a race-winning campaign as the Racing Point Formula One Team, having been revitalised under the leadership of executive chairman Lawrence Stroll and team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

The new AMR21, powered by a turbo-charged Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance engine with hybrid energy recovery, ran for the first time at Silverstone during a promotional day on 4th March ahead of embarking on a full test programme at Bahrain this weekend.

Executive chairman Stroll said: “Aston Martin returning to Formula One after an absence of 61 years will have a powerful effect on the sport, the media and the fans, commanding global attention.

“The team who designed and built our new Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One car – the 500 men and women who conceive, manufacture, build and prepare our cars so that we can go racing at the pinnacle of global motorsport – has always punched above its weight. Now, as the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, it has the power with which to punch even harder.

“This is just the beginning. 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.”