The Aston Martin F1 Team, formerly known as Racing Point and Force India, has quickly emerged as one of the most exciting and promising teams in Formula 1. With its rich heritage in motorsport, the team is backed by a strong vision for success, blending the expertise of experienced engineers and drivers with the resources of the renowned British luxury car brand Aston Martin. The team’s journey through F1 has seen significant growth, marked by strategic investments, strong performances, and a commitment to evolving into a front-runner on the global motorsport stage. This article delves into the team’s history, its rise in Formula 1, and the future of Aston Martin as it challenges the sport’s established powers.
Table of Contents
About Aston Martin F1 team
Although Aston Martin has been involved in Formula One since the 1950s, they are a relatively new team competing as a competitive Formula One team. In 1959, Aston Martin did a short two-year stint in F1, but they had little success during these seasons, leading to their withdrawal. Over 40 years later, Aston Martin returned to Formula One, but this time as sponsors and partners.
In 2016, Aston Martin had a branding partnership with Red Bull, becoming “Red Bull Racing Aston Martin”. The Aston Martin F1 team you know and love today officially began in 2021. The Racing Points Formula One team was rebranded as Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One, marking the beginning of a brand-new Aston Martin Works team in Formula One and a new bright future for the F1 team. Aston Martin made their F1 debut with the AMR21 with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll behind the wheel. In 2023, Fernando Alonso replaced Vettel, who retired from Formula One. This year, their drivers are Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso.
Logo
One of the most recognisable logos on the grid, Aston Martins’s iconic winged logo has remained unchanged throughout its time. When Aston Martin returned to Formula One, they did not make many changes to the logo, keeping the classic white wings with Aston Martin written inside. Underneath the emblem, the name of the brand and the tagline “Formula One Team” can be seen.
The team’s sponsor, Cognizant, was also added to the logo, with the name underneath a green line underneath the emblem. The Cognizant wordmark is in the same font style as the official brand’s logo. This matches the trend in the F1 world of putting a sponsor’s branding into an existing team branding. The design features white writing on Aston Martin’s iconic racing green colouring. The latest version of the Aston Martin logo is a good example of how F1 teams bring different brand elements together to highlight their core companies and their sponsors, similar to Haas.
Title Sponsor
Cognizant
Cognizant Aston Martin announced its return to Formula One alongside a sponsorship deal with IT firm Cognizant. The company has been the team’s title sponsor since 2021. Cognizant plays an important role as Aston Martin’s title sponsor and is not just a name on the side of their car. Cognizant provides Aston Martin with IT services, which are valuable in today’s digital world.
Aramco
In February 2022, Aston Martin made a long-term deal with Aramco. This led to another name change for the team, renaming it Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One Team. Through the partnership, both sides will endeavour to create innovative lubricants, highly efficient internal combustion engines, high-performance, sustainable fuels, and non-metallic materials for use in automobiles.
Team Principal
Mike Krack is a Luxembourgish motorsports engineer. Krack started his engineering career at BMW in 1998 in the test engineer role, and since then, he has worked his way up the ranks. He has worked with some big names in the motorsport industry. He worked at BMW Sauber F1 as the chief engineer.
Krack had a stint on the Porsche WEC team as head of track engineering, and he also worked as the head of engineering, operations, and organization for racing and testing at BMW. He also spent some time at Kolles & Heinz Union and Hitech in Formula 3. Mike has also had stints in Formula 3 and DTM. In January 2022, Krack was announced as team principal of the Aston Martin Formula One Team, succeeding Otmar Szafnauer.
Aston Martin F1 Drivers
Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso is one of the most recognised names and faces in Formula One. The Spanish driver began karting at age three, and his talent was quickly spotted. Alonso broke into F1 when he was impressed with his performance at the 1999 Euro Open by Nissan series, achieving a first-place title at 17. He received a deal to race in the International Formula 3000 championship. This opportunity led Alonso to be nominated as Minardi’s test and reserve driver for the 2000 F1 season.
Alonso showed impeccable skill on the track and was quickly promoted to the coveted race seat for the 2001 season. The following year, he made his F1 debut with Renault as a test driver and the following year as the main driver. Alonso achieved remarkable success at Renault. In 2005, Fernando Alonso achieved what every driver had dreamed of: becoming the world champion. He did this once and had repeated success the following year, becoming the youngest double F1 World Champion in history in 2006. He broke many records with Renault, achieving F1’s youngest polesitter, race winner and world champion.
Alonso’s huge breakthrough success was followed by a few years of disappointment, with the Spanish driver driving competitively but unable to regain his once-earned title. From 2007 until 2018, Fernando had stints at McLaren, Ferrari, and Renault. In 2019 and 2020, Alonso took a break from the sport he loved and returned in 2021 with Alpine. During his time out of F1, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice. In 2023, Alonso moved to Aston Martin, where he has seen immense success, winning many podiums and achieving his 100th podium in his career, which he has since surpassed. The Spaniard has proved he never lost it.
Fernando Alonso uses the number 14 when he drives.
Alonso Statistics
| Podiums | 105 |
| Points | 2229 |
| Highest Race Finish | 1(x32) |
| Highest Grid Position | 1 |
Lance Stroll
Since a young child, Lance Stroll has been interested in driving, and as a child, he quickly rose through the North American karting ranks. At 12 years old, Stroll was enrolled into the Ferrari Driver Academy. Beginning his F1 career at a young age, Lance Stroll has had quite the Formula One career so far, remaining one of the current longer-serving consistent racers on the grid. Stroll made his F1 debut with the Williams F1 team in 2017. Joining the team as a rookie, he proved his worth by gaining his maiden podium at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in his first season, making him the youngest rookie to do so.
Lance Stroll has had to rise through much speculation and negative press throughout the years due to his father’s business involvement in Formula One. This has often overshadowed a lot of Stroll’s performances. In 2019, Lance Stroll moved to Racing Point, which would later be rebranded as Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team, when Stroll’s father, Lawerence Stroll, bought a massive stake in the team. Lawrence Stroll is the current chairman of Aston Martin Racing. Lance Stroll has done well in the past few years, earning two more podiums in 2020. The Belgian-Canadian driver uses the number 18 when on the racing track.
Lance Stroll Statistics
| Podiums | 3 |
| Points | 241 |
| Highest Race Finish | 3(x3) |
| Highest Grid Position | 1 |
Reserve driver
A reserve driver is on standby during grand prix weekends to fill in in case one of the main drivers cannot drive for some reason. This can be due to illness, injury, or other reasons. Reserve drivers can often be seen at Grand Prix if needed. Being a reserve driver is an excellent way for drivers to work their way into that much-wanted driver’s seat potentially.
In November 2022, Stoffel Vandoorne was confirmed as a test and reserve driver. The Belgian drove for Mercedes in the same role for many years. Aston Martin has also set up their development programme this year, recruiting F2 champion Felipe Drugovich. The Brazilian-Italian driver has been given great opportunities this season, driving in pre-season testing, season-openings and FP1.
Sebastian Vettel
We can’t mention Aston Martin and not mention one of their previous drivers. A man who needs no introduction, Sebastian Vettel drove for Aston Martin for their first two years back on the grid before he retired at the end of the 2022 season. The German driver has had quite the Formula One career and will go down in F1 history as one of the most significant drivers on the grid. Vettel saw great success when driving for Red Bull Racing. For four consecutive years from 2010 to 2013, Vettel won four World Drivers’ Championships in a row. This put him up with F1 legends like Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio.
Vettel quickly made a name in F1 and became known for his dominant and skilful driving. After his success with Red Bull, the German driver also spent some time with Scuderia Ferrari, and he performed well, winning many races and podiums. Aston Martin was the last F1 team that Vettel drove for before he retired. Throughout his career, Vettel won 53 races, had 122 podiums, 57 poles, and 38 fastest laps. He raced 299 races during his F1 career and scored 3098 points.
Aston Martin F1 Car 2023
Aston Martin changed things with the AMR23 for the 2023 season, with 95% of the new car being wholly changed from the AMR22. This aggressive change matches the hope of improving Aston Martins’s performance for the new season. With a whole new team of engineers and staff, it is no surprise that the AMR23 had a stark difference from their other cars.
Aston Martin decided not to use a centre-loaded front wing this season and instead to load it more outside. Aston kept their two-element pitot tube, with the lower one measuring air direction and the upper one measuring airspeed. The AMR23 has large, down-washing side pods with a considerable undercut. The AMR23 has done quite a good job this season, helping the drivers achieve Aston Martins’s best season. What do you think of Aston Martin’s new car, the AMR23, and what are your opinions on its impressive performance thus far in the season?
Aston Martin F1 Team Achievements
The Aston Martin F1 team has not been involved in Formula One for a very long time, but during their time on the track, they have made a name for themselves, especially this season. Out of the 63 races they entered, they started at 62. They have yet to win a race, but this season has seen them getting very close on several occasions.
So far, they have had 8 podiums, with Fernando Alonso being a great contributor to this tally. They have had 347 points, with 215 points being from the 2023 season alone, and it is still not finished. They have had one fastest lap. Although Aston Martin has not had any big wins, I don’t think it will be long before we see this, as they have been very prominent in 2023, placing third place at the time of writing this article.
Aston Martin F1 Merchandise
If you are a fan of the Aston Martin Formula One team and are looking for some merchandise to show your support, we have compiled a list of stores allowing you to buy as much merch as you want. Below is a list of all the best websites where you can get Aston Martin Merchandise to show everyone exactly who you support on the F1 grid. You can choose from many Aston Martin F1 items, from clothing to keyrings to memorabilia.
FANS Brand
Fans Brand is a brilliant website that sells all Motorsport merchandise including Aston Martin merch. They also have exceptional discounts throughout the year, such as 10- 40% off, making it an excellent option for more expensive merchandise you want. Fans can buy Aston Martin jackets, sweatshirts, t-shirts, polo shirts, caps and pants here. If you have an Aston Marti F1 fan, the Aston Martin F1 gifts section is a great stocking filler for Christmas, Birthdays or other occasions. You can get water bottles, lanyards, umbrellas, bags and cups here. Prices can vary from the mid-20s up to and over €200.
Aston Martin Merchandise
On this website, fans can buy Aston Martin F1 team clothing. Aston Martin has a clothing brand partnership with Kimoa x AMF1, where fans can buy hoodies, windbreakers, sweaters, polos and t-shirts. The websites have men’s, women’s, and kids’ clothing, so many sizes and designs exist. It also sells accessories such as cups, pens, bags and flags, and they make a selection of caps. There is free shipping on items over £80. Fans can be kitted out with the iconic green colouring of the Aston Martin team
Aston Martin F1 Media
You have plenty of media options if you want to keep up to date with the Aston Martin F1 team’s progress and news throughout the year. For any F1 fan, there is the option to listen to the podcast F1:Beyond the Grid to hear exclusive interviews with Aston Martin drivers and team members.
Website
The Aston Martin website regularly uploads press releases, keeping fans updated on qualifying performances, grand prix results, and upcoming races. Fans can also read about Aston Martin partnerships and accreditations. The Aston Martin page is up to date with all the statistics you need and gives quotes from drivers and team members on how they feel about upcoming and previous races. This gives fans an insight into Stroll and Alonso’s feelings surrounding their performance and the team’s performance.
Social Media
The Aston Martin F1 team is also on many social media accounts, so you can follow them on your preferred application.
Aston Martin F1 team post regular updates about their progression in Formula One
The Instagram account @astonmartinf1 posts many updates about the team daily. The media team allows followers to see incredible photos from behind the scenes of the racers and the Aston Martin team. They often upload videos from the drivers, including reserve drivers, with mini-interviews shown on their grid. The account also updates fans with the qualifying results and races on its stories.
The behind-the-scenes video clips from the pit show all team members’ passion for the team. Aston Martin’s Instagram link gives fans direct access to other pages, campaigns, and material. Instagram has 3.8 million followers and over 5,780 posts.
The Aston Martin Twitter account @astonmartinf1 uploads many posts similar to those on Instagram but with extra content included. The Aston Martin media team uploads posts with quotes that drivers have said to make sure fans do not miss a word said. The Aston Martin Twitter page gives more up-to-date information during races, uploading the drivers’ positioning every few laps. They also document pitstops and other activities/reactions happening inside the pit. The Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Team have a big following, with 2.1 million people using the app to keep up with the team’s progress and updates.
The Aston Martin team’s Facebook page has the same vibe as its Instagram account. It uploads results and some behind-the-scenes photos, but unlike the Twitter or Instagram pages, it doesn’t get updates on results and positionings as they happen. Regardless, it is still a good social media page for seeing updates on the Aston Martin F1 team and what is happening within the team. The Facebook page has 1.2 million loyal followers who like to regularly keep up to date with the team.
TikTok
Do you enjoy watching videos? Is TikTok your primary media source? Well, maybe you should follow the Aston Martin F1 team’s page to get some extra Aston Martin content. Here, you will get exclusive videos of the drivers and can ask the drivers and team questions via comments during the live event. Through these videos, you can see exactly what Aston Martin is like as a team. This is a must-follow for Aston Martin fans who live for behind-the-scenes footage. TikTok has an incredible 1.6 million followers and an impressive 30 million likes, making the TikTok page quite popular.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Aston Martin F1 Team has shown impressive growth and determination in pursuing excellence in Formula 1. With a strong foundation built on engineering innovation, strategic partnerships, and a clear ambition to compete at the highest level, the team is steadily making its mark on the sport. As they continue to push boundaries with their technical development and driver performances, Aston Martin F1 is poised to become a significant force in the years ahead. Their commitment to success reflects the rich heritage of Aston Martin as a brand and the dynamic future they are carving out in motorsport.
If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested in other F1 articles on our page, such as Haas F1, Alfa Romeo F1 Team, Scuderia Ferrari, and Drive to Survive.