For the first time in sixty years, Aston Martin iconic wings are returning to Formula 1 as main characters. The famous British sports car manufacturer last raced in F1 back in 1960.  

The iconic manufacturer was close to a partnership with Force India in 2015, before ultimately re-entering the series as a title sponsor and technical partner with Red Bull Racing. That was a quite successful relationship, yielding James Bond’s carmaker increased exposure for the brand.  

The dream of coming back as a team remained and is now set to become a reality thanks to Lawrence Stroll, who led a consortium to invest heavily in the automotive manufacturer, thus allowing the re-branding of Racing Point team into Aston. 

Fans and teams together are eager to find out about the new Aston Martin’s car and 2021 livery, which will be revealed at a launch event in their headquarters in Gaydon, in the UK, in March. For the occasion, they will also present their new driver line-up with the four-times World Champion Sebastian Vettel, and three-time podium finisher Lance Stroll. 

With the new name, a new title sponsor – the IT giant Cognizant –, and a four-time world champion replacing Sergio Perez alongside Lance Stroll, Aston is set to raise their game and to really challenge their rivals on the track. 

While the team’s name and main partners have changed, the management and operational team remained essentially unaltered – Indeed, the team principal Szafnauer believes that precisely thanks to new, committed shareholders, freshly injected resources, and an experienced team, they will have all the necessary ingredients to grow and compete for even more podiums than last year.  

If it wasn’t for 15 points being deducted as they were found guilty of copying certain components of the 2019 Mercedes car, Racing Point would have finished third in the constructors’ standings.

“Last year we did set our sights on third place all season,” said Szafnauer during an interview with RTL.

“Maybe McLaren can point to some bad luck they had, but I don’t think it was anywhere near the level we had.

“We should have been third. So this year it makes sense for us to focus on, and target, third place again.”

At the same time, we cannot avoid mentioning how well the entire team performed – despite having to miss some races due to both drivers testing positive to COVID-19.  Outgoing Racing Point driver Sergio Perez led the team to their first victory at the Sakhir Grand Prix last year, while 22-year-old Stroll had his best season in F1, taking a career-first pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix and podiums in Monza and Sakhir.  

We’re not crying, you’re crying 😭pic.twitter.com/0BbxZ4ZBH2

— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) December 6, 2020

Team boss  Szafnauer believes Aston Martin can finish ahead of McLaren this time around – and, hopefully, they’ll be able to close the ginormous gap to top two teams Mercedes and Red Bull. 

As Sebastian Vettel joins Lance Stroll in the driver line-up, team principal is confident Aston Martin has all the right components to do well.  On Vettel specifically, Szafnauer added: “We operate differently here and treat our drivers differently than the places he has come from”  

“He will raise the team to a different level and I'm sure it will be 1,000 little things that he will help us improve that can then take us to a new level, “I think he'll bring with him a World Champion work ethic and that's what we all want to learn from. 

While Vettel’s final season with Ferrari was anything but delightful – the German only scored 33 points and had several engine failures – Szafnauer believes that the four-time champion’s getting onboard will influence both the team and Stroll himself.

We're not saying that someone has been to the factory, but we're not, not saying that someone has been to the factory... 👀 #IAMF1 pic.twitter.com/OZCRqSx701

— Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 4, 2021

“Everyone's going to have to raise their game and he will be a great mentor for Lance too. He's still relatively young and very fast, and it’s great for Lance to learn from a four-time world champion.” Szafnauer commented about the German.   

Lance Stroll, who is only 22, is a young, talented, and hard-working driver, who enjoyed his best campaign to date last season.

“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, so we’re delighted with our 2021 line-up. It’s the ideal blend of experience, race-winning knowhow, and raw talent.” added Szafnauer

“We believe we have all the ingredients in place to compete for even more podiums and hopefully victories too,” said Szafnauer.

“We’ve earned a well-deserved reputation for punching above our weight, so we’re confident we can do the Aston Martin name proud right from the get-go.

“While the challenge was once establishing ourselves as the most efficient team on the grid, now there’s an exciting opportunity to establish ourselves as a top team, while still maintaining that efficiency, in order to add an exciting chapter to the Aston Martin legacy.”

Only time will tell whether the optimism and positive narrative surrounding the new team will be confirmed. For now, we’re just going to enjoy Aston Martin’s dreamy honeymoon.