ASTON MARTIN RETURNS TO F1 AFTER 60+ YEARS
Aston Martin is returning to Formula One in 2021 for the first time in over 60 years. Better known for its achievements in sports car racing, Aston Martin also has a fascinating Grand Prix history. The first Aston Martin Grand Prix car, commissioned by Count Louis Zborowski (a fabulously wealthy son of a Polish Count and an American heiress) debuted in 1922 at the 2.0-litre French Grand Prix in Strasbourg, but the untimely death of Zborowski in 1924 signalled the beginning of the end for Aston Martin’s first foray into top flight motorsport.
The 1950s saw a return for Aston Martin to the Grand Prix circuit, the DBR4 being tested as early as 1957, although it was not until May 1959 that the car made its competition debut at the BRDC International Trophy event, run to Formula 1 rules. Despite being driven by some of the star names of the era, Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby among them, the front-engined DBR4 was out of step with the new mid-engined competition and failed to mirror in Formula 1 the success that its DBR1 cousin famously achieved in the sports car arena. After a disappointing debut for its successor, the DBR5, Aston Martin withdrew from top-flight single-seater motorsport in 1960.
In more recent years, and after a break of nigh on half a century, the Aston Martin wings returned to Formula 1 paddocks around the world as the company became title sponsor and technical partner of Red Bull Racing, a relationship that has also spawned the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar which is due to enter production in 2021. And now the luxury brand is busy preparing a return to the grid in 2021 with the Aston Martin F1 Team. In February, the team will reveal its 2021 F1 car and livery, which includes fourtime Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel and multiple Grand Prix podium finisher, Lance Stroll.