Lawrence Stroll has set his sights on making Racing Point a top team in Formula 1 when it becomes Aston Martin in 2021.
The Canadian entrepreneur recently purchased a 16.7 per cent stake in the British carmaker, with a rebranding of his F1 team included as part of the deal.
Initially, it appeared Racing Point would simply take on the Aston Martin name rather than become a full works team for the company, however, comments by CEO Otmar Szafnauer suggests otherwise.
“It’s significant news for Aston Martin and for Formula 1 itself,” the American said.
“As one of the most iconic sports car brands in the world, Aston Martin needed a presence on the F1 grid and this solution delivers a fully-fledged works Aston Martin F1 Team from 2021 onwards.
“It’s news that will excite fans around the world and will shine a spotlight on a brand that is widely regarded as Britain’s finest luxury sports car manufacturer.”
Szafnauer also believes the Aston deal brings great motivation and challenge to the current operation, who have had a rough few years after the financial issues of Force India in 2018.
“It certainly provides a real injection of energy for the 465 loyal and hard-working staff in Silverstone,” he continued.
“The team has been in business, under various names, for 30 years and is more than ready to become a manufacturer team.
“Lawrence spoke to the staff last week and set out a clear objective to establish Aston Martin as one of the top teams in the sport.
“Everyone is proud to represent a legendary car manufacturer returning to the pinnacle of motorsport.”
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In the meantime, however, the focus remains on continuing the progress that Racing Point has made over the past year, with expectations of a big jump up the midfield in 2020.
“There’s no immediate impact on our current campaign and we will continue to compete as Racing Point until the rebrand takes place at the start of the 2021 season,” Szafnauer said.
“From then we will be known simply as ‘Aston Martin F1 Team’ – so the Racing Point name will disappear.
“It’s exciting to transition into a manufacturer team and we’ve got the best part of a year to make all those changes – much of which will be happening behind-the-scenes.
“It’s important we don’t take our eyes off the main task for 2020, which is to be competitive on the racetrack with the RP20.”