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Aston Martin returns to Formula 1 under the new ownership of Lawrence Stroll as four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll look to stamp their mark among the front-runners.
Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team
Aston Martin will return to F1 this year when the season is kicked off in Bahrain. The British manufacture began its legacy in top-flight motorsport, 107 years ago.
Stroll’s team has returned after 60 years out of the sport, they made their debut in the sport in June 1922 after having previous success in hillclimbing courses.
Aston Martin secured several podiums in the sport with a standout result of second at the Grand Prix de Penya Rhin. Just 20 years later, they won again at the 1946 Belgium Grand Prix event.
St John Horsfall lead the team to victory before more impressively winning again two years later this time in the 24-hour event as he and co-driver Leslie Johnson claimed first position. The English manufacturer withdrew from top-flight single-seater motorsport in 1960.
More recently, after being out of the sport for half a century, the manufacturer returned to some extent when they became the title sponsor of Red Bull Racing.
Sebastian Vettel
The German began his F1 career testing for BMW’s F1 Team before making his debut at Toro Rosso taking over from Scott Speed following the European Grand Prix in 2007. It was in 2008 where Vettel made a name for himself as he dominated a wet Italian Grand Prix, taking both pole position and the win as he became the youngster driver to win a Formula 1 race.
At this point, he was confirmed as David Coulthard’s successor as he moved to Red Bull in 2009. Throughout his five-year tenure with the team, he won four World Championships picking up more than 50 pole positions and race victories, ranking him statistically speaking above many of the biggest names in F1 history as he became famous for his wagging finger, a signature move of victory.
The 33-year old moved to Ferrari in 2015 as he looked to emulate the great Michael Schumacher however, his mission did not go as planned.
He fought for the title in both 2017 and 2018 but the outcome was the same as Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton piped the German as several errors as well as the loss of the development race meant that the prancing horse’s found themselves second best. Then came an addition of young-gun Charles Leclerc, who was the first man to outscore Vettel over a season at the Scuderia.
The German left Ferrari as he embarks on a new challenge as Aston Martin’s team leader. Vettel will need to call on all his speed and experience if he’s to project this team to the front of the field as he looks to re-establish his reputation as one of the sport’s all-time greats after a poor 2020 campaign at Ferrari.
Lance Stroll
Lance Stroll was unveiled shortly after his 18th birthday by Williams as the Canadian became the second youngster driver to race in Formula 1. It was his reputation of his sensational wet weather driving as well his immense financial backing that attracted Williams as the teenager made his debut in 2017.
The 22-year-old claimed several records in his rookie season as he pounced upon the chance of making it onto the podium in Baku making him the youngest rookie to do so. Later in the season, he mastered the downpours at Monza to become the youngest driver in history to line up on the front row alongside Lewis Hamilton.
His father Lawrence took over Force India in 2018 as it was rebranded to Racing Point, with Lance making the switch in 2019.
Stroll struggled throughout the season as he failed to extract the same pace out of the car as experienced teammate Sergio Perez. However, 2020 was a different outcome as he enjoyed his best season in the sport picking up his maiden pole position at the Turkish Grand Prix as well as podiums at both the Italian and Sakhir Grand Prix.
As the team rebrand as Aston Martin in 2021, Stroll will be the longest servant of the team and will have the knowledge of last year’s car so he will have a key role within the team. Four-time world Sebastian Vettel will be a good reference for the Canadian starlet.
Prediction for the season
Given that the team decided early on last year to focus on the development of the 2021 car, a step forward will be expected from Aston Martin this year with a new title sponsor providing a lot more cash flow compared to the Racing Point team. Despite being the third quickest car last year, they finished fourth in the Constructors because of retirements that were forced upon the team.
Aston Martin will hope to finish fifth in this year’s Constructors’ Championship although it will be a tough battle between themselves, Ferrari and McLaren. It would not be a surprise if they finished third as the three teams remain separated by fine margins throughout the year, it will be key that inroads are made on champions Mercedes.
Four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel has made the switch to Aston Martin leaving Ferrari after a disappointing season where the German struggled to get on top of the handful of a Scuderia. Vettel made the switch to embark on a new long term project and will be looking to ‘enjoying’ racing which for him is at the front of the field.
Vettel should be in a four-way fight for fifth in the Drivers’ Championship with the likes of Daniel Ricciardo, Leclerc and Carlos Sainz. It will be a matter of how quickly Vettel can adapt to new machinery as his raw pace is undoubtedly one of his strengths but he has struggled to adapt to some cars in the past.
Lance Stroll will be taking a step up in the team this year as he has knowledge of previous cars from the team and he will be able to make a comparison between them. It is a big year as the Canadian is expected to make further on-track performances as he finished 50 points off his teammate last year.
Lance Stroll will finish in and around tenth in the Championship as he will likely fail to match the performances of teammate Vettel however, he may find himself battling two-time world champion Fernando Alonso. It’s a question of consistency with the 22-year old as his pace and wet weather expertise are not doubted, he needs to string together a consistent season this year.
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