Aston Martin has launched its first Formula 1 car since 1960 with the unveiling of the AMR21.
The former Racing Point team has been rebranded by team owner Lawrence Stroll, who is also majority shareholder in Aston Martin Lagonda. The Canadian billionaire joined host Gemma Arterton in a glamorous launch event that was streamed online, with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll taking the covers — a giant British flag — off the AMR21 that features the iconic British Racing Green livery,
The launch was a star-studded affair with Tom Brady and Daniel Craig — who drives multiple Aston Martin road cars in the James Bond franchise — also making appearances.
The AMR21 will make its first on-track appearance on Thursday, with Vettel and Stroll shaking down the Mercedes-powered car at Silverstone.
The new car also features a new chassis as technical director Andy Green confirmed where the development tokens had been spent over the winter, as the team also utilizes the 2020 Mercedes rear end.
“Yes, it was a chassis change but no, I can’t divulge the reasons why we changed the chassis,” Green said. “I think for the rear end and the gearbox is something that had been planned for a long time so we had a lot of warning — we had a lot of data upfront on what the rear end looked like, so the integration started relatively early for this car. It wasn’t a shock.
“We had plenty of time to plan for it, plenty of time to develop around it. I’d say we adapted the car to suit. The good thing is it moves us into the direction we wanted to go in anyway which is great. We haven’t run the car yet so I can’t say if it’s going to be completely seamless or not but so far it’s been absolutely fine. “