There is a famous name returning to the Formula One grid in 2021, and it’s just not Schumacher and Alonso. 2021 will see the return of Aston Martin to the pinnacle of motorsport, some 60 years after they last took to the grid as a constructor.
They have been involved with the Red Bull Racing team for the past few seasons as title sponsor, but with the Racing Point name being rebranded as the historic British manufacturer, big things are expected from the Silverstone based team.
One major change at the team will be their driver line-up with four-time Formula One World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, joining the team for the 2021 campaign. He replaces Sergio Perez who claimed the team’s only victory to date in the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix.
Perez is making the switch to Red Bull Racing, replacing Alex Albon, who moves to the Test & Reserve driver for the team.
One big reason that we should be excited by Aston Martin is the progress the team has made over the past season and how the new regulations coming into play over the next two seasons will benefit them in their push for more race victories.
At pre-season testing in Barcelona ahead of the supposed start of the 2020 campaign, the team revealed a car that had striking similarities to that of the 2019 Mercedes, which won the World Championship. The team was given the nickname ‘The Pink Mercedes’ and were penalised 15 World Championship points for copying the brake ducts of the Mercedes car, along with a heavy fine.
They were allowed to compete in this car however and managed to score four podiums over the course of the season, which included a victory for Perez in Sakhir. Lance Stroll picked up a podium in Italy and Sakhir with Perez taking that victory and second place in Turkey.
With the new budget cap coming into play this is going to be a good time for Racing Point to really show why they have been one of the best teams on the grid for the money they have over the past few seasons.
The potential return of the British Racing Green to the F1 grid will be a sight many fans are looking forward to. The fact that they are the most recent British race-winning team will help them gain a few extra fans along the way.
Vettel is a very experienced driver and has been at the front-end of the grid for at least the past ten seasons and while 2020 wasn’t the best year for the German driver, he did have a car that was very underwhelming but still managed to stand on the podium in Turkey.
The money that Aston Martin and the team’s owner Laurance Stroll brings won’t be able to be used to a full extent with the budget cap, potentially leading to the team not creating the best car on the grid that would have been their long term aim. They do however have a history of working within a strict budget and this should pay dividends for them in the future.
If Laurance Stroll can keep putting in the investment into other aspects of the team that doesn’t come under the budget cap, while allowing the team to hit the maximum allowance to race under the budget cap, I think things might be very good for Aston Martin F1 going forward.