Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Motor racing |
Founded | 2 August 2018 in the United Kingdom as Racing Point UK Limited |
Founder | Lawrence Stroll |
Headquarters | , England, UK |
Number of employees | 800 [1] |
AMR GP, officially AMR GP Limited (formerly Racing Point UK Limited) is a British company that owns and operates the Aston Martin F1 Team, a Formula One racing team based in Silverstone, England. The company was established in August 2018 to buy the Formula One racing assets of the financially stricken Force India Formula One Team. Following its acquisition of the team assets just before the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, it competed in that race, and for the rest of the 2018 season, as the Racing Point Force India Formula One Team, continuing to use the constructor's title of Force India. For the 2019 season the team was renamed to Racing Point F1 Team and went onwards competing with Racing Point as its constructor's title, until the rebranding of the team into Aston Martin in 2021.
On 27 July 2018, after running Force India Formula One Team for eleven seasons, Force India Formula One Team Limited was placed into administration. [2]
By 2 August 2018 an investment consortium led by Lawrence Stroll, the father of former Williams driver Lance Stroll, and which included André Desmarais, Jonathan Dudman, John D. Idol, John McCaw Jr., Michael de Picciotto and Silas Chou, and supported by the team's senior management personnel, had set up a new company, Racing Point UK Limited, to use as a vehicle to save the team. [3] By 23 August 2018, the new company had reached an agreement with the administrators to buy the team's motor racing assets and to secure the jobs of the 400 employees who worked in the team. [2] [4] The new company created a new constructor with the assets and entered the sport prior to the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix, taking the vacated entry of the original Force India team. [5]
The personnel roles remained largely unchanged in the new team, other than that of Robert Fernley, who stood down from his Force India role of deputy team principal, and Otmar Szafnauer who became team principal and CEO after being chief operating officer with Force India since 2010. [6]
On 23 August 2018, the F1 governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) reached an agreement with Racing Point UK that they could take over the Force India 2018 season championship entry, but they would not inherit any of Force India's 59 points or the prize money that they had accrued so far in the season. [2] So, as the Racing Point Force India Formula One Team and using the constructor name Force India, the team entered its first Grand Prix, the 2018 Belgian Grand Prix which took place on 26 August 2018, with zero points. [2]
The original Force India's two drivers, Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon, remained with the team and were able to continue their challenge for the drivers' championship, keeping all the points that they had already won in the season. [7] [8]
The Racing Point Force India Formula One Team competed in the last nine Grands Prix of the season, amassing 52 points, and finishing seventh overall in the 2018 constructors' championship.
In November 2018, the company changed the name of its team to Racing Point F1 Team and the constructor name to Racing Point when it registered its 2019 entries with the FIA. [9] SportPesa became the team's title sponsor, [10] and Esteban Ocon was replaced by Lance Stroll in the team's driver lineup. [11] In 2020, BWT became the new title sponsor of the team. [12] [13] At the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, Pérez gave Racing Point their first win as a constructor and as a legal entity while Stroll also finished on the podium with his 3rd-place finish. [14] [15] This was the first time any incarnation of the team had won a race since Jordan won the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix. [16] It was the fifth Grand Prix victory for any incarnation of the team. [17]
Racing Point UK was renamed AMR GP and entered into the 2021 F1 season through its operation of Aston Martin's Formula One team with Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll as their drivers. [18] Vettel replaced Sergio Pérez in the team's driver lineup. [19] [20] As part of the rebrand, the team switched their racing colour of BWT pink to a modern iteration of Aston Martin's British racing green. [21] [22] The Aston Martin AMR21 was unveiled in March 2021 and became Aston Martin's first Formula One car after a 61-year absence from the sport. [23] [24] [25] Vettel earned Aston Martin's first podium by finishing second in the 2021 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. [26] [27]
In January 2022, Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer left after having spent 12 years with the team. [28] [29] [30] Mike Krack, who had previously worked on BMW and Porsche motorsport teams, was announced as his replacement in the same month. [31] [32] Vettel retired following the conclusion of the 2022 season. [33] [34] Fernando Alonso, a former two-time World Champion, is his replacement for 2023 on a multi-year contract. [35] Cognizant became the team's title sponsor in 2021, [36] [37] and Aramco became a joint title sponsor in 2022. [38] [39] In December 2023, Aramco signed a new five-year agreement to become an exclusive title sponsor for the team, while Cognizant would remain as a strategic partner. [40] [41]
Aston Martin have a new 37,000 m2 (400,000 sq ft) factory at their Silverstone base. Construction began in September 2021. [42] [43] [44] The factory features three interconnected buildings and is based in a 40-acre (16 ha) site directly opposite the Silverstone circuit. [45] Building One will serve as the main building housing the team's design, manufacturing, and marketing resources. Building Two will redevelop and repurpose the original factory premises as a central hub with staff amenities and will also serve as a logistics centre. Building Two is set to house the team's wellness centre, auditorium, simulator and heritage facility, while Building Three will contain the new wind tunnel. [46] [47] [48]
By March 2023, the number of staff had grown from 400 to 800. [49] In November 2023, private equity firm Arctos Partners acquired a minority stake, based on a valuation of about £1 billion. [50] [51] [52] Adrian Newey, who left Red Bull Racing in May 2024, is due to join Aston Martin on 1 March 2025, in time for the 2026 regulations. Newey also became a major shareholder of Aston Martin. [53] [54]
Year | Name | Car | Engine | Tyres | No. | Drivers | Points | WCC |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Force India | ||||||||
2018 | Racing Point Force India F1 Team | VJM11 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M09 EQ Power+ 1.6 V6 t | P | 11. 31. | Sergio Pérez Esteban Ocon | 52 | 7th |
Racing Point | ||||||||
2019 | SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team | RP19 | BWT Mercedes 1.6 V6 t | P | 11. 18. | Sergio Pérez Lance Stroll | 73 | 7th |
2020 | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | RP20 | BWT Mercedes 1.6 V6 t | P | 11. 18. 27. | Sergio Pérez Lance Stroll Nico Hülkenberg | 195 | 4th |
Aston Martin | ||||||||
2021 | Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team | AMR21 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M12 E Performance 1.6 V6 t | P | 5. 18. | Sebastian Vettel Lance Stroll | 77 | 7th |
2022 | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | AMR22 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M13 E Performance 1.6 V6 t | P | 5. 18. 27. | Sebastian Vettel Lance Stroll Nico Hülkenberg | 55 | 7th |
2023 | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | AMR23 | Mercedes-AMG F1 M14 E Performance 1.6 V6 t | P | 14. 18. | Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll | 280 | 5th |
2024 | Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team | AMR24 | Mercedes F1 M15 E Performance 1.6 V6 t | P | 14. 18. | Fernando Alonso Lance Stroll | 94 | 5th |
Otmar Marin Szafnauer is a Romanian and American engineer. He served as Team Principal of the Alpine F1 Team until the 2023 Belgian Grand Prix.
Lance Strulovitch, commonly known as Lance Stroll, is a Canadian racing driver, who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin.
BWT, registered name BWT AG, is an Austrian manufacturing company of water treatment systems with its headquarters in Mondsee.
Lawrence Sheldon Strulović, known as Lawrence Stroll, is a Canadian businessman, part-owner and executive chairman of Aston Martin, and the owner of the Aston Martin F1 Team. According to Forbes, he has a net worth of US$3.9 billion, as of March 2024.
The 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars and the 69th running of the Formula One World Championship. Formula One is recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed in twenty-one Grands Prix for the World Drivers' and World Constructors' championship titles.
The 2018 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 August 2018 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Stavelot, Belgium. The race was the thirteenth round of the 2018 Formula One World Championship and marked the 74th running of the Belgian Grand Prix and the 61st time the race was held at Spa-Francorchamps and 51st time as a round of the World Championship.
The Force India VJM11 is a Formula One racing car designed and constructed by Force India to compete during the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship. The car was driven by Sergio Pérez and Esteban Ocon, and made its competitive début at the 2018 Australian Grand Prix. Following the bankruptcy of the Force India team, the Force India assets were purchased—including the VJM11 design and built cars—by a new team, Racing Point Force India, who continued to enter the VJM11 under the Force India name.
The 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 72nd running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over twenty-two Grands Prix, and held around the world. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of Formula One World Champion Driver and Formula One World Champion Constructor, respectively.
Racing Point Force India Formula One Team was the title under which Racing Point UK made a late entry into the 2018 Formula One World Championship. The team used the constructor name "Force India", competed under a British licence and was based in Silverstone, United Kingdom.
The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship was the motor racing championship for Formula One cars which was the 71st running of the Formula One World Championship. It marked the 70th anniversary of the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship. The championship was recognised by the governing body of international motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. Drivers and teams competed for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively.
The Racing Point RP19 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Racing Point F1 Team, to compete in the 2019 Formula One World Championship. It is the first car built by Racing Point after their purchase of the Force India Formula One Team assets in August 2018. The RP19 was driven by Sergio Pérez and Lance Stroll and made its competitive debut at the 2019 Australian Grand Prix.
Racing Point F1 Team, which competed as BWT Racing Point F1 Team and commonly known as Racing Point, was a British motor racing team and constructor that Racing Point UK entered into the Formula One World Championship. The team was based in Silverstone, England and competed under a British licence.
The Racing Point RP20 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Racing Point F1 Team, to compete in the 2020 Formula One World Championship. It is the second car built by the team, and was the team's last car to be launched under the Racing Point name, as the team rebranded as Aston Martin for the 2021 Formula One World Championship. The RP20 was driven by Sergio Pérez, Lance Stroll, and Nico Hülkenberg.
Aston Martin is a British car manufacturer that has participated in Formula One in various forms and is currently represented by a team named as Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team. The company first participated in Formula One during the 1959 season, where they debuted the DBR4 chassis using their own engine, but it failed to score any points. They continued to perform poorly through the 1960 season, once again failing to score any points. As a result, Aston Martin decided to leave Formula One after 1960.
The 2022 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 July 2022 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in Le Castellet, France.
Alpine F1 Team, currently racing as BWT Alpine F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, is the name under which the Enstone-based Formula One team has been competing since the start of the 2021 Formula One World Championship. Formerly named Renault F1 Team and owned by the French automotive company Groupe Renault as well as Renault–Nissan–Mitsubishi Alliance, the team was rebranded for 2021 to promote Renault's sports car brand, Alpine, and continues to serve as Renault's works team, a position the team will keep until Renault pulls out of Formula One after 2025. The chassis and managerial side of the team is based in Enstone, Oxfordshire, England, and the Renault-branded engine side of the team is based in Viry-Châtillon, a suburb of Paris, France. The team competes with a French licence.
The Aston Martin AMR21 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Aston Martin Formula One team, that competed in the 2021 Formula One World Championship. This was the first car to be entered by the returning Aston Martin team. The car was driven by Sebastian Vettel and Lance Stroll. Vettel, who has made a habit of naming his cars since his days at Toro Rosso, named his car "Honey Ryder" in reference to Ursula Andress' character in the 1962 James Bond movie Dr. No.
Mike Krack is a Luxembourgish motorsports engineer. He worked at BMW Sauber F1 as the chief engineer, at Porsche WEC team as head of track engineering, and at BMW M as the Head of Engineering, Operations and Organization for Racing and Testing. He also had stints in Formula Three and DTM. In 2022, he became the team principal of Aston Martin Formula One Team. On 10 January 2025, it was announced Krack had effectively been demoted to Chief Trackside Engineer with Andy Cowell taking over as team principal.
The Aston Martin AMR22 is a Formula One racing car designed and developed by the Aston Martin F1 team to compete in the 2022 Formula One World Championship.