Constant readers, I have a convoluted tale to tell you. It really should be simple — Aston Martin is a British luxury car manufacturer, and like many other luxury car manufacturers, they finance an associated Formula One team. However, while the story more or less stops there for other teams like Ferrari, Aston Martin’s is a long tale of swift business deals and name confusion that has only just begun to resolve into a cohesive identity.
A short sidebar: Formula One teams often go through slight name changes depending on majority stakes and brand deals. However, rarely does a team go through this many dramatic changes.
Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team (the extraordinarily descriptive full title) has its roots in the mostly-forgotten Jordan Grand Prix team, which competed under that name between 1991 and 2005. Jordan was successful at carving out a niche for themselves as being simultaneously easygoing and fiercely competitive. However, Jordan was sold in 2005 to Midland Group, who promptly renamed the team. This stint lasted a whole two years, until MF1 was sold to Dutch manufacturer Spyker, who renamed the team again. Spyker’s ownership only lasted for the 2007 season, at the end of which the team was sold to Force India (a team-up between two businessmen, Vijay Mallya and Michiel Mol) and… well, renamed. Force India struggled, but found a talent in Sergio Pérez, who carried the team to most of its podium finishes between 2014 and 2018.
In dramatic fashion, the story took another twist in 2018. Vijay Mallya became the subject of a fraud investigation serious enough to have him arrested in London and extradited to India, facing creditors he couldn’t pay back. In the wake of this news, Force India F1 was sold yet again to Racing Point UK, another collection of businessmen headed this time by Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, whose son Lance is now (not at all coincidentally) one of the drivers on the team. Racing Point F1 lasted until 2021, when Lawrence Stroll’s enormous investment into Aston Martin meant the team could rebrand yet again into the name it carries today. Pérez was replaced with Sebastian Vettel, a sweet new green livery was revealed, and the team seems to be mostly settled on its own two feet.
So what does this lengthy history have to do with anything?
Renaming this team to something recognizable goes a very long way in a sport like F1. Titans of the sport are intrinsically linked to their cars or brands: Mercedes, Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren. Other teams, like Williams, have a history behind their name that evokes their long tenure and history with F1. Aston Martin had neither of these prior to their latest name change. Besides their time as Force India, this team has had a completely unsettled identity since 2005, with name and ownership changes every few years. It’s only a name, but being Aston Martin F1 means something — it’s slick, it’s suave, and it’s pure British racing.
In between horror movie marathons and arthritis-inducing embroidery sessions, Maecyn likes to correct the grammar of unsuspecting journalists. She’s currently pursuing a BA in History and a career in library science, which makes her the official ambassador for cardigan-wearers everywhere.
