Aston Martin has confirmed it is in discussions with multiple potential investors after RaceFans revealed Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll’s interest in the car manufacturer.
In a statement issued on Friday the company said it “notes recent press speculation” following the joint report by RaceFans and Autocar last week.“The company confirms that it is reviewing its funding requirements and various funding options,” it said.
“It is also engaged in early stage discussions with potential strategic investors in relation to building longer term relationships which may or may not involve an equity investment.
“A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.”
Aston Martin’s share price fell steadily after it floated on the London stock market last year. The company posted a loss of £80 million over the first six months of 2019.
The manufacturer became the title sponsor of Red Bull at the start of last season. However should Stroll buy into the business he is expected to turn the Formula 1 team he purchase last year into an Aston Martin-branded entry.
Aston Martin briefly flirted with entering Formula 1 as an engine manufacturer when the sport considered simplifying its engine format for 2021. It went cool on the move after the sport decided to retain its current power unit specification.
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Kiran Nesarajah (@nesarajah)
13th December 2019, 18:32
Brows in Bonds car.
I can see it happening.
But I don’t want to believe it.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
14th December 2019, 11:56
@nesarajah – LOL, I’ve never heard that nickname for Lance before, but I know exactly who you were referring to :)
DAllein (@)
13th December 2019, 19:06
Yes, yes!
Santa, please make it happen!
DAllein (@)
13th December 2019, 19:07
P.S. I tried to be really good this year!
Luke S (@joeypropane)
13th December 2019, 21:16
Having the Aston Martin brand devalued by Lance failing to get out of Q1 will be quite sad to see.
anon
13th December 2019, 22:12
@joeypropane, if you think that’s bad, it’s nothing compared to the embarrassment that was the AMR-One, Aston Martin’s disastrous attempt to develop an LMP1 car in 2011.
That car was a total disaster – the aerodynamics were hopelessly bad and extremely underdeveloped, the gearbox was lousy and the engine was a disaster. Dr Ullrich (Audi’s head of motorsport) was quoted as saying that the design of the engine on the AMR-One was “the most idiotic design I’ve ever seen in motorsport” – and given that the engine kept breaking all the time, he had a point.
The car was underpowered, slow in a straight line and little better in corners – it was the slowest LMP1 car by miles, with their best car being outqualified by 70% of the LMP2 field to boot, and the four laps which one of the cars managed to run in the race before it had a terminal engine failure was the most laps that the car had managed to run in a single stint at Le Mans as it kept breaking the pulleys for the alternator system.
There was a suggestion that the engine, which was meant to be producing 540bhp, was struggling to produce 300bhp – some, though, have suggested the car was so slow in a straight line simply because it had the aerodynamics of a brick. Either way, it’d be rather hard for Stroll to beat something which quite that embarrassingly bad.
Shimks (@shimks)
15th December 2019, 20:57
Very interesting. Thanks!
Flyingbasil
15th December 2019, 8:46
Devalue the brand? Aston Martin has been making slow overpriced cars for decades. Even with the new cars the just make slower versions of AMG cars. Their brand is built on bond films and style, not on speed.
Islander
13th December 2019, 21:55
They don’t sell cars, they sell dreams…
(That’s the argument they used to appeal to investors!!)
Qeki (@qeki)
13th December 2019, 21:58
Well if you think which name has more marketing value. Racing Point or Aston Martin. But if Aston will be on the grid I think they don’t want to fight positions between 7-15. In the end it’s a full car manufacturer like Toyota, Jaguar or Renault.
Phylyp (@phylyp)
14th December 2019, 11:57
Ah, they’re still spouting that, are they? They really are confusing cause and effect.
MEGATRON M12 (@megatron)
16th December 2019, 15:03
Both Merc and Ferrari were on public record saying that they would accept dropping the mguh and accepting the dumbed down liberty proposal for engines if there would be new entrants. There were no new entrants. Whoever wrote this above is peddling a false narrative and should fix it.
PT (@pt)
14th December 2019, 17:45
Gonna miss the pink livery…
The Dolphins
15th December 2019, 14:49
I’m actually interested to see how this works out. Dieter’s article last week on the subject was very informative and brings to light the possibility of Aston becoming a “b team” to Mercedes given their current commercial partnership outside of F1 and Stroll’s interest in moving the team in that direction (as my understanding is he was keen on Williams heading in that direction)
Nimba (@nimba)
22nd December 2019, 1:00
Just bring back the name Force India and the team will be boosted to top 4 again . It hurts to see Mallya’s legacy being wiped out . I hope he comes out strong, buys of the Stroll-Aston Martin if it happens ( like Tata did with JLR from Ford) and bring back the tricolor to F1.. I know that dream is far-fetched, but I really hope so