Racing Point in Aston Martin colours

Deal agreed for Racing Point to become Aston Martin F1 team

2020 F1 season

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The Racing Point F1 team is set to be renamed as Aston Martin in 2021 after its owner Lawrence Stroll agreed a £182 million deal to buy into the manufacturer.

RaceFans revealed last month in conjunction with Autocar that the billionaire was considering buying into the luxury brand whose share price has fallen since it floated on the London stock exchange in 2018.

Under the terms of the deal, details of which were published in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Racing Point will become the works Aston Martin team in Formula 1 in 2021. A 10-year initial deal has been agreed under which Aston Martin will receive equity in the Silverstone-based team.

Aston Martin’s current title sponsorship deal with Red Bull, believed to be worth around $20 million, will end after this season. The manufacturer has agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with Racing Point on similar commercial terms.

The technology partnership between Aston Martin and Red Bull will continue until it has completed deliveries of the Valkyrie, a hypercar developed in conjunction with the Formula 1 team.

Red Bull confirmed it has “agreed to release Aston Martin from its Formula 1 exclusivity clause which in turn has allowed it to generate the necessary investment required to re-finance and pursue alternative opportunities within the sport”. The first Valkyries will be delivered by the end of the year, it added.

Stroll led a consortium which purchased the assets of Racing Point from its previous owners in mid-2018 after it went into administration. He will take a seat on Aston Martin’s board following the latest investment, which will see him take a 16.7% stake in the manufacturer.

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“I am very pleased that I, and my partners in the consortium, have reached agreement with the board and major shareholders to make this significant long-term investment,” said Stroll. The stock exchange filing indicates other members of the consortium, which Stroll will lead, include many of the same names who joined his purchase of Force India in 2018.

Red Bull, Singapore, 2016
The deal spells the end of Red Bull’s Aston Martin tie-up
“Aston Martin Lagonda makes some of the world’s most iconic luxury cars, designed and built by very talented people,” Stroll continued. ” Our investment announced today underpins the Company’s financial security and ensures it will be operating from a position of financial strength.

“On completion of the £500m of fundraising I look forward to working with the Board and management team in Aston Martin Lagonda to review and improve each aspect of the company’s operations and marketing; to continue to invest in the development of new models and technologies and to start to rebalance production to prioritise demand over supply.

“I, and my partners, firmly believe that Aston Martin is one of the great global luxury car brands. I believe that this combination of capital and my experience of both the motor industry and building highly successful global brands will mean that, over time, we fulfil Aston Martin Lagonda’s potential.”

Aston Martin Lagonda president and Group CEO Andy Palmer said Stroll’s arrival to the company “brings strong and proven expertise in both automotive and luxury brands more widely which we believe will be of significant benefit to Aston Martin Lagonda.”

“I would like to thank Red Bull Racing, who we will continue to sponsor this year, for their partnership and support in us being able to say this today,” he added.

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2020 F1 season

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46 comments on “Deal agreed for Racing Point to become Aston Martin F1 team”

  1. So this means no buyin into Mercedes (F1) so those rumours we can dis.

    1. Not at all. Merc parent Daimler is a shareholder in Aston Martin parent company.

      1. It is certainly a compelling moment. Will Mercedes share more technical information about engine structure etc rather than “here’s your engine”. With Aston Martin being part owned by Mercedes, they will be running their engine rather than being tied to Redbull.
        I’m expecting big things. It will be interesting to see Mercedes’ intentions on their works team as they can effectively tie up with racing point.

        1. Very intriguing especially when considering the fact that Mercedes might leave F1 at the end of the season.

      2. Except that Ola Kallenius has directly denied the report when asked at an event in Berlin, saying “Not true.” RTL have also sited sources from within the team saying the report is “simply wrong.”

      3. isn’t that worth 5% only?

        and that would mean Lawrence would buy into Aston martin, rebrand RP and have another team in the Merc Strucutre?

        does’t make sence

        also Kallenius has denied it as Paul says

      4. Mr. Dieter, or should I say “Mercedes Enemy number one” after this string of stories! Hah. I am glad you got this one dead on!
        They say this buy-in still does not exclude Stroll from buying into Mercedes so watch this space!

  2. This is going to be really interesting. I am looking forward to see what contribution Lawrence makes to Aston Martin.
    On the other hand, I suspect Racing Point are going to see a little bit more of the tough “business man” Lawrence Stroll.

    1. Certainly, Lance needs to deliver. This is no longer about providing his Son with a race seat but saving Aston Martin and also turning a profit for others. Points mean prizes and Lance needs to get his bum in gear.

  3. A big shakeup of F1 might be on the cards. Mercedes may go, or step back to being an engine supplier – we’ll find out in a couple of weeks – and Red Bull will be considering its future too. Honda’s involvement is also at risk.

  4. Does this make Lance the man who will put the ass into Aston?

    1. @paul hahahahaha gud 1

  5. Bravo, both sides! Seems to be a true win-win.

  6. Say what you will about Lance and his presence on the grid but his Dad has saved a really important team on the grid, these amazing team members who have built strong cars on tight budgets now have the funding. Last year’s racing point was a catch up game, this year I expect them p4 again, ahead of Mclaren.

    1. doubt it. I think McLaren will challenge RedBull for P3 this year, I don’t think they’ll make it, but they’ll be close… just my prediction

      1. I think the difference will be the engine.

      2. @nickthegreek
        Hahahahahaha, when hell freezes over right?
        McLaren isn’t come close to third, and neither is Red Bull.
        After the season we’ll both have a laugh at how far fromreality your prediction was :)

        1. ok, maybe you’re right. i just want the season to start already, haha

          1. Tell me about it. I love the midfield championship. Not long now Nick.

      3. Mclaren will improve but the gap between being 4th fastest and 3rd fastest team in f1 is huge. Mclaren wasn’t even clearly the 4th fastest team in every race, they just finished in the top of the F1.5 division more often than the rest. Red bull was easily 3rd fastest in every race and occasionally the fastest. To catch up with red bull mclaren needs to first dominate the mid field first which also should be their goal (along with getting closer to rbr) for this season.

  7. I thought Aston Martin had major financial difficulties, running into red for a number years with skyrocketing debt?

    (for reference: https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-7503801/Aston-Martin-shares-skid-red-raises-150m-pricey-bond-deal.html)

    1. They do, hence Strolls involvement. He runs the f1 team and is now a shareholder in Aston martin. 2 seperate entities but one which allows the Aston name to used

    2. Exactly.
      Buy low.. Sell high!

  8. This is becoming serious. Specially for Stroll JR.

    Going up in the F1 ranks now could mean big stock appreciation for Mr Stroll. He will need a McLaren 2021 business model for that:
    Powerful and reliable engine (✓)
    State of the art facilities (✓)
    Excellent designers (✓)
    Money flow (✓)
    Strong pair of drivers ( )

    Feel free to check on uncheck that.

    1. Powerful and reliable engine (✓)
      State of the art facilities (✓)
      Excellent designers (✓)
      Money flow (✓)
      Strong pair of drivers (✓ one check for Perez)

      https://www.formula1.com/en/latest/article.analysis-why-sergio-perezs-value-has-never-been-higher.7AWABKsygwdsHZ5EKXcQpt.html

  9. That photoshopped image with the concept livery is hideous. I hope they do something innovative and original, it’s just a PR exercise after all.

    1. @pironitheprovocateur Indeed. Shades of Caterham spring to mind, and we know how that ended…

      1. Caterham was a beauty compared to this. I know it’s just an amateurish photoshop attempt, but media shouldn’t use such a low quality images.

        1. @pironitheprovocateur Indeed Caterham’s green+black livery they used at the last half of their final season was magnificent. As was Manor’s in 2016, simply gorgeous. A million times better than the abomination that is the pink+blue+white+black Racing Point of 2019.

          This photoshop is just a beta picture to show that it would probably be dark green, more concepts will follow that will excite us, only to be disappointed at the final product. Much like Haas’s livery before they entered… “Will it be, yellow or red as they partner Ferrari and want to be associated with?”, “Will it be red+white+blue like the American flag?”. No, it was just grey.

    2. I just hope that it looks different than the Force India livery, I kept calling Racing Point Force India last year.

    3. If the aston martin gt3 cars give any clue I’d expect something very plain. It will be either shiny dark grey or dark green with some bright yellow bits I’d imagine. That being said it might not be very aston martin color scheme. I’d like to see green car. At least it would look different.

  10. Great.

    Though I still believe sale of Mercedes team to Aston Martin can’t happen in any capacity… we’ll have a hell of a season in 2020.

  11. I’m now curious to see what level of technical involvement Aston Martin offer – if any – from 2021 onwards. Or do they continue to just use the cars as bigger billboards.

  12. This deal will have some follow on consequences for Verstappen as well.
    He’ll lose his AM company car and might have to settle for a Honda or one of these.

    1. I wonder how that thing steers… I think the center of mass would be too high due to the huge red bull can on top, hahaha

      1. He’ll just have to hike it like a sailboat when taking corners. Although given that F1 drivers continue to be featherweights, it might not be as effective. ;)

        Seriously though, like a real drinks can, I think that’d be made of aluminum, and won’t be too heavy to cause a significant problem. And actually being empty of Red Bull – or any liquid – will also greatly help matters. If anything, it acting as a sail might be a much bigger problem on highways/motorways.

  13. 20% increase in share price today. I knew I should have invested!! Problem is… I got no money!

  14. EXCELLENT NEWS! Now take that money and go hunting for a good driver.

  15. Aston Martin is my childhood poster car, specifically the Vantage line, so this is fantastic news for me.
    The marque is still alive.
    I’m expecting big things from the Valkyrie in the next five seasons in the WEC/Le Mans (and possibly IMSA) and adding a F1 programme to that. Happy days.

  16. Aston Martin’s current title sponsorship deal with Red Bull, believed to be worth around $20 million, will end after this season. The manufacturer has agreed a five-year sponsorship deal with Racing Point on similar commercial terms.

    If they will be the works team, why would they also be a sponsor?

    Also, while I’m happy to see Aston on the grid as a team, this deal makes no sense financially for Aston Martin the car company. They are losing money and losing stock market value (despite today’s blip). How do you turn that around? Become a works F1 team? Every car manufacturer when they have to tighten the financial belt looks to their racing program to cut first. Not start one that everyone agrees is a sink hole (unless you’re Ferrari). Even Merc are examining if they should cut their program.

    1. @g-funk, they’re not becoming a works team – Stroll is leveraging his stake in Aston Martin to strike a sponsorship deal between Aston Martin and Racing Point, but Aston Martin and Racing Point will remain separate entities.

      1. Under the terms of the deal, details of which were published in a filing on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, Racing Point will become the works Aston Martin team in Formula 1 in 2021

        1. @g-funk, the terms of the deal is not one which most would think of when it comes to “works team” – this is much more akin to the deal that Sauber struck with Alfa Romeo.

          Sauber is also the “works team” for Alfa Romeo, but many fans would dismiss that as a branding exercise as Alfa Romeo’s contribution is mainly financial and their marque – which seems to be the same lines along which this project will go, with Aston Martin offering their name and financial support, but little else.

  17. Interesting but in the end not surprising. What started with Jordan in the early 90s will be a big works team 20 years later.

    1. I don’t believe there is much chance Mercedes would leave F1. Their contract with F1 ends, and of course, their board needs to vote on whether to enter into a new contract. That doesn’t mean there is much threat they would not, but they may press for changes in the contract.

  18. Hay I love it to keep. I think some people need to stop looking for reasons to dislike it. in natural light, it looks fantastic! I love the silver touches on the back! Looking good, I love it!

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