04/03/2020
NEWS STORY
One would think that its long-standing association with James Bond alone would have been enough, not to mention its proud record in racing, particularly Sports Cars, but Lawrence Stroll believes that it is F1 which will really establish the car company globally.
Speaking at Aston Martin's headquarters in Warwickshire following the cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show due to the coronavirus, Lawrence Stroll, making his first appearance since his consortium bought into the company, gave a brief insight in to his plans for the legendary marque.
Stroll, who has made his fortune building luxury brands in the fashion industry believes that while F1 will help boost the company's image, it can also be used to share technology with future models in the car manufacturer's range.
"Aston has really missed having a mid-engine program," he said, "having that DNA in their racing, in their blood and now with the opportunity of returning to a works Formula One team for 2021 to be able to share technology from our Formula One team with our road car projects.
"I think this is the final cherry on the cake that Aston Martin really needed to complete its range and come back to its roots of racing," he added.
"We are bringing a lot more than money," he continued. "I have a long history in building luxury global brands in both private and public sectors. As executive chairman I will ultimately be responsible for the strategy we are implementing.
"The foundation of the strategy is returning Aston Martin to a works team on the F1 grid for 2021. It is operating under its own brand allowing it to reach an audience of two billion and to engage and entertain our customers at 22 locations every year.
"It's very exciting for all parties," said Stroll, whose consortium owns 16.7% of the company, "and should underpin the building of our brand globally and allow us to achieve our ambition that Aston Martin will become a pre-eminent luxury brand globally."
Stroll's consortium bought Force India in mid-2018 and subsequently renamed it Racing Point, next year the Silverstone-based outfit will become the Aston Martin F1 team.