Racing Point F1 team to be renamed as Aston Martin

The SportPesa Racing Point F1 Team is all set to be reamed as Aston Martin after the former’s owner Lawrence Stroll agreed to a £182 million stake in the British manufacturer of the luxury sports car. RaceFans and Autocar reported last month that Stroll was contemplating to buy into Aston Martin. 

The current title sponsorship deal between Aston Martin and Red Bull, worth around $20 million, will end after the present season. Aston Martin has agreed to a five-year sponsorship with Racing Point on identical terms. Red Bull and Aston Martin’s technology partnership, however, will continue until the Valkyrie delivery is complete. The Valkyrie is a limited edition sports car collaboratively built by Red Bull, Aston Martin, and a number of other companies.

Red Bull has confirmed that it has agreed to release the Gaydon-headquartered company from the Formula 1 exclusivity clause. This will help Aston Martin to generate the investment for refinancing and pursuing alternatives within the F1 sport. The first production-specific Valkyrie is expected to roll out later this year.

Stroll, following the latest investment, will be included in the Aston Martin board of directors. He had led a consortium that purchased Racing Point’s assets from the latter’s earlier owners in mid-2018. Filings before the London Stock Exchange indicate that the consortium includes a number of members who purchased the Force India F1 team in 2018.

Stroll said that he is looking forward to working with the Aston Martin Lagonda management to improve every aspect of the company. He would continue investing to come up with new technologies and cars and start rebalancing production to create more market demand.

President of Aston Martin Lagonda, Andy Palmer, said that Stroll will bring a proven and strong expertise to the company. It will significantly benefit Aston Martin in the days ahead, he said.

Also read: Aston Martin to produce limited-edition V12 Speedster