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A Look Back at Aston Martin’s Illustrious Grand Prix Racing History
With the Aston Martin brand’s return to the top ranks of racing, let’s take a look at the company’s historic racing success.
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Aston Martin made its return to the Formula 1 starting grid at the 2021 Bahrain Grand Prix.Aston Martin
The start of the 2021 Formula 1 racing season at the Bahrain Grand Prix marked the appearance of the first Aston Martin F1 car since the DBR5, which was raced by Roy Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant in the 1960 British Grand Prix.
Aston’s grand prix racing efforts have always been pegged to the availability of funding. As in each of the company’s two previous eras of racing, it has come from a single wealthy patron. The first Aston Martin grand prix cars of 1922 were financed by wealthy driver Count Louis Zborowski.
David Brown’s purchase of Aston Martin fueled the company’s runs at Le Mans and in Formula 1 in the 1950s, until their front-engine DBR5 race car was obsoleted by the arrival of rear-engine cars in the modern configuration.
Now comes Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, who has made his fortune from masterminding the IPO for fashion house Michael Kors. He first used his wallet to bankroll his son, Lance’s, entry into F1 as a driver for the Williams team in 2018.
Later that year, he bought the financially distressed Force India team and Lance switched to that team’s more competitive car from Williams. In 2020, Stroll bought the financially distressed Aston Martin and announced that he would rebrand the Formula 1 team as Aston’s racing effort.
“I have dreamed about this day for a very long time,” explained Stroll. “I have always been a car guy since I was a child. I have always loved racing, too. My first dream was to own a Formula One team. My second dream was to acquire a significant shareholding in Aston Martin Lagonda. Today is about the merging of those two dreams.”
“The Formula 1 grid is the right place for Aston Martin,” Stroll continued. “It’s where this brand should be, and I know this next chapter of our racing history will be incredibly exciting for fans of Aston Martin, and the sport of F1, all over the world.”
Lance Stroll partners with four-time F1 world champion Sebastian Vettel as drivers for the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team.
About the Author
Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.
A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.
Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.
Dan, testing the 2025 Aston Martin Vanquish. ANDY MORGAN/ASTON MARTIN
He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.
He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.
He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.
He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.
Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.
He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers.
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