Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll insists plans to rebrand the team as Aston Martin next year are still on-track despite the disruption caused by the global pandemic.
Stroll agreed a deal two months ago to buy into the struggling luxury car manufacturer and rebrand Racing Point under the brand from the 2021 F1 season.Since then Aston Martin has been forced to suspend production at its Gaydon and St Athan factories and some of its employees are being furloughed to reduce its costs. Nonetheless Stroll said the company’s F1 plans will go ahead.
“I and my co-investors in the consortium continue to believe passionately in the future of Aston Martin Lagonda,” said Stroll in a statement.
“This is most clearly demonstrated by our investment of £262 million which underpins the financial security of the company. This is a very significant capital raise of £536m due to be made by my consortium and other shareholders at a very challenging time. This gives the necessary stability to reset the business for its long-term future.
“We have a clear plan to make this happen, including Aston Martin entering an F1 works team next season and I look forward to working with the management team to deliver this programme.”
Stroll will take over as executive chairman of the board of director at Aston Martin Lagonda on April 20th.
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2020 F1 season
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Patrick (@paeschli)
31st March 2020, 15:09
How does this work? Will they rebrand as Aston Martin starting January 1st 2021, even if there are some races from 2020 left to race? Oe would they rebrand as of the strat of the 2021 season?
Phylyp (@phylyp)
31st March 2020, 17:38
@paeschli – In my opinion, I think it’d be the season, and not the calendar year, since that’s how the F1 commercial contracts tend to be written (and if ever there was ambiguity before, the shifting calendars we’re seeing now will get that cleared up in a hurry!).
If Liberty’s plan of a truncated 2020 season spilling over into 2021 goes ahead, the implication is that 2021 will be a full season, and it will provide satisfactory exposure/returns, so tying the contract to a season and not a date will make sense.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
31st March 2020, 15:26
What about Wolff turning to Stroll in case Daimler decides to pull the plug.
Not George
31st March 2020, 18:40
I reckon Lawrence will end up owning a lot more of AM than he originally bargained on. There are good synergies with his luxury fashion brands, but luxury isn’t an option when folks can’t pay their rent (yeah, I know Bernie only cared about old men who could afford multiple Rolexes).
How many wealthy Chinese ladies are going to buy AM’s SUV when the change in pollution levels over China in February are so obvious? Probably all of them, but that’s another story.
Sorry to read AM employees’ jobs are at risk, but the UK tax payer shouldn’t be underwriting 80% of the salary of employees at a reckless company (part-) owned by a Canadian billionaire.
Well, that’s today’s rant over. Weird how F1’s likely to pick up again as if nothing’s happened.