Aston Martin has announced Cognizant, an American digital services firm, as its title sponsor for the 2021 F1 season.
The team formerly known as Racing Point has revealed the first image of its new branding. Aston Martin previously competed in Formula 1 as a manufacturer between 1959 and 1960.“The return of Aston Martin to Formula 1 after more than 60 years away is a landmark moment in the history of the sport,” said Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll, who purchased the F1 team in 2018 and took over the car manufacturer last year.
“Everyone knows what Aston Martin stands for, but the Formula 1 team will allow us to take the essence of the brand to new places, building on the strong foundations laid by the previous iterations of the team.”
“I’m hugely proud that we can start this new chapter with the support of Cognizant,” he added. “In today’s world, as the digital revolution continues, I can’t think of a more suitable or valuable partner to work with us as we strive to make Aston Martin one of the greatest teams in the sport.”
Team principal and CEO Otmar Szafnauer said the deal is “more than just a branding exercise” for the two companies. “With a new factory already under construction, Cognizant’s expertise and resources will add value in all areas of our IT operations and make a valuable contribution to our performance on-track.”
The team has run in the distinctive pink colours of Austrian water treatment company BWT since 2017. It is understood Aston Martin is in discussions with the sponsor about extending their collaboration in some form.
Former Ferrari driver Sebastian Vettel has joined their driver line-up alongside Stroll’s son Lance. He said he “can’t wait to start working” with the team.
“There’s so much for me to discover over the next few months and I’m incredibly determined to help make this team even more successful,” said Vettel. “Before we know it, we will be at the first race, seeing this famous name back where it belongs. I’m proud to be part of this journey.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
2021 F1 season
- Verdict on error in GT race suggests Mercedes would have lost 2021 Abu Dhabi GP appeal
- Title ‘stolen’ from Mercedes made us ‘underdogs people cheer for’ – Wolff
- Red Bull Racing spent £230m during Verstappen’s title-winning 2021 campaign
- ‘I can’t box?’: Hamilton and Verstappen’s 2021 Abu Dhabi GP radio transcript
- Abu Dhabi’s legacy one year on: How the controversial 2021 finale changed F1
Andy (@andycz)
7th January 2021, 14:06
Why does it look like Mercedes??
Qeki (@qeki)
7th January 2021, 14:12
@andycz Well because I think it is last years Merc :)
But it certainly looks like more silver than green?
AllTheCoolNamesWereTaken
7th January 2021, 14:36
My guess would be that the most of the picture (apart from the logo and its immediate surroundings) has been desaturated so that what we’re seeing is, for the most part, a black-and-white image. Otherwise, one would expect the “E” decal to be red. I fully expect the actual livery to feature the color green far more prominently than what we’re seeing here.
anon
7th January 2021, 14:42
It looks more like they have gone for an “artistic” shot by making the rest of the car black and white, so it makes the rest of the car look grey. That shows up when you look at the FIA label next to the cockpit, which is normally red in colour, but black in that shot.
Judging by the earlier material they have put out, I suspect that the final livery will be mostly green (given that was associated with the original Aston Martin cars).
BasCB (@bascb)
7th January 2021, 14:13
Trying to be as close to the mercedes original as they can, I guess @andyCZ!
Bob Laipply
7th January 2021, 16:21
Interesting color, buy the old 2020 paint from Merc so you don’t have to spend a token….
MrBoerns (@mrboerns)
7th January 2021, 14:12
Silver Mercedes confirmed??
Robert
7th January 2021, 14:18
In this thread: A bunch of people finding out that they’re red-green colourblind.
MEGATRON M12 (@megatron)
7th January 2021, 14:30
Nice livery for Vettel and Stroll to crash all year, probably into each other a couple times. That team will be the biggest comedy in F1 for 2021.
Luke S (@joeypropane)
7th January 2021, 14:34
Only thing left to copy was the livery?
barkun (@barkun)
7th January 2021, 16:34
my thoughts exactly !
Sam Crawford
7th January 2021, 14:57
Wrong shade of green, needs to be a warmer tone of British Racing Green in my eyes
Stijn (@stijner)
7th January 2021, 17:11
Indeed. I’m hoping they don’t go for this horrible neon- lime green like the FE jaguar team for instance
Sibin S
7th January 2021, 18:10
The driver’s photographs they uploaded in their website have got some much better green shade : https://www.facebook.com/RacingPointF1/photos/gm.3260976884004550/1797466773755862/
https://www.facebook.com/RacingPointF1/photos/gm.3260973207338251/1797465023756037/
ColdFly (@)
7th January 2021, 15:03
I thought ‘Aston Martin’ was to be the title sponsor.
???
Miguel Sampaio (@gordess)
7th January 2021, 16:51
Since they are now a works team, Aston Martin is the name of the team and Cognizant is the tittle sponsor, as oposed to Red Bull Racing-Aston Martin, in which the team was Red Bull Racing and Aston Martin was a tittle sponsor.
ColdFly (@)
7th January 2021, 17:43
Thanks @gordess,
But I’m not sure what you mean with ‘works team’; AML certainly doesn’t build the car and engine.
Aston Martin does not even own the F1 team. As far as I know they are a separate entity (with partly the same shareholders) and Aston Martin is merely a (title) sponsor of the F1 team; the same relationship as Alfa Romeo and Sauber.
JC
7th January 2021, 21:40
The owners of Aston Martin own the team. It’s the Aston Martin F1 team.
Tony Mansell (@tonymansell)
8th January 2021, 9:55
They are not the title or tittle sponsor
Ajaxn
7th January 2021, 20:59
Same here.
Until now i didn’t realise Aston Martin was simply a rebranding of the pink Racing Point, ala the old Force India.
All of which means Vettal, will have a pretty competitive ride next season. Good for him.
This is Racing point, aka Stroll, repositioning the company in a desire to be taken more seriously.
Image matters.
Jeanrien (@jeanrien)
7th January 2021, 15:13
Lettering is not following any curvature of bodywork, feel more like photoshopped pictures than any livery reveal. I wouldn’t buy too much into that.
Tristan (@skipgamer)
7th January 2021, 15:31
So sick of this rubbish. Aston Martin is a branding exercise. Cognizant is a branding exercise. At the end of the day it is Team Stroll, and everything else is a branding exercise.
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
7th January 2021, 16:08
R.I.P Best Water Technology-liveried Silverstone cars. The Pink Panther era (2017-2020) will never be forgotten.
Dave
7th January 2021, 16:45
I really liked these BWT liveries.
Balue (@balue)
7th January 2021, 16:47
@wsrgo I can’t forget it soon enough. Pink might have been fun in the beginning, but was grating at the end and not very F1. Green will be a most welcome change.
Oople
7th January 2021, 18:05
Wait, we’re gatekeeping colours from F1 now?
wsrgo (@wsrgo)
8th January 2021, 5:48
@balue pink isn’t very F1? I mean, I used to think the same about the Camel yellow liveries in the 1980s, but it was my own personal taste, I would never say such blanket statements, as these are always personal preferences.
Balue (@balue)
8th January 2021, 7:27
@wsrgo It should be unnecessary to point out that any statements regarding liveries are opinions and not establishment of universal facts as you have made it out as.
anon
9th January 2021, 16:58
@balue so, will you therefore withdraw your original post given that the tone very much suggests you are claiming it as an absolute statement of fact? You were the one who came across as so confrontational in the first place and pushed things in that direction to begin with.
StephenH
7th January 2021, 17:34
A lot of next season really depends on Vettel getting back to his best, if he doesn’t then a poor Vettel and Stroll is probably one of the weakest driver line ups on the grid. At some point it’s surly got to dawn on Stroll Snr that his sons just not good enough or at least consistent enough.
Just think of what a hungry George Russell or Hungary Nico Hulkenberg would do in that car in place of Stroll.
brum55
7th January 2021, 18:17
Let’s not right off Seb too quickly. This is a guy who got a pole and win in a Torro Rosso. He was also excellent in his first full year at Ferrari. I think with a good team and a poor team mate he will look very strong next year.
Barnstable1 (@barnstable1)
8th January 2021, 12:42
Not to mention the 4 x driver titles, and the fact he demolished another world champion in the same car (coming from an honest Raikkonen fan).
Ajaxn
7th January 2021, 21:03
Vettel is moving from a team where he had little or no say, to a team where his experiance and input will be valued.
Vettle is an intelligent man, im sure he will have an impact which will enrich his performance.
Stroll jnr would do well to learn from the former world champion.
Dean Franklin
8th January 2021, 3:54
Vettel is a smart enough guy but very impulsive, emotional and mistake prone.
Hamilton and Verstappen are emotional too, with Verstappen somewhat impulsive (he’s still very young) and Hamilton a really insecure guy in a way a man approaching 40 should never be.
All three a strange and childish men compared to say Schumacher who really had a certain authority and dignity about him. Senna never had it. Senna had a mystique.
Vettel had everything at his disposal to be the number one driver at Ferrari but failed. Got beat in 2019 by a second year driver learning the car, getting to know the team.
Postreeader
8th January 2021, 16:17
That’s a rose-tinted glasses way of looking at Senna and Schumacher of all people if I ever seen one.
I’m sure in 20 years we’ll see people talking how the new guys are nothing like the “raw passion” of Hamilton, Vettel etc.
Dean F
10th January 2021, 17:57
Not rose tinted. Schumacher 1991-06 had a higher win percentage than Hamilton despite not having anything like the car dominance Hamilton has had in his career. Schumacher was the driving force at Ferrari turning them from basketcase to championship contender. Gave up almost certain championships, certain race wins at Benetton to take Ferrari to greatness.
Macca (@macca)
7th January 2021, 22:50
A hungry George Russell would put it in Q3 on Saturday and crash it on Sunday. Most overrated driver on the grid.
Patrick (@paeschli)
7th January 2021, 19:25
“Cognizant is an American multinational product led digital corporation that provides digital products, digital IT services, including digital, technology, consulting, and operations services.”
Digital IT servies huh, are there any non digital IT services?
Sam Donaldson, ABC News
8th January 2021, 1:11
Very good sir…
anon
8th January 2021, 10:57
Wouldn’t a hardware supplier count as a non-digital IT service?
Macca (@macca)
7th January 2021, 22:48
I am loosing my mind as to why everyone thinks this a livery. It is clearly a Photoshop mock up to announce a title sponsor and nothing else.
jpvalverde85 (@jpvalverde85)
7th January 2021, 22:54
BWT is a free title sponsor. Red Bull has no title sponsor so far. Certain driver also moved from Team Silverstone to Team Milton Keynes, so marking the dots, is a Pink Bull coming thru?
jpvalverde85 (@jpvalverde85)
7th January 2021, 23:16
A couple more dots: the driver signed by Red Bull is known for bringing backing with him and comes from the Team for whom BWT was title sponsor. Red Bull and BWT are both based on Austria, so having BWT as sponsor seems convenient/practical from administrative and image reasons.
Dean Franklin
8th January 2021, 3:43
Haas is a development driver team so I’ll exclude them, but Aston Martin equal weakest driver pairing alongside Alfa Romeo (Kimi is so old at this point and has lost his speed).
I don’t think Stroll will beat Vettel, but will keep him honest for sure.
Would have been so much better off going the Perez/Hulkenberg route.
Alec Glen (@alec-glen)
8th January 2021, 10:42
Plot twist: Aston will look like exactly like last year’s Merc in black with green trim.
Michel S. (@hircus)
11th January 2021, 16:33
The same Cognizant that used to run Facebook’s content moderation operations?
Oh boy. Between Stroll and Vettel and this (and the clone car) I’m cheering McLaren and Renault and Ferrari over them
playstation361
3rd April 2021, 18:21
Nice. Very difficult to utter.