We need to do Aston Martin name "justice" - Otmar Szafnauer

Racing Point

We need to do Aston Martin name "justice" - Szafnauer

Racing Point becomes Aston Martin in the new year

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Tuesday 29 December 2020 14:30

Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer has warned his team must do the "iconic" Aston Martin name "justice".

Racing Point will be rebranded to Aston Martin for 2021, the latest in a series of changes made since a consortium led by Lawrence Stroll saved the team, then Force India, from administration in 2018.

To be in position to match the lofty expectations associated with the luxury automotive manufacture, Szafnaurer told GPFans: "We have got a lot of work to do.

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"Not just from a marketing or brand perspective, but we have got to make sure we do the name justice.

"It is one of the greatest names in the car industry, it is an iconic brand and we need an iconic performance to go with it. Our job, the marketing stuff, the look and feel - I don't want to say that is superficial, I don't want to belittle it - but that's the easy part.

"The hard part is making sure that you perform to the levels of expectation for Aston Martin and that's the hardest thing to do so we are working hard to make sure that happens."

Next year will see teams running largely the same machinery as 2020. A decision made as part of a number of cost-saving measures in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, this also provides Aston Martin with a strong foundation to build on after Racing Point secured four podium finishes last year, including a maiden victory for Sergio Perez in the Sakhir Grand Prix.

The win was also a first for Racing Point although, as Jordan, the Silverstone based outfit had previously claimed four victories, most recently in the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix.