Otmar Szafnauer rules out 'pink panther' return as 'green suits Aston Martin'

Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel at the presentation of the 2021 Aston Martin — Photo: © LAT Images

Austrian Grand Prix

Szafnauer rules out 'pink panther' return as 'green suits Aston Martin'

Aston Martin sponsor has questioned car's lack of visibility

Will Gray

Friday 2 July 2021 19:02

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Aston Martin team principal Otmar Szafnauer has promised the outfit will retain its green livery despite claims from sponsor BWT that the team's old pink look made it stand out more.

The Aston Martin name returned to the grid this season in place of Racing Point with the car transformed from bright pink to a deep 'Aston Martin green' livery. While it is stunning in real life, however, the colour struggles to stand out on the grid.

Former title sponsor BWT recently called for the team to revert back to its old look, a move it believes would be backed by current title sponsor Cognizant, but Szafnauser acted quickly to put a lid on such conversations.

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“With a name like Aston Martin, and Aston being green traditionally, and we’re growing the Formula One team, I would think we will stay green," he said. "I mean, Ferrari is red, Aston will be green.”

The cars were dubbed the ‘Pink Panthers’ and the ‘Pink Mercedes’ last year, the latter in reference to their distinct similarity to the reigning world champions’ car design.

Aston Martin searching for ‘pop’ on screen

Green is the traditional racing colour of Great Britain and has become synonymous with Aston Martin but was also the colour used by Jaguar Racing when it had an unsuccessful stint in F1 prior to selling up to Red Bull.

Jaguar used a metallic finish in an effort to get its car to sparkle on television and Szafnauer said: “The green colour suits us, that’s for sure. I think it’s a stunning colour in the sun and when you’re looking at it in person.

“I believe we should be looking at making it pop a bit more on television without losing the green when you’re looking at it outside.

“I don’t know if we can do that but that is what we’re looking to do just to make sure that it differentiates itself from some of the other darker cars.”