“With Lawrence buying the business…” – Red Bull F1 boss Christian Horner has revealed they will not have a title partner next season after it severed ties with new team Aston Martin F1.
Aston Martin will no longer be seen on the Red Bull F1 livery. This after their title partnership with the team ended with the current season. But team principal Christian Horner has confirmed they are not on the lookout for a direct replacement. As expected, though, they will have other sponsors added to the partners’ portfolio for next season.
“We will have new sponsors that we will introduce into next year. [But] We don’t have a title sponsor replacing Aston Martin for next year.”
The automobile giant first collaborated with the energy drinks company on the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar in 2016. Red Bull chief designer and F1 legend Adrian Newey has also been involved with the ambitious project.
Three @astonmartin Valkyrie verification prototypes test at Silverstone. Aston Martin Red Bull Racing @redbullracing aces Max Verstappen and Alex Albon get first taste of hypercar. Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies physical development programme gathers pace pic.twitter.com/Wh1uU8osh5
— Dr. Andy Palmer (@AndyatAuto) February 18, 2020
Aston Martin became Red Bull’s title sponsor from the 2018 F1 season, and as part of the agreement, had an Aston Martin ‘Advanced Performance Centre’ at their Milton Keynes base.
Lawrence Stroll buying shares of Aston Martin had impact on Red Bull
Canadian billionaire buying a significant share in Aston Martin has impacted the Red Bull-Aston Martin title deal. Stroll has re-branded his Racing Point team to Aston Martin, roping in superstar Sebastian Vettel from next season.
With Honda pulling out of F1 after the 2021 season, it is a case of what could have been had Stroll not purchased the shares. We could have potentially seen Aston Martin providing engine support to Red Bull, something that was not part of the current deal.
“We’ve enjoyed four years, three years’ title, and four years with them on the car, we’ve helped to push the brand, we’ve obviously enjoyed a great relationship with Valkyrie.”
“Our deals were constructed under the former CEO Andy Palmer, who was always tremendously supportive of the team, and with Lawrence buying the business then it was obviously natural for them to exit.”
Also read: Sebastian Vettel: Why Vettel joined Aston Martin F1 for 2021 after leaving Ferrari?
