Aston Martin has set itself the goal of shaking owner Stroll’s Formula 1 title prediction

Ewan Gale

Tuesday July 27, 2021 2:10 PM – Updated: 2:10 PM

Otmar Szafnauer has insisted that Aston Martin will endeavor to dwarf owner Lawrence Stroll’s F1 title ambitions.

However, Szafnauer reinforced Stroll’s belief that the team will likely wait four to six years before a championship challenge becomes a realistic goal.

Article continues under video

Stroll took on the Underdog Force India team and pulled the outfit from the ashes of administration to advance under the nickname Racing Point before launching the British luxury brand for this campaign.

With factory upgrades, a new wind tunnel, and an ever-increasing influx of staff to aid the pursuit of fame, Szafnauer has repeated Stroll’s call for patience, but that doesn’t mean they won’t give it their all starting next season.

When asked why the team couldn’t challenge the team with the help of a new set of regulations that are supposed to become tighter next season, Szafnauer replied: “Well, we will work hard next year and will do our best to win the world championship title next year to win.

“But historically it takes time to build the infrastructure, the people, to be able to fight for a World Cup.

“If I remember correctly, even Mercedes who bought Brawn, who were world champions, took another four years to win.

“So it’s just the thing if you have the goal, the ambition, the goals and the funding to build the infrastructure and the right people and then fight for the World Cup.”

Aston Martin needs to improve “all areas”

Over the past few months, Aston Martin has recruited a number of key technical personnel, including Dan Fallows from Red Bull and Luca Furbatto from Alfa Romeo.

Especially on the areas where Szafnauer found the team to be weak, he said: “With 550 employees, it’s a touch of everything we have to hire.

“We have to hire like-minded people, quite a few, probably another 200, until we’re the right size.

“But it’s in all areas – in performance, manufacturing, in operations to make sure we’re efficient, and now with the financial regulation, even in areas where we can understand and plan the financial regulation a little better.”