Aston Martin Returns to Formula One with Red Bull

British sports car manufacturer Aston Martin has finally stepped back into the Grand Prix arena, almost half a century after its last stint in the motorsport event. Aston has tied up with Red Bull racing and the latter has agreed to flaunt the British automaker's iconic winged logo on the nose as well as the rear sideboards of its F1 cars. Red Bull will carry out this branding campaign right from the season opening of the Australian Grand Prix.

Aston’s return to the motorsport was the result of an alliance between the British automaker and the Formula One racing team. They had joined hands to work on a special road car project. In July 2015, Aston Martin had announced its intention to partner up with Red Bull racing in an F1 oriented tie-up. This tie-up happened to coincide with Red Bull introducing Mercedes-sourced engines in their race cars.

Aston Martin was also on the lookout for other potential candidates for a tie-up, which included the likes of Force India and Williams. Amongst these, Force India was the front runner and had managed to almost strike a deal with Aston, which was eventually put on hold. This deal would have resulted in Force India being renamed ‘Aston Martin Racing’. Aston's desire of gaining some F1 pedigree was the reason motivating its hunt for a racing partner, which will also assist it in taking on rivals like Ferrari and Mclaren.

What’s uncanny is the symmetry posed by Aston’s return to F1 racing. A fact many remain oblivious to is that, in the year 2000, Aston Martin’s then sister company, Jaguar, was part of Formula 1 as Jaguar Racing. This was at a time when the American automaker Ford had a large stake in both the companies. Later, Jaguar Racing was sold to Red Bull in 2004 and now, after almost twelve years, Aston Martin has managed to regain its connection with Formula 1.

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